Omnivores Going Astray: A Review and New Synthesis of Abnormal Behavior in Pigs and Laying Hens

Brunberg, Emma; Rodenburg, T.B.; Rydhmer, Lotta; Kjaer, Joergen; Jensen, Per; Keeling, Linda J.

doi:10.3389/fvets.2016.00057

Cited by 75 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 147 publications

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“…ARB is co-morbid with some avian medical conditions. Escherichia coli infections (Brunberg et al, 2016), intestinal worm related mortality rates, infectious bronchitis, and egg peritonitis are linked with FP in laying hens (Pötzsch et al, 2001). As damaged feathers can be visual cues for FP (Hughes, 1985;McAdie and Keeling, 2000), perhaps in some of these examples the altered appearance (including feathers) and behaviour of ill birds has a likewise effect.…”

Section: Medical Conditions and Arbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive birds: a Tinbergian review

Mellor

Brilot

Collins

2018

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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Abnormal repetitive behaviours (ARBs) are associated with past, or present, welfare problems and are common elements of the behavioural repertoire of some captive animals, including birds. Millions of birds from hundreds of species are held in various captive settings, yet most avian ARB research to-date focuses on just a handful of these. Therefore, our knowledge of ARBs and, by implication, welfare, of a taxonomically diverse range of avian species is poorly understood. The purpose of this review is to begin to address this by providing a useful overview of ARBs across captive avian species. Taking advantage of the research effort on well-studied species, we pool current findings relating to avian ARBs into a coherent framework, highlight gaps in understanding, and use this to give a reference point for future research in both these and other species. We adopt Tinbergen's 'Four Questions' approach to comprehensively consider ARBs from each of his four perspectives. We begin with presenting studies on ARB development, describe how physiological predispositions and early-life housing and experiences impact ARB risk in later life. Next we outline internal causal triggers for ARBs, such as the effects of neurotransmitters, hormones, and dietary deficiencies, and discuss external, environmental triggers for ARBs. In the evolution section, we detail the influence of species' evolutionary history on ARB, and use findings from early molecular studies on laying hens to discuss heritability and genes associated with ARB. The benefits of using cross-species studies to determine underlying evolutionary drivers of ARBs are also illustrated with an example from Psittaciformes. In discussing ARB 'function', we make two tentative suggestions for potential examples of ARB performance allowing a bird to cope, and also consider situations where ARB may be functionless. We then summarise, and discuss, these four interacting perspectives on avian ARBs. To finish, the benefits of Tinbergen's approach are shown in a worked example of an ARB in one species, demonstrating how this valuable framework leads to the most complete understanding of ARB. Thus, by utilising Tinbergen's Four Questions, our review provides a platform for future

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Section: Medical Conditions and Arbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive birds: a Tinbergian review

Mellor

Brilot

Collins

2018

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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“…From human and other animal literature, the microbiome has been shown to play a role in anxiety and depression (26), fearfulness (27) and aggression (28) with shifts in microbiome linked to changes in these behaviors or affective states. As a route by which health and welfare of pigs can be manipulated, it is only recently receiving attention and is so far poorly understood (29,30) but, theoretically, modification of the pig's gut microbiota offers a potential method to improve the pig's response to weaning and other lifetime stressors, and to improve overall health and welfare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Three Distinct 2-Week Long Diet Strategies After Transport on Weaned Pigs' Short and Long-Term Welfare Markers, Behaviors, and Microbiota

et al. 2020

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Alternative feed supplements have shown promising effects in terms of performance, but their effects on welfare have had little evaluation. In the present study, we aimed at evaluating the effect of diet supplementation on welfare indicators. A total of 246 piglets were weaned and transported for 12 h. After transport, they were assigned to one of 3 diets for a 14-day period: A-an antibiotic diet including chlortetracycline and tiamulin, NA-a control diet without any antibiotic or feed supplement, GLN-a diet including 0.20% L-glutamine. After the 14-day period, all piglets were fed the same diet. Tear staining was measured 11 times post-weaning (from d0 to 147). Skin lesions were counted before and after weaning (d-2, 2, and 36). Novel object tests (NOT) were done in groups 4 times post-weaning (d17, 47, 85, 111). Samples for 16S rRNA gene composition were collected prior to transport (d0), following the 14-day period (d14) and at the conclusion of the nursery phase (d34). The NA pigs appeared less interested in novel objects. On d17, they avoided the object less than A pigs (P < 0.05). They spent less time exploring the object on d85 and took longer to interact with the object on d111 than A and GLN pigs (P < 0.05). NA pigs also appeared more sensitive to environment and management. They had larger tear stains than GLN pigs on d84 and 110 (P < 0.05). On d2, NA pigs had more lesions than A and GLN (P < 0.01). In terms of microbiota composition, GLN had higher α-diversity than A and NA (P < 0.001). Differences between dietary treatments were absent at d0, were demonstrated at d14 and disappeared at d34. Pearson correlations between aggression, stress and anxiety indicators and bacterial populations were medium to high from 0.31 to 0.69. The results demonstrate that short-term feeding strategy can have both short-and long-term effects on behavior and welfare, that may partly be explained by changes in gut microbiota composition. Supplementation with GLN appears to confer similar benefits to dietary antibiotics and thus could be a viable alternative.

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“…Tail-biting is more frequently reported at the fattening stage, and females bite more than males (17). However, insufficient information is available about the possible correlation between these different risk factors, and it is difficult to clearly identify the triggering cause of TB (18). Nutrition is also considered a risk factor for TB (12).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nutrition is also considered a risk factor for TB (12). Attraction to blood from a bleeding tail may increase TB when diet is low in proteins, minerals, or fibres (18)(19)(20). In addition, studies have found that the dietary supplementation with tryptophan decreased the general activity of pigs and their attraction to blood in farms where TB is present (19,21,22).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Biter, bitten and control pigs exhibit different jejunal morphology, blood metabolites, activity of the immune system and stress levels (4,25,26). It is tempting to speculate that biter, bitten and control pigs may harbor different intestinal microbiota (IM) composition (18) which can be regulated by nutrition, feed composition and stress conditions (18,27). Studies on mice have shown that a modification of IM composition may influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response to stress (28,29), resulting in anxiety and depression (30,31).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Association between intestinal microbiota composition and tail-biting in pigs

Rabhi

Thibodeau

Côté

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Tail-biting (TB) is a serious behavioral disorder in pigs. It is defined as a pig chewing the tail of another pig. It is an important challenge in swine production as it impacts the animal welfare, its health and the economics and safety of the pork meat supply chain. Some treatments have been proposed but have not proven optimal. Nutrition, feed type and composition, appears to be an important factor in TB behavior, perhaps by modulating the intestinal microbiota (IM). In humans, IM is increasingly recognized as a modulator of behavior. Our aim was to assess an association between TB behavior and IM in pigs through comparisons of IM in groups of biter or bitten pigs to the IM in a non-biter and non-bitten negative control group, and through comparisons of IM between the biter and bitten groups. Each group, composed of 12 pigs, was formed at the beginning of the growing/finishing phase based on a target behavior analysis centered on TB behavior for the biter group and a score of damages caused to the tail for the bitten group. Fecal and blood samples were collected from each pig during a TB episode, at time 0, t0, and after a TB episode, four weeks later, at time 1, t1. Serum cortisol level was determined by ELISA and used as an indicator of stress. The pig’s fecal microbiota was analyzed from DNA extracted from freshly collected fecal matter using amplicon sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. Results: Serum cortisol levels were significantly higher in either the biter or bitten pig groups compared to the negative control group ( p =0.02 and p =0.01, respectively). Interestingly, no significant difference was revealed between the biter and bitten groups. The microbiota alpha-diversity was not significantly different between all groups, biter, bitten and negative control. Analyses of beta-diversity, however, revealed a significant difference between either the biter or the bitten group in comparison to the negative control group in terms of structure and composition of the microbiota. Lactobacillus were significantly more abundant in the negative control group compared to the two other groups ( p =0.001). No significant difference was revealed between the biter and bitten groups. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) confirmed that lactobacilli were more abundant in the negative control group. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that TB behavior is associated to the IM composition in pigs.

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Omnivores Going Astray: A Review and New Synthesis of Abnormal Behavior in Pigs and Laying Hens

Cited by 75 publications

References 147 publications

Abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive birds: a Tinbergian review

Abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive birds: a Tinbergian review

Effects of Three Distinct 2-Week Long Diet Strategies After Transport on Weaned Pigs' Short and Long-Term Welfare Markers, Behaviors, and Microbiota

Association between intestinal microbiota composition and tail-biting in pigs

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