Behavioural and physiological consequences of acute social defeat in growing gilts: effects of the social environment

Ruis, M.A.W.; Groot, Janke de; Brake, J.H.A. Te; Ekkel, E.D.; Burgwal, J.A. van de; Erkens, J. H. F.; Engel, B.; Buist, W.G.; Blokhuis, H.J.; Koolhaas, Jaap M.

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(00)00150-7

Cited by 76 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The blood was centrifuged for 10 min at 2000 3 g and aliquots of plasma were stored at 2708C for later analysis of cortisol and I-FABP, a marker for mild intestinal injury (Niewold et al, 2004). Plasma cortisol concentration was measured using a time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (Ruis et al, 2001) and plasma I-FABP concentration was measured using a human commercial ELISA test kit (Niewold et al, 2004).…”

Section: Animals and Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing weaning age of piglets from 4 to 7 weeks reduces stress, increases post-weaning feed intake but does not improve intestinal functionality

Meulen

Koopmans

Dekker

et al. 2010

Animal

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This study tested the hypothesis that late weaning and the availability of creep feed during the suckling period compared with early weaning, improves feed intake, decreases stress and improves the integrity of the intestinal tract. In this study with 160 piglets of 16 litters, late weaning at 7 weeks of age was compared with early weaning at 4 weeks, with or without creep feeding during the suckling period, on post-weaning feed intake, plasma cortisol (as an indicator of stress) and plasma intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP; a marker for mild intestinal injury) concentrations, intestinal morphology, intestinal (macro)molecular permeability and intestinal fluid absorption as indicators of small intestinal integrity. Post-weaning feed intake was similar in piglets weaned at 4 weeks and offered creep feed or not, but higher ( P , 0.001) in piglets weaned at 7 weeks with a higher ( P , 0.05) intake for piglets offered creep feed compared with piglets from whom creep feed was witheld. Plasma cortisol response at the day of weaning was lower in piglets weaned at 7 weeks compared with piglets weaned at 4 weeks, and creep feed did not affect cortisol concentration. Plasma I-FABP concentration was not affected by the age of weaning and creep feeding. Intestinal (macro)molecular permeability was not affected by the age of weaning and creep feeding. Both in uninfected and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-infected small intestinal segments net fluid absorption was not affected by the age of weaning or creep feeding. Creep feeding, but not the age of weaning, resulted in higher villi and increased crypt depth. In conclusion, weaning at 7 weeks of age in combination with creep feeding improves post-weaning feed intake and reduces weaning stress but does not improve functional characteristics of the small intestinal mucosa.

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Section: Animals and Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing weaning age of piglets from 4 to 7 weeks reduces stress, increases post-weaning feed intake but does not improve intestinal functionality

Meulen

Koopmans

Dekker

et al. 2010

Animal

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“…Within 30 min, blood was centrifuged and 1.5 ml aliquots of plasma were either frozen at À20 8C (for total cortisol measurements) or at À80 8C (for ACTH and prolactin determinations). Prolactin provides a valuable tool for stress assessments in pigs, and this hormone is released under conditions of fear (Ruis et al, 2001b). Smaller blood portions originating from samplings at the above time-points, were transferred to 5 ml centrifuge tubes containing heparin (Vacuette 1 , Greiner B.V., The Netherlands) and kept at room temperature.…”

Section: Blood Saliva and Urine Samplingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hormone and immunological determinations 2.6.1. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity Plasma ACTH was measured according to a radioimmunoassay procedure (RIA; Nichols Institute Diagnostics, San Juan Capistrano, USA), routinely performed in our lab (Ruis et al, 2001b). The intra-and interassay CV were 3.9 and 6.5%, respectively.…”

Section: Blood Saliva and Urine Samplingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The detection limit was 1.0 pg/ml. Plasma concentrations of total cortisol were quantified with a time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay (TR-FIA) assay (Erkens et al, 1998;Ruis et al, 2001b). Intra-and interassay CV were 6.5 and 8.1%, respectively.…”

Section: Blood Saliva and Urine Samplingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Urinary catecholamines (noradrenaline and adrenaline) were assayed using a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure with electrochemical detection (Ruis et al, 2001b) following a two step extraction. One hundred ml urine was extracted using the sephadex extraction described by Westerink and Koolstra (1986).…”

Section: Urinary Catecholamines and Creatininementioning

confidence: 99%

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Implications of coping characteristics and social status for welfare and production of paired growing gilts

Ruis

Brake²,

Engel³

et al. 2002

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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This paper considers the question whether knowledge on individual coping characteristics of growing pigs may be used to improve welfare and production after mixing. Gilts with either reactive or proactive coping characteristics were identified according to behavioural resistance in a backtest, respectively, being low (LR) and high resistant (HR) in this test. At 7 weeks of age, several pairs of unfamiliar gilts were formed, and pairs and dominance relationships were studied over a 3-week period. The following pairs (combinations) were established: two LR gilts (LR/LR; n ¼ 12), two HR gilts (HR/HR; n ¼ 12), one LR and one HR gilt (LR gilt dominant: LR(d)/HR; n ¼ 11), and one LR and one HR gilt (HR gilt dominant: LR/HR(d); n ¼ 12). Results showed that on the day of mixing, aggression subsided less quickly and increases in body temperature were higher in LR/ HR(d) and HR/HR pairs. Also, during the first week post-mixing, feed efficiency was lower and skin damage was higher in LR/HR(d) and HR/HR pairs. Mixing of two HR gilts caused highest levels of stress, indicated by greater catecholamine concentrations in urine following the day of mixing, and higher baseline levels of plasma ACTH at 1 week post-mixing. The lower tendency of gilts within HR/HR pairs to contact a novel object may present higher fearfulness. In contrast to those of LR/HR(d) pairs, responses of LR(d)/HR pairs revealed much lower levels of stress, which emphasised the importance of dominance relationships, being independent of coping characteristics of individual gilts. We speculate that in LR/HR pairs, dominant LR gilts were able to suppress aggressiveness of HR subordinates. HR or proactive gilts, however, may become aggressive when being dominant. General effects of social status, independent of combination, were also found. Compared to dominants, subordinates showed higher acute cortisol, body temperature and vocal responses to mixing. In the longer term, they showed a higher vocal and parasympathetic responsitivity towards the novel object, and their body growth was impaired. Measures not influenced by combination and social status included those of leucocyte subsets, prolactin, and average heart rates during novelty tests. To conclude, aggressive conditions in newly formed groups, and consequently welfare and production, may largely depend on coping characteristics of individual pigs, but also on dominance relationships. Accordingly, the practical value of the backtest is being discussed. #

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Consistency of aggressive temperament in domestic pigs: The effects of social experience and social disruption

D’Eath¹

2004

Aggressive Behavior

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Resident-intruder (R-I) tests can be used to measure the aggressive temperament of domestic pigs (Sus scrofa), and have previously been shown to predict the severity and persistence of aggression when unfamiliar pigs are mixed. To study the consistency of individual differences in aggressiveness over time, 112 pigs (eight from each of fourteen litters) were given two R-I tests at each of three ages (46, 80, and 113 days). Pigs were R-I tested singly in an arena within the home pen, where a smaller unfamiliar intruder pig was introduced to a resident pig. Latency to the first attack by the resident was recorded, and the test was stopped as soon as an attack occurred, otherwise the test lasted five minutes. Pigs from eight of the litters used here had been allowed to mix with another litter prior to weaning (days 10-30; socialised), while pigs in six litters remained in littermate groups (control). To determine whether consistency would survive the effects of social disruption, pigs were mixed into new groups on two occasions between the first and second test, then remained in these groups until the third test. Evidence of consistency was found, despite the social disruption. Socialised pigs were more aggressive than controls, females were more aggressive than males, and certain litters were more aggressive than others. After adjusting for these, consistent differences between individuals were still evident. Consistency was higher between the second and third tests compared to the first and second, possibly because of stable group membership or the effects of age or experience. In support of the idea that social experience improves consistency, socialised pigs were more consistent than controls throughout. Evidence of consistent individual differences in aggressive temperament suggests that breeding or changes to early life experiences could have a long-lasting influence on aggressive behaviour in pigs.

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Behavioural and physiological consequences of acute social defeat in growing gilts: effects of the social environment

Cited by 76 publications

References 61 publications

Increasing weaning age of piglets from 4 to 7 weeks reduces stress, increases post-weaning feed intake but does not improve intestinal functionality

Increasing weaning age of piglets from 4 to 7 weeks reduces stress, increases post-weaning feed intake but does not improve intestinal functionality

Implications of coping characteristics and social status for welfare and production of paired growing gilts

Consistency of aggressive temperament in domestic pigs: The effects of social experience and social disruption

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