The identification of behavioural indicators of ‘stress’ in early weaned piglets

. 1998. The behaviour of pigs weaned at 12 and 21 days of age from weaning to market. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 78: 517-523. Segregated early weaning (SEW) of piglets at less than 21 d of age is becoming an increasingly common procedure in North America. Such early weaning has become commercially feasible through the use of highly palatable nursery diets, which increase intake during the week following weaning. A study was conducted to determine the effects of such early weaning on the behaviour of piglets. Thirty-two litters were weaned at either 12 or 21 d of age. During the subsequent 48 h, pigs were videotaped and the tapes used to determine the development of eating behaviour using scan sampling. Pigs weaned at 21 d of age spent more time eating than those weaned at 12 d of age (P < 0.05). Although both age groups ate little (<3% of time) during the initial 12 h, those weaned at 21 d of age began increasing time spent eating during the subsequent 12 h and reached a normal level of approximately 9% of time spent eating by 36 h post-weaning. No noticeable increase in eating occurred among those weaned at 12 d of age until after 36 h, at which point the level quickly increased to 10% of time. During the subsequent 6 wk, live scan sampling revealed that pigs weaned at 12 d of age spent more time eating (11.6 vs. 10.5%; P < 0.05), drinking (1.65 vs. 1.22%; P < 0.01), nosing other pigs (1.23 vs. 0.74%; P < 0.01), and chewing on objects (2.48 vs. 2.33%; P < 0.01) than did those weaned at 21 d of age. Nosing of other pigs peaked during the 2nd and 3rd weeks after weaning in both weaning age groups, but the maximum level was approximately twice as high for piglets weaned at 12 as for those weaned at 21 d of age. Piglets weaned at 12 d of age continued to nose and chew other piglets more during the growing/finishing period than did those weaned at 21 d of age (P < 0.05). Partial, within-pen, correlations indicated that less-active pigs grew faster (r = 0.18) and were less likely to nose or chew other pigs (r = -0.15 and -0.26, respectively). Nosing other pigs and being nosed were negatively correlated (r = -0.17), but neither was correlated with rate of gain (P < 0.05). The delay in eating and the higher incidence of anomalous behaviours by the earlier weaned pigs suggest that additional improvements in early weaning management are desirable.Key words: Pigs, behaviour, weaning, age Gonyou, H. W., Beltranena, E., Whittington, D. L. et Patience, J. F. 1998. Effets du sevrage à 12 et à 21 jours sur le comportement des porcs jusqu'à la mise en marché. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 78: 517-523. Le sevrage précoce des porcelets à moins de 21 jours d'âge devient une technique de plus en plus répandue en Amérique du Nord et qui est devenue faisable au plan commercial grâce à l'emploi d'aliments de premier âge très appétibles qui permettent d'accroître l'ingestion durant la semaine précédant le sevrage. L'objet de nos travaux était de déterminer les effets de cette pratique sur le comportement des porcelets. Trente-deux portées étaient sevrées...

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The behaviour of pigs weaned at 12 and 21 days of age from weaning to market

Gonyou¹,

Beltranena²,

Whittington³

et al. 1998

“…However, the category oral/nasal manipulation in the present study was composed of three different behavioural elements, which were directed to the piglet's physical and social surroundings (orally manipulating a chain, orally manipulating pen mates and belly nosing). As suggested by others (Dybkjaer 1992;Petersen et al 1995), it may be that these elements have different motivation and are released by different stimuli. Therefore, not all aspects of oral/nasal behaviour observed in the current study were necessarily stress related, making direct comparisons with other research difficult.…”

Section: Transport Typementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dybkjaer (1992) found an increased occurrence of oral/nasal manipulation in 4-wk-old piglets subjected to social ''stressors'' such as mixing and crowding. However, the category oral/nasal manipulation in the present study was composed of three different behavioural elements, which were directed to the piglet's physical and social surroundings (orally manipulating a chain, orally manipulating pen mates and belly nosing).…”

Section: Transport Typementioning

confidence: 99%

The behaviour of early-weaned piglets following transport: Effect of season and weaning weight

Wamnes¹,

Lewis²,

Berry³

2008

Wamnes, S., Lewis, N. J. and Berry, R. J. 2008. The behaviour of early-weaned piglets following transport: Effect of season and weaning weight. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 88: 357Á367. Two groups of 48 Cotswold piglets were weaned at 1791 d of age and assigned to road or simulated transport during summer or winter. Following transport (0, 6, 12 or 24 h), piglets were grouped by weaning weight (light, medium and heavy) in pens of four. Piglet behaviour was recorded on days 1Á4, 7 and 14 after weaning and transport. As transport duration increased, drinking behaviour increased (PB0.05). Control (0 h) piglets fed less (1.5%) than transported piglets (3.1%) during the first 3 d in housing. Significant differences were observed on days 2 and 3 only (PB0.02). Across season and transport treatment, heavy piglets spent more time fighting (PB0.005) during the first day in housing, and less time feeding (PB0.05) during the first 3 d in housing compared with light and medium piglets. During the first 3 d in weanling pens, piglets spent less time feeding following road transport (2.4%) than following simulated transport (2.9%, PB0.05). Piglets transported by road also spent more time engaged in oral/nasal behaviour during the first 3 d in housing compared with simulated transport groups, although this reached significance on day 3 only (PB0.05). These results suggest that transport of early-weaned piglets may exacerbate the stress of weaning through additional stress related to factors associated with truck movement, such as noise and vibration, and by imposing an increased risk of dehydration following long journeys (12 h).Key words: Early weaning, transport, pigs, behaviour, season Wamnes, S., Lewis, N. J. et Berry, R. J. 2008. Comportement des porcelets sevre´s haˆtivement apre`s le transport : incidence de la saison et du poids au sevrage. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 88: 357Á367. Deux groupes de 48 porcelets Cotswold ont e´te´sevre´s a1 791 jours et transporte´s par camion en e´te´ou en hiver, ou ont subi une telle simulation. Apre`s le transport (0, 6, 12 ou 24 h), les sujets ont e´te´place´s dans des enclos par groupe de quatre, selon leur poids (le´ger, moyen ou lourd). Les auteurs ont ensuite note´leur comportement 1Á4, 7 et 14 jours apre`s le sevrage et le transport. Les animaux boivent plus quand le transport se prolonge (PB0,05). Au cours des trois premiers jours dans l'enclos, les te´moins (0 h de transport) mangent moins (1,5 %) que les porcelets qui ont e´te´transporte´s (3,1 %). On ne note de variation importante que les deuxie`me et troisie`me jours (PB0,02). Peu importe la saison et la dure´e du transport, les porcelets lourds passent plus de temps a`se battre (PB0,005) la premie`re journe´e et moins de temps a`se nourrir (PB0,05) les trois premiers jours, comparativement aux animaux de poids le´ger ou moyen. Durant les trois premiers jours dans l'enclos, les porcelets passent moins de temps as e nourrir apre`s le transport routier (2,4 %) qu'apre`s une simulation de ce dernier (2,9 %, PB0,05). Les animaux transporte´s re´el...

“…Shift: The calf changed the position of the head or extension of leg for less than 18 s z while lying Jumping: The calf displayed a bout of hopping, scampering or pivoting (Dybkjaer 1992). The event ended when there had been no jumping for 18 s z Walking: The calf displayed a bout of locomotion (3 or more steps in less than 18 s z ) that was not classified as jumping.…”

Section: Table 3 Definitions Of Behaviour Recorded Within Each 2-h Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural, health and cortisol responses of young calves to tail docking using a rubber ring or docking iron

Tom¹,

Rushen²,

Duncan³

et al. 2002

. 2002. Behavioural, health and cortisol responses of young calves to tail docking using a rubber ring or docking iron. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 82: 1-9. The acute responses of thirty-six 7-to 17-d-old Holstein calves to tail docking using a rubber ring or a hot docking iron were examined. Plasma cortisol concentrations were measured on day 0 and day +1. Behaviour was examined on days -1, 0, +1, +2, and +5 after treatment. Milk intake, weight gain, body temperature and faeces scores were monitored. Rubber ring application caused an increase in tail grooming up to day +5 after treatment. Shorter standing and lying periods as well as higher frequencies of standing and lying on day 0 were seen in the rubber ring group. No significant differences in behaviour were observed between the control group and the docking iron group. No significant differences in plasma cortisol concentrations were found between any groups except for 60 min after treatment when the rubber ring group exhibited a significantly higher concentration than the control group. No differences in milk intake, weight gain, body temperature or faeces score were found. Tail docking with a rubber ring causes a more pronounced behavioural and physiological response than docking with a docking iron. However, long-term effects need to be investigated. On s'est intéressé à la réaction aiguë de 36 veaux Holstein de 7 à 17 jours à l'ablation de la queue par un anneau de caoutchouc ou un fer à cautériser. Les auteurs ont dosé la quantité de cortisol dans le sang le jour de la cautérisation (jour 0) et le lendemain (jour +1). Ils ont aussi étudié le comportement des animaux les jours -1, 0, +1, +2 et +5 du traitement. Pour cela, ils ont surveillé l'absorption de lait, le gain de poids, la température du corps et le nombre de fèces. L'usage d'un anneau en caoutchouc intensifie le nettoyage de la queue jusqu'au cinquième jour suivant le traitement. Les animaux pourvus d'un anneau restent moins longtemps debout et couchés mais se couchent et se lèvent plus souvent le jour 0. On n'observe toutefois aucune variation sensible du comportement chez les sujets du groupe témoin et ceux dont on avait coupé la queue avec le fer à cautériser. La concentration de cortisol dans le sang ne varie pas de manière significative d'un groupe à l'autre, sauf 60 minutes après l'ablation, où elle est sensiblement plus élevée chez les veaux dotés d'un anneau en caoutchouc que chez les témoins. Les auteurs n'ont relevé aucune variation au niveau de la quantité de lait absorbée, du gain de poids, de la température corporelle ou du nombre de fèces. L'amputation de la queue par un anneau en caoutchouc suscite une plus vive réaction comportementale et physiologique que son ablation avec le fer à cautériser. Il faudrait cependant entreprendre d'autres études pour préciser les effets à long terme d'une telle pratique.