Preliminary findings on the effect of the pig appeasing pheromone in a slow releasing block on the welfare of pigs at weaning

Abstract

The pig appeasing pheromone (PAP) applied in spray has shown to be effective in reducing the frequency of aggression and the stress response of young and adult pigs under experimental conditions. This preliminary experiment investigates the effect of the PAP in a slow releasing block on the behaviour and skin lesions of weaners after mixing on a commercial farm. Two identical rooms containing six replicates per treatment of a commercial weaner building were used. There were two treatments (PAP block and Control) and each room contained one treatment. In the PAP treatment, the day before weaning and after washing and disinfection, two PAP blocks (1 block / 20 m2) were placed hanging on top of the pens. Six hours after mixing, there was a significant effect of the PAP block treatment on the occurrence of social negative behaviour (PAP mean; median [95 % CI] for median = 3.6; 2.7 [1.5-5.4] % vs. Control 8.3; 8.7 [6.1-11.3] % P = 0.003, social positive behaviour (PAP 5.5; 5.1 [4.5-6.8] % vs. Control 1.4; 1.3 [0-2.8] % P = 0.02), feeding (PAP 9.1; 7.4 [5.5-16.5] % vs. Control 1.6; 0.0 [0-6.1] % P = 0.02, drinking (PAP 3.1; 2.9 [2.5-3.9] % vs. Control 0.8; 0.5 [0-1.7] % P = 0.04) as well as on the sitting position (PAP 1.2; 0.9 [0-2.4] % vs. Control 4.1; 4.2 [2.1-6.0] % P = 0.02). Except for social positive behaviour (PAP 5.6; 6.0 [3.9-7.5] % vs. Control 2.9; 2.8 [1.6-4.2] % P = 0.02) those differences were not significant 24 h post-mixing anymore. The prevalence of wounded animals was not significantly different between treatments. The PAP in block form may be a promising tool to reduce food neophobia and aggression after mixing. Still, further research is needed to increase the effect of the PAP block over time under commercial farming conditions.

Synthetic Olfactory Agonist Use in the Farrowing House to Reduce Sow Distress and Improve Piglet Survival

“…It has, therefore, been suggested that simply placing a heat source in the creep area does not effectively entice piglets away from the sow when not nursing [ 34 ]. It was, therefore, hypothesised that the use of a heat mat with the addition of the SOA, being a synthetic analogue of pheromones and known to be an attractant for nursing piglets [ 15 , 16 ], would attract more piglets to the creep area and, thus, reduce mortality. In fact, the number of piglets lying next to the sow’s udder in the 10-min intervals was increased in SOA treated crates and inversely the number of piglets in the control treatment spent more time in the creep area, although this was also dependent on the time of day.…”

“…The placement of the SOA diffuser block can be seen in Figure 1 . The active components of the SOA block were based on mammary secretions of the sow and included: methyl caprate, methyl laurate, methyl miristate, methyl palmitate, methyl linoleate, methyl oleate [ 15 ]. Given the fact the SOA treatment was an air diffuser, all SOA treated sows were confined to one room in the first replicate and Control to another.…”

“…Naturally occurring pheromones found in the sebaceous glands of the mammary tissue may have a role in attracting piglets to the udder and calming them during feeding events [ 15 ]. These pheromones are absorbed by the piglet via the nasal cavity, stimulating the hypothalamus and amygdala regions of the brain [ 15 , 16 ].…”

“…Naturally occurring pheromones found in the sebaceous glands of the mammary tissue may have a role in attracting piglets to the udder and calming them during feeding events [ 15 ]. These pheromones are absorbed by the piglet via the nasal cavity, stimulating the hypothalamus and amygdala regions of the brain [ 15 , 16 ]. By isolating skin secretions from sows, Pageat [ 17 ] created a synthetic product, which we termed a synthetic olfactory agonist (SOA) as it mimics these maternal sow pheromones being largely comprised of a mixture of fatty acids.…”

Appeasing Pheromones against Bovine Respiratory Complex and Modulation of Immune Transcript Expressions

“…However, the implementation of these new practices could be challenging for the stakeholders. An alternative to reduce the impact of the stress could be the use in young animals of appeasing pheromones, as demonstrated in several species [19][20][21]. The production of these hormones during nursing exists in all mammals including bovine.…”