Swine Behaviour

Question 1

Wild boar/feral pig behaviour

Answer 1

• woodlands
• forage for food (eat roots/leaves)
• wallow to stay cool
• family groups
• social hierarchy
• build nests

Question 2

Social group of wild boars

Answer 2

Matriarchal herd of several females/their offspring
Males live in bachelor groups, associate during mating season

Question 3

Maternal-offspring behaviour in wild boars

Answer 3

• 5-6 piglets/litter
• 2-3 weeks with litter alone before returning to family group
• weaning at 4-5 months (nursing reduced by sow at 4 weeks)

Question 4

Vision in pigs

Answer 4

Pano = 310
Bino = 35-50
Cannot focus well

Question 5

Smell/hearing in pigs? used for…

Answer 5

Smell is well developed (locate truffles, identify conspecifics)

Hearing well developed (communication, alarm)

Question 6

Behaviour in pigs indicating thermal comfort

Answer 6

Thigmotactic behaviour

Question 7

How many individuals can pigs remember

Answer 7

Up to 30, rarely in groups of over 20

Question 8

Two types of social organization in domestic pigs

Answer 8

Teat order
Dominance hierarchy

Question 9

Farrowing (when, how many, timing)

Answer 9

115 days after gestation (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days)

Litters 15-16 in production
15 mins apart

Sow lies on side, does not lick young

Question 10

How are piglets drawn to the teat

Answer 10

Heat and hair gradients, olfactory cues

Question 11

Why is anterior vs posterior teats important

Answer 11

Amount of milk flow differs
Anterior teats are preferred, produce more milk
- claimed by dominant, larger, earlier born piglets

Question 12

How do piglets identify their teat

Answer 12

Via olfaction and surrounding littermates

Question 13

Explain the dominance hierarchy in pigs

Answer 13

Unacquainted pigs fight to establish rank
Linear hierarchy
Recognize individuals via sight/smell

Question 14

How does dominance affect productivity in pigs

Answer 14

Subordinates have less access to resources

Question 15

What does fighting look like in pigs

Answer 15

Mouth-to-neck, strong thrusts sideways and upwards

Pig will only fight with 6-7 other pigs when in large group

Question 16

Why are pigs susceptible to heat

Answer 16

Sweating rate is low
Inadequate thermoregulatory compensation by respiratory evaporative loss

Question 17

Pigs are sensitive to..

Answer 17

heat, cold

Question 18

What is hairy pig syndrome

Answer 18

Chronically cold piglet will be smaller, hairy

Question 19

Describe courtship behaviour

Answer 19

Short
Male sniffs sow, noses sides, flanks and vulva, emits “mating song”
Boar foams at mouth, moves jaw, mounts when sow is in lordosis

Question 20

Where are pheromones in the boar

Answer 20

In saliva, preputial secretions (skatole)

Question 21

What influences sexual activity of a boar

Answer 21

Social environment during rearing (no visual contact with females = reduced copulation frequency, short duration of ejaculation)

Question 22

Presence of boar will..

Answer 22

induce early puberty in gilts

Question 23

Pre-farrowing behaviour in sows

Answer 23

Nest building 6h before
Hollows out a depression, lines it with straw, grass, sticks
BEHAVIOURAL NEED

Question 24

Piglet characteristics in dominant vs subordinate sows

Answer 24

Subordinate = piglets are lighter
Dominant = more males

Question 25

Nursing behaviour

Answer 25

Nursing every 50-60 mins
Sow requires stimulation from piglets before milk let down (nose the udder = appetitive)

Question 26

Grunts when nursing

Answer 26

Varies in frequency, tone, magnitude, indates stage of nursing to piglet

Question 27

Suckling behaviour

Answer 27

Before milk flow, piglets hold teat in their mouth, suck with slow movements while the sow’s grunting increases. Coincides with oxytocin release.
During milk flow piglets suck rapidly (3/sec) sow grunts rapidly
Flow stops, piglets dart from teat to teat, nose the udder (post-consummatory nosing)

Question 28

When do piglets start to follow the sow? How do they recognize each other?

Answer 28

6 days in natural env
Olfaction and visual cues (nose-to-nose bonding)

Question 29

Processing in pigs includes… (5)

Answer 29

• castration of males (prevent boar taint)
• ear notching for identification
• tail docking to prevent tail biting
• vaccinations
• teeth clipping to prevent lesions on sow’s udder

Question 30

Weaning in modern production

Answer 30

3-4 weeks usually
as young as 1-2 weeks
abrupt
litters re-mixed at weaning and placed into nursery pens

Question 31

When does pig activity peak

Answer 31

Early morning, evening (twice)

Question 32

List problem behaviours in pigs

Answer 32

Tail/ear biting
Belly nosing/sucking
Cannibalism (savaging)
Abnormal mating beh
Abnormal maternal beh
Abnormal dunging habits
Stereotypies (sham chewing, bar biting, drinker pressing)