Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Horback, Kristina

doi:10.12966/abc.05.08.2014

Cited by 44 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…891). Play in piglets and other juvenile animals is widely considered as a positive welfare marker, which can enhance physical development and create social bonds [54]. It has been suggested that there are several ways that play can be linked to welfare state, play can lead to or cause increased welfare, reduced playfulness can indicate reduced welfare and play can reflect the presence of positive or good welfare [55].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Provision Point-Source Materials Stimulates Play in Sows but Does Not Affect Aggression at Regrouping

Greenwood

Wettere

Rayner

et al. 2018

Animals

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Simple SummaryIn most intensive pig production systems, pigs are often mixed into new groups. Sows are important to a production system, as they are the driver behind the farms’ productivity. The aggression that results from sows being mixed into new groups and formation of hierarchy can detrimentally affect production and welfare. This study aimed to determine the effect of providing access to materials on aggressive and play behaviors in gestating sows. Play behaviors were observed in the ‘enhanced’ pen and no play was observed in standard housing (without materials present). Aggression measures, salivary free cortisol concentrations, and injury counts were unaffected by treatment. The provision of point-source materials to sows at mixing had no impact on aggression; however, their presence maintained sow interest over the course of the experiment. Additionally, play behavior was observed in their presence, which may suggest that a more positive affect was induced when the materials were provided.AbstractWhen sows are mixed into groups, hierarchies form and resulting aggression and stress can affect production and welfare. This study determined the effect of providing point-source materials on aggressive and play behaviors in gestating sows. Large white cross Landrace sows were mixed after insemination; six pens of 12 sows were housed in ‘standard’ pens, and six pens of 12 sows were housed in ‘enhanced’ pens. The ‘enhanced’ pens each contained two rubber mats, eight strands of 24 mm-thick sisal rope and two yellow plastic disks, suspended from the roof. The sows remained in these pens until pregnancy confirmation. Salivary cortisol concentration, injury counts, and sow behaviors were recorded the day before mixing (day 1), mixing (day 0) and post-mixing day 1, day 4, day 7 and day 20. At farrowing, reproductive outcomes were obtained. Play was observed (including locomotor and object play) in the ‘enhanced’ pen, and percentage of time spent playing was greater on d4 (1.48 ± 0.3 Square root transformed data (2.84% non-transformed adjusted mean)), d7 (1.43 ± 0.3 (2.97%)) and d20 (1.64 ± 0.3 (3.84%)), compared to d0 (0.56 ± 0.3 (0.70%)) and d1 (0.87 ± 0.3 (1.67%) (p < 0.05)). No play was observed in standard housing. Aggression, salivary free cortisol concentrations and injuries were unaffected (p > 0.05). The provision of materials had no impact on aggression, although their presence maintained sow interest and play behavior, suggesting a positive effect.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Provision Point-Source Materials Stimulates Play in Sows but Does Not Affect Aggression at Regrouping

Greenwood

Wettere

Rayner

et al. 2018

Animals

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“…A better understanding of animal emotions is an important goal in disciplines ranging from neuroscience to animal welfare science, but few reliable tools exist for measuring these emotions [ 4 , 10 ]. Play behaviour is generally recognised as a trigger of positive emotions in mammals [ 30 , 39 ], and previous studies consistently suggested that a high tail movement duration (a behaviour often seen during play) indicates positive emotions in pigs [ 33 – 35 , 46 , 47 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The provision of toys to pigs can improve the human-animal relationship

et al. 2020

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It is now widely recognised that a positive human-animal relationship is beneficial not only for farm animals’ welfare but also for productivity and the quality of products. A better understanding of animal emotions is an important goal in disciplines ranging from neuroscience to animal welfare science, but few reliable tools exist for measuring these emotions. In this study, whether the provision of toys to solicit play behaviour in pigs is associated with a change in the human-animal relationship and the emotional state of pigs was investigated. We involved a group of sixteen mini-pigs housed in an experimental setting and the use of a preliminary test called the ‘strange person’ test. After a Control and a Play session (with medium-sized dog toys, balls with ropes), the strange person test was performed. During the test, a person wearing a colourful overall, a hood, a mask, gloves and boots (unknown person with an odd appearance) entered the pen, where 2 mini-pigs were housed, for a 2-min video recording. The strange person test results after the Play and Control sessions were compared. The results showed that the latency to approach the person (duration in seconds) and the duration for which the pig was distant from the strange person (duration in seconds) were significantly lower after the Play session than after the Control session (Degrees of Freedom =30; Statistic of the F test =39.1; p < 0.0001 and Degrees of Freedom =15; Statistic of the F test =54.3; p < 0.0001, respectively). The duration of direct contact (duration in seconds) (Degrees of Freedom =15; Statistic of the F test =14.8; p = 0.002), the need to separate the pig from the strange person (frequency) (Degrees of Freedom =30; Statistic of the F test =9.3; p = 0.005) and the duration of tail movement (duration in seconds) (Degrees of Freedom =15; Statistic of the F test =12.6; p = 0.003) were all significantly higher after the Play sessions than after the Control sessions. Overall, the results suggest a change in the human-animal relationship after the Play sessions: the pigs seemed to be less fearful and more inclined to interact with the strange person, showing a more positive emotional state. This preliminary study suggests that the provision of toys, and more precisely, the opportunity to perform object play behaviour, and sometimes, spontaneously, social play behaviour, can improve the human-animal relationship. Additional research to explore this topic thoroughly may yield interesting results because a positive emotional state of the animals and a good human-animal relationship are essential to ensure good quality of life of farm animals.

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“…However, this would not explain the overall maintained increase in drinking behavior of IUHS pigs for 7 day post-transport and could indicate that this behavior is not controlled by normal regulatory mechanisms as previously described [44]. One possible explanation for the increase in drinking behavior may be that the IUHS piglets were performing a stereotypic behavior (i.e., polydipsia is a documented stereotypy in pigs [44,45,46,47]) in response to nutrition-related stress. This is because stereotypic behaviors can appear spontaneously in animals that are feed restricted [44], and it has been documented that feed intake is reduced in piglets during the days following weaning and transport [48] due to a rapid shift from an all milk to all solid diet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Evaluating the Effects of In Utero Heat Stress on Piglet Physiology and Behavior Following Weaning and Transport

Byrd

Anderson

Lugar

et al. 2019

Animals

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The study objective was to determine whether in utero heat stress (IUHS) affects piglet physiology and behavior following common production practices. A total of 12 gilts were confirmed pregnant and allocated to either heat stress (HS; n = 6) or thermoneutral (TN; n = 6) conditions on day 30–60 of gestation. At weaning (22.5 ± 2.3 days of age), 1 boar and 1 barrow of median weight were selected from each litter and transported for approximately 7 h. Piglets were then blocked into pens (n = 2/pen) by in utero treatment (IUHS (n = 12) or in utero thermoneutral (IUTN, n = 12)) and sexual status (boar (n = 6/in utero treatment) or barrow (n = 6/in utero treatment)). Plasma cortisol, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), insulin and glucose were evaluated 1 day prior to transport (pre-transport) and immediately after transport (post-transport). Behavioral data were collected on day 1–7 for 60 min at four different time points each day. In utero heat stressed piglets exhibited reduced cortisol concentrations compared to IUTN piglets immediately post-transport (p = 0.04). Glucose concentrations were not affected by in utero treatment. Insulin concentrations were reduced in IUTN piglets post-transport compared to pre-transport (p = 0.002), but no differences were detected for IUHS pigs. Non-esterified fatty acids tended to be reduced overall for IUHS vs. IUTN pigs (p = 0.08). Overall, IUHS piglets performed more drinking behaviors (p = 0.02) and tended to perform more aggressive behaviors (p = 0.07) than IUTN piglets in the 7 days post-transport. In summary, there was some evidence for altered physiological and behavioral responses among IUHS piglets compared to IUTN piglets following weaning and transport.

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Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Cited by 44 publications

References 76 publications

Provision Point-Source Materials Stimulates Play in Sows but Does Not Affect Aggression at Regrouping

Provision Point-Source Materials Stimulates Play in Sows but Does Not Affect Aggression at Regrouping

The provision of toys to pigs can improve the human-animal relationship

Evaluating the Effects of In Utero Heat Stress on Piglet Physiology and Behavior Following Weaning and Transport

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