Effect of environmental manipulation on social behavior, reactivity to humans and production of piglets weaned at 14 days of age

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MARÍA ELENA TRUJILLO ORTEGA
FRANCISCO A. GALINDO MALDONADO
JOSÉ MIGUEL DOPORTO DÍAZ
LUIS FELIPE RODARTE COVARRUBIAS

Abstract

EARLY WEANING OF PIGLETS IS A COMMON PRACTICE IN THE PIG INDUSTRY; HOWEVER, THIS TYPE OF MANAGEMENT CAN BE RELATED TO BEHAVIORAL AND WELFARE PROBLEMS. ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT CAN BE A USEFUL TOOL TO DIMINISH SOME OF THESE PROBLEMS; NEVERTHELESS, THERE IS NO INFORMATION ABOUT THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANIPULATION ON THE WELFARE OF PIGLETS WEANED AT 14 DAYS OF AGE. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT ON AGGRESSION, LATENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY OF PIGLETS WEANED AT 14 DAYS OF AGE. A TOTAL OF 112 HYBRID PIGLETS WERE ASSIGNED INTO FOUR TREATMENTS: T1, CONTROL; T2, PHYSIC BARRIER; T3, ROPES/TIRE TUBE; AND T4, COMBINATION OF T2 AND T3. THE PIGLETS WERE OBSERVED DURING 192H DIVIDED IN THREE OBSERVATION PERIOD: 14-27 DAYS, 28-41 DAYS, 42-53 DAYS. THE FRECUNCY OF AGGRESSION (FA), THE LATENCY OF APPROACHING TO A PERSON (LA), AND THE DAILY WEIGHT GAIN (DWG) WERE COMPARED BETWEEN TREATMENTS AND BETWEEN STAGES. FA AND LA WERE HIGHER IN T1 (P< 0.05) THAN IN THE OTHER THREE GROUPS. LA DRECEASED IN ALL TREATMENT (P<0.005). FA DECEASED IN T3 AND T4 (P<0.05). T4 HAD THE HIGHER DWG (P<0.001). ENVIROMENTAL MANIPULATION IN PIGLETS WEANED AT 14 DAYS OF AGE DECREASED THE INCIDENCE OF ABNORMAL BEHAVIORS AND CAN HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON WALFARE AND PRODUCTIVITY.
Keywords:
ONTOGENY EARLY WEANING ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT PIGLETS BEHAVIOR AGGRESSION WELFARE

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