Hierarchy Establishment in Growing Finishing Pigs: Impacts on Behavior, Growth Performance, and Physiological Parameters
View/Open
Author
da Fonseca de Oliveira, Angela Cristina
Webber, Saulo Henrique
Costa, Leandro Batista
Publication date
2023-01-14ISSN
2076-2615
Abstract
Pigs are social animals that live in groups with well-established social structures and have always been a key species in debates over farm animal welfare. However, intensive production systems often fail to adequately consider pigs’ social needs. Group housing still presents major welfare concerns due to increased aggression for up to 48 h after pigs are mixed, with potentially chronic levels of aggression if stable social groups are not established. In our study we analyzed pig behavior, performance and physiological parameters after repeated mixing events. We compared individuals, using a dominance sociomatrix, and tested different hypothesis concerning pigs occupying different social ranking. The results suggest that hierarchical classification influenced feeding behavior and that pigs developed a possible compensation skill. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding the role of hierarchy and its biological relevance in group-housed pigs. Having a better understanding of individual differences, according to their social rank, may help producers and researchers identify and implement management strategies to reduce agonistic interactions and promote affiliative behaviors.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
636 - Animal husbandry and breeding in general. Livestock rearing. Breeding of domestic animals
Pages
16
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Animals
Citation
da Fonseca de Oliveira, Angela Cristina, Saulo Henrique Webber, Yuliaxis Ramayo-Caldas, Antoni Dalmau, and Leandro Batista Costa. 2023. "Hierarchy Establishment In Growing Finishing Pigs: Impacts On Behavior, Growth Performance, And Physiological Parameters". Animals 13 (2): 292. doi:10.3390/ani13020292.
Grant agreement number
MINECO/Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad/AGL2017-88849-R/ES/MICROBIOTA INTESTINAL Y GENETICA DEL HUESPED: CONTRIBUCION CONJUNTA A LA EFICIENCIA, EL COMPORTAMIENTO Y LA ROBUSTEZ EN PORCINO/
Program
Benestar Animal
Genètica i Millora Animal
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2555]
The following license files are associated with this item:
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/