Rearing piglets in a poor environment: Developmental aspects of social stress in pigs

Autor: W.G.P. Schouten, Eddie A.M. Bokkers, F.H. de Jonge, F.A. Helmond
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 1996
Předmět:
Zdroj: Physiology and Behavior 60 (1996)
Physiology and Behavior, 60, 389-396
ISSN: 0031-9384
Popis: Effects of rearing conditions on the development of social relationships were investigated in female pigs. For that purpose, one group of piglets was reared in a poor environment (i.e., a commercially used indoor 4.2-m2 standard farrowing crate) and the other in an enriched environment (i.e., 0.5-ha outdoor pasture with half-open farrowing crates). After weaning, all piglets were housed in pairs under standard conditions. Dominant and subordinate individuals were distinguished within pairs and social relationships between members of a pair were studied in adulthood. The results show that pairs reared in a poor environment behave more aggresively. The subordinates of these pairs also develop symptoms indicative of chronic social stress exposure: i.e., they show a delayed onset of puberty, a smaller daily weight gain, and elevated basal cortisol levels that are also higher 5 h after an acute restraint stressor (tethering stress). No such deviations were found in subordinates reared in an enriched environment. It is concluded that rearing piglets in a poor environment may facilitate the development of social stress in adult (subordinate) pigs. Two underlying mechanisms may be proposed: a) deteriorated social skills lead to increased social stress, or b) a failure to cope with stressors in general, and the stress of being subordinate in particular, occurs in animals reared under poor conditions.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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