Aggression in replacement grower and finisher gilts fed a short-term high-tryptophan diet and the effect of long-term human–animal interaction

Poletto, Rosangela; Meisel, Robert L.; Richert, B. T.; Cheng, Hsiaopo; Marchant‐Forde, Jeremy N.

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2009.11.015

Cited by 39 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Tryptophan has a potential role in facilitating stress adaptation of animals and human through increasing hypothalamic serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) level (Koopmans et al, 2005(Koopmans et al, , 2006Shen et al, 2012b). Previous studies have shown that dietary supplementation of high levels of l-Trp improved growth performance (Shen et al, 2012b), reduced secretion of stress hormones (Adeola et al, 1993;Lepage et al, 2003;Koopmans et al, 2005), alleviated aggressive behaviors (Poletto et al, 2010), and regulated mood and appetite (Markus et al, 2000;Zhang et al, 2007). However, high cost has limited the functional application of l-Trp to reduce stress in the animal production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of short term supplementation of l-tryptophan and reducing large neutral amino acid along with l-tryptophan supplementation on growth and stress response in pigs

Shen

Coffey

Kim

2015

Animal Feed Science and Technology

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of short term supplementation of l-tryptophan and reducing large neutral amino acid along with l-tryptophan supplementation on growth and stress response in pigs

Shen

Coffey

Kim

2015

Animal Feed Science and Technology

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“…Supplementing the diet of grower gilts with tryptophan led to lower activity levels, less aggression and more lying (Poletto et al, 2010a). Conversely, supplementation with ractopamine, which increases activity in pigs, is associated with increased oral-nasal behaviour and aggression (Poletto et al, 2010b). A limited number of studies demonstrate welfare benefits probably arising from a reduction in negative behaviours associated with supplementing pig diets with magnesium (Mg) because of what appears to be its 'calming' effect (Kuhn et al, 1981;Peeters et al, 2005 and.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of a magnesium-rich marine extract on behaviour, salivary cortisol levels and skin lesions in growing pigs

O’Driscoll¹,

O׳Gorman²,

Taylor³

et al. 2013

Animal

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Growing pigs can display undesirable behaviours, reflecting or causing poor welfare. Addition of magnesium (Mg) to the diet could reduce these, as Mg supplementation has been associated with improved coping ability in response to stress. This study examined the effect of supplementation with a Mg-rich marine extract-based product (Supplement) on the behaviour, skin and tail lesion scores and salivary cortisol concentrations of growing pigs. At weaning (28 days), 448 piglets were assigned to either Control or Supplement (0.05%) diets in single-sex groups of 14. Four weeks later (c. 17 kg), pigs were blocked according to weight and back test scores. Seven piglets from each pen were mixed with seven from another pen of the same sex and dietary treatment to yield the following groups: control male, Supplement male, control female and Supplement female (n 5 4 of each). This marked the start of the 9-week experimental period. Instances of the following behaviours were recorded in each pen for 8 3 2 min periods 1 day/week: aggression (fight, head-knock and bite); harmful (tail-in-mouth, ear-chewing and belly-nosing); and sexual/ mounting behaviour. Four focal pigs were selected from each pen, and their behaviour was continuously recorded for 2 3 5 min periods on the same day. Saliva was collected once per week at 1000 h by allowing pigs to chew on a cotton bud for c. 1 min. Salivary cortisol was analysed in duplicate by an enzyme immunoassay. Skin and tail lesions were scored according to severity 1 day/week. There were fewer aggressive incidents in Supplement pens ( P , 0.01), and mounting behaviour (performed only by males) was almost three times lower in Supplement than in control pens ( P , 0.01). However, there was no effect of Supplement on the incidence of each of the harmful behaviours. Behaviour of the focal pigs showed no treatment effect on the duration or incidence of aggressive behaviour. However, Supplement pigs spent less time performing harmful behaviours compared with control pigs ( P , 0.001). Supplement had no effect on the occurrence or severity of tail-biting outbreaks or on tail lesion scores. However, Supplement females had lower skin lesion scores, in particular in the ears and shoulders ( P , 0.01). Finally, Supplement pigs had lower salivary cortisol concentrations ( P , 0.01). Mounting is a major welfare concern in uncastrated pigs, and therefore this represents an important welfare benefit of Supplement. Reduced salivary cortisol, in conjunction with reduced skin lesion scores in supplemented females, suggests that addition of a Mg-rich marine extract improved pig welfare in this system.

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“…Also noradrenaline activity in the brain has been linked to aggressive behavior and dominance in pigs [15]. As for the other monoamines, stress causes changes also in central noradrenaline levels and noradrenaline metabolism [23,28].…”

Section: Contents Lists Available At Sciencedirectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In pigs, the serotonergic system has been linked to aggressive behavior [15,16]. Furthermore, genetically stress-susceptible pigs have been shown to have lower levels of serotonin in several brain regions than stress-tolerant pigs [17], while increased feeding levels of tryptophan, which is the precursor of serotonin, inhibit physiological stress activity [18] and decreases aggression and stress reactions in pigs [15,19,20]. Increased level of orally administered tryptophan has also been shown to reduce tail and ear biting in pigs [21].…”

Section: Contents Lists Available At Sciencedirectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for a link between tail biting and central monoamine metabolism in pigs (Sus scrofa domestica)

Valros

Palander

Heinonen

et al. 2015

Physiology & Behavior

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Aggression in replacement grower and finisher gilts fed a short-term high-tryptophan diet and the effect of long-term human–animal interaction

Cited by 39 publications

References 24 publications

Effects of short term supplementation of l-tryptophan and reducing large neutral amino acid along with l-tryptophan supplementation on growth and stress response in pigs

Effects of short term supplementation of l-tryptophan and reducing large neutral amino acid along with l-tryptophan supplementation on growth and stress response in pigs

The influence of a magnesium-rich marine extract on behaviour, salivary cortisol levels and skin lesions in growing pigs

Evidence for a link between tail biting and central monoamine metabolism in pigs (Sus scrofa domestica)

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