Swine Behaviour Flashcards
what are 4 key facts about pigs?
polytocous
precocial
omnivorous
olfactory is a primary sense
how is a pigs vision?
not great
310 degrees
monocular
move towards the light - using natural behaviours in intensive farming
do they have good hearing
they can hear higher pitches than humans
what is their vocabulary
grunts, squeaks, barks and screams
depends on context
what is a souder
a group of wild pigs
made up of related females and offspring (males travel together to find souders)
eat anything and spend 70% of the time foraging
what is the weaning time for wild pigs
12-16 weeks
are wild pigs prey or predator
predators, they dont have many natural predators
(on farm they are prey)
where are wild boar originally from
europe for specialty meat
they got loose, escaped - and now are invasive species
when did pigs get domesticated?
10500 years ago
did domestication change their behaviour
there has been a change in genetics but they still present natural behaviours
what is the pig park experiement
wood-gush, stolba and Newberry
released domestic pigs into a wild ennvironment
what was witness in the pig park experiement
rooting, exploring and foraging
separate area for dunging and nesting
play behaviour
what are the biggest mistakes during pig handling
over prodding
over crowding
what do farmers need to consider
their natural behaviours
what factor influences their susceptibility to heat stress?
their small hearts
vasodilation - drop in BP - increase heart rate - heart failure
what is porcine stress syndrome
acute stress response - negatively influences meat quality/ economic return
common problem in 1980s genetic marker identified in 1991
testing and selection have eliminated the problem
what is a barren environment
the difference between wild and intensive
- wild has exploration, foraging and social relationships
- intensive is considered barren because its on concrete or hard plastic and slatted floors with some form of enrichment
- they dont have natural behaviours and dont get to change behaviours often
why do we care if an environment is barren?
-causes psychological effects - borden and frustration
- abnormal behaviours (steriotipies)
- damaging behaviours - belly nosing, tail biting and pen-mate manipulation
how can we measure stress responses?
observing behaviour, vocalizations
social interactions( negative or positive)
postures
activity ( awake, inactive, pen exploration)
what is the NOT
novel object test - exploration and fear
what is OFT
open field test - exploration and fear
what is RIT
resident - intruder test - agression
when did intensive agriculture take off
the industrial revolution
less labour from WWII but still needed to increase production
it was not designed with animal welfare involved
why are farrowing crates important?
reduce crushing and simplify health checks and feeding
what changed to make animal welfare more important?
behavioural and physical needs of an animal influences production
what are the 7 major welfare issues
- farrowing creates
- castration
- tail docking
- stall housing
5 barren environment - mixing
- transport
why are farrowing crates issues for sows
frustration
loonger birthing intervals
greater chance of stillborns
what wild behaviours are restricted through farrowing crates
sows leave groups to farrow
nest building
why is the problem surrounding pain management for tail docking
pain management doesn’t have time to work
why castrate
boar taint and aggression
alternatives? - testing
why tail dock
reduce chance of tail biting
alternatives - removing agressive pigs
replace behaviour by changin the environment
when do intensive pigs wean?
21-28 days
What is an issue with early weening?
abrupt - all piglets removed from pens, moved to a new room
moved in groups of up to 100
early mixing with unfarmiliar piglets
what is the problem with stall housing
restricted freedom of movement - freedom to perform normal behaviours
bordem and frustration - development of abnormal behaviours
who has new codes
gestation sows
breeding sows
farrowing sows
teaser boars
why do pigs fight when they are mixed? how do they maintain this?
dominance hierarchies
- with avoidance behaviours and extreme agression
Is mixing aggression a natural behaviour?
no, souders do not normally interact, mixing aggression relatively uncommon
when do mixing events occur in intensive systems?
weaning
to grow-finish pens
sorting based on weight
shipping to abattoir
lairage
what are temperature challenges unique to canada?
- long distances
- wide ranges in temperature
- extreme colds - hyperthermia and frost bite or heat stroke
what causes stress in transport
ramps
electric prods
unfarmiliar hallways and walkways
temperature / humidity
unfarmiliar smells and sounds
new stock people
what are some current research areas in ethology in swine
effects of periodic enricment on different life stages
play can indicate physiological and psychological robustness in pigs
animal base post mortem indicators
creating and validating a one step electrocution euthanasia
