Savaging behaviour in domestic gilts: a study of seven commercial farms.

Piglet-directed aggression at farrowing was investigated on seven large, new pig units. Gilts were subject to a light (continuous or diurnal light) and/or sound (newborn piglet vocalisations or no vocalisations) treatment around the time of farrowing. Behaviour records were collected for the first farrowing of 6625 crossbred gilts. The incidence of savaging, number of piglets affected by it and factors associated with piglet-directed aggressive behaviour were recorded. Piglet-directed aggression was scored as 0 (none), 1 (moderate) or 2 (severe). Effects of the light and sound treatments, situation of the farrowing crate within the farrowing room and time (from first to fourth fill of the farrowing rooms) were examined. Three hundred and thirty-one gilts (5.3%) displayed some degree of aggression towards their piglets (scoring either 1 or 2), while 201 (2.9%) killed piglets

Parturient behaviour and offspring-directed aggression in farmed wild boar of three genetic lines.

The farming of ‘alternative’ species such as wild boar is becoming increasingly common in western agriculture. Relatively little has been published about the behaviour of wild boar in captivity, and data about parturition and maternal behaviour are particularly scarce. Twenty-four primiparous farmed wild boar females of three genetic lines (SD, San Diego; PK, Peter Kalden; S, Scandinavian) were videotaped before and during parturition, and production data were recorded. Sows were housed in individual, well-strawed pens measuring m. The duration of parturition, duration of inter-birth intervals (IBIs), frequency of posture changes before and during parturition and nature of parturient behaviour were recorded. Offspring-directed aggression displayed by the sows was scored as 0 (none), 1 (moderate) or 2 (severe). A score of 2 indicated that a sow killed one or more of her young and/or human intervention was required to control her aggression. Mean±S.D. litter size was 5.4±1.5 young. Mean±S.D. duration of parturition was 81.4±79.2 min. Litter size and duration of parturition did not vary with genetic line. Eight sows (33.3%) showed some offspring-directed aggression; of these, two killed one or more of their young. Aggression score varied with sows’ genetic line: SD sows (62.5% of which scored 1 or 2) were more aggressive than either PK (22.2%) or S (14.3%; P<0.05), and only SD females exhibited severe aggression. Parturition lasted longer in sows scoring 2 (mean±S.E. duration=211.8±27.3 min; n=4) than those scoring either 0 (56.0±13.7 min; n=16) or 1 (52.8±27.3 min; n=4; P<0.001). Similarly, IBIs were longer in sows scoring 2 (mean±S.E. IBI=51.6±9.5 min) than those scoring 0 (13.1±4.8 min) or 1 (12.7±9.5 min; P<0.01). Sows scoring 2 changed posture more often (mean±S.E. changes=65.8±12.0) during parturition than those scoring 0 (12.3±6.0) or 1 (2.8±12.0; P<0.01). These findings contribute to our limited understanding of maternal behaviour in wild boar, and may be useful in helping to explain savaging behaviour in domestic sows

The effect of water sprinkling on behavior and core body temperature of market hogs transported during summer

Hogs are often transported to slaughter under conditions exceeding their thermo-neutral zones, which can lead to reduced welfare and increased in-transit loss. Water sprinkling during lairage decreases micro-climate and hog body temperatures and improves welfare, but there is no clear evidence of these effects during transport. The aim of this study was to observe if sprinkling hogs in stationary trailers before and after transport decreased signs of heat stress. In each of 12 weeks from May to September 2011, 2 pot-belly trailers with 208 hogs per trailer were transported 2h to slaughter. One was outfitted with a custom made sprinkler system that ran for 5min (~125 L) immediately before departure from the farm and immediately before unloading at the plant. In each trailer, 4 test compartments (1 on the top deck, 2 on the middle deck, and 1 on the bottom deck) were outfitted with cameras, and the core body temperature (CBT) of 4 randomly chosen hogs (n = 384) in each were recorded using orally administered iButtons. Trailer and deck loading order were randomized. Behaviors during transport, unloading and during lairage were recorded from video or live observations. Data were analyzed through ANOVA with ambient temperature external to the truck (AmbT) as a co-variant. AmbT averaged 19.5\ub0C \ub1 3.8\ub0C (range: 14\u201326\ub0C). At AmbT > 23\ub0C, there was no effect of sprinkling on behavior on-truck (standing, sitting or lying), but at AmbT 23\ub0C (P < 0.05). Therefore, sprinkling hogs when ambient temperature exceeds 23\ub0C can help to alleviate transport-related heat stress without detrimental effects on unloading

The effect of water sprinkling on blood lactate and meat quality of market hogs transported during summer

The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of water sprinkling (WS) hogs inside a stationary trailer in summer, in terms of stress response and pork quality variation. In each of 12 weeks between May and September, 2011, two pot-belly trailers with 208 hogs were transported to the slaughter plant (2 h transport). One of the two trailers was equipped with a water sprinkling system (WS vs. control, C). Blood lactate levels and meat quality traits were assessed on a sub-sample of randomly selected hogs (n=384/576). Exsanguination lactate levels decreased (P=0.02) and pH1 value of the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle increased (P=0.009) in WS hogs compared to C, regardless of temperature. WS reduced exsanguination lactate levels in pigs transported in the middle front (C5) and rear (C8) compartments at 15\ub0C (P=0.03) and 18\ub0C (P=0.009). In C5, the pH1 value in the LD muscle of WS hogs was higher at 18\ub0C (P=0.002), and 22\ub0C (P<0.001), and drip loss was lower at 22\ub0C (P=0.01), and at 25\ub0C (P=0.02). The results of this study showed that sprinkling hogs in a stationary vehicle at ambient temperatures greater than 20\ub0C can increase animal welfare and improve pork quality