Swine Behaviour Flashcards
Wild boar/feral pig behaviour
- woodlands
- forage for food (eat roots/leaves)
- wallow to stay cool
- family groups
- social hierarchy
- build nests
Social group of wild boars
Matriarchal herd of several females/their offspring
Males live in bachelor groups, associate during mating season
Maternal-offspring behaviour in wild boars
- 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)
Vision in pigs
Pano = 310
Bino = 35-50
Cannot focus well
Smell/hearing in pigs? used for…
Smell is well developed (locate truffles, identify conspecifics)
Hearing well developed (communication, alarm)
Behaviour in pigs indicating thermal comfort
Thigmotactic behaviour
How many individuals can pigs remember
Up to 30, rarely in groups of over 20
Two types of social organization in domestic pigs
Teat order
Dominance hierarchy
Farrowing (when, how many, timing)
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
How are piglets drawn to the teat
Heat and hair gradients, olfactory cues
Why is anterior vs posterior teats important
Amount of milk flow differs
Anterior teats are preferred, produce more milk
- claimed by dominant, larger, earlier born piglets
How do piglets identify their teat
Via olfaction and surrounding littermates
Explain the dominance hierarchy in pigs
Unacquainted pigs fight to establish rank
Linear hierarchy
Recognize individuals via sight/smell
How does dominance affect productivity in pigs
Subordinates have less access to resources
What does fighting look like in pigs
Mouth-to-neck, strong thrusts sideways and upwards
Pig will only fight with 6-7 other pigs when in large group
Why are pigs susceptible to heat
Sweating rate is low
Inadequate thermoregulatory compensation by respiratory evaporative loss
Pigs are sensitive to..
heat, cold
What is hairy pig syndrome
Chronically cold piglet will be smaller, hairy
Describe courtship behaviour
Short
Male sniffs sow, noses sides, flanks and vulva, emits “mating song”
Boar foams at mouth, moves jaw, mounts when sow is in lordosis
Where are pheromones in the boar
In saliva, preputial secretions (skatole)
What influences sexual activity of a boar
Social environment during rearing (no visual contact with females = reduced copulation frequency, short duration of ejaculation)
Presence of boar will..
induce early puberty in gilts
Pre-farrowing behaviour in sows
Nest building 6h before
Hollows out a depression, lines it with straw, grass, sticks
BEHAVIOURAL NEED
Piglet characteristics in dominant vs subordinate sows
Subordinate = piglets are lighter
Dominant = more males
