Pig

Pen enrichment and sex interaction on growth performance and metabolite concentrations of autochthonous Windsnyer pigs kept in a high stocking density

The objective of the study was to determine the interaction of pen enrichment and sex on growth performance and blood metabolite concentrations of Windsnyer pigs. Forty-eight growing Windsnyer pigs of both sexes, with an average initial body weight of 21.6...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Mkwanazi, M. V., Kanengoni, A. T., Chimonyo, M. 2018. Pen enrichment and sex interaction on growth performance and metabolite concentrations of autochthonous Windsnyer pigs kept in a high stocking density. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 98(4), 826-832.

Executing specific foraging behaviours does not represent a general goal state of foraging in dry sows (Sus scrofa)

Intensively housed domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) have little opportunity to perform diverse foraging behaviour though they still seem strongly motivated to do so. Here, we investigated whether the execution of specific behaviours may in itself satisfy their foraging motivation. We...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Moser, J., Burla, J.-B., Gygax, L. 2019. Executing specific foraging behaviours does not represent a general goal state of foraging in dry sows (Sus scrofa). Behavioural Processes 164, 115-122.

Bottle or bowl? Feeding and dosing in juvenile Göttingen minipigs

The Laboratory Animal Technology department at Envigo were engaged to perform a toxicity study in juvenile Göttingen Minipigs. The test compound was a human milk formula additive. Therefore, to mimic the conditions of clinical administration, the dose was given in...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Drug/Substance AdministrationAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: McNamara, A., Allen, L. 2019. Bottle or bowl? Feeding and dosing in juvenile Göttingen minipigs. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 153-154. (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation)

Environmentally enriched pigs have transcriptional profiles consistent with neuroprotective effects and reduced microglial activity

Environmental enrichment (EE) is widely used to study the effects of external factors on brain development, function and health in rodent models, but very little is known of the effects of EE on the brain in a large animal model...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Brown, S.M., Bush, S.J., Summers, K.M. et al. 2018. Environmentally enriched pigs have transcriptional profiles consistent with neuroprotective effects and reduced microglial activity. Behavioural Brain Research 350, 6-15.

Gentle abdominal stroking (‘belly rubbing’) of pigs by a human reduces EEG total power and increases EEG frequencies

The neurobiological response to gentle touch remains poorly understood, especially in the context of human-animal interaction. A novel approach allowed recording the pig electroencephalogram (EEG) cranially epidurally and wirelessly during positive interactions with a human. Stroking of the pig's abdomen...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Rault, J.-L., Truong, S., Hemsworth, L. et al. 2019. Gentle abdominal stroking (‘belly rubbing') of pigs by a human reduces EEG total power and increases EEG frequencies. Behavioural Brain Research 374, 111892.

Three little pigs! straw, sticks and bricks: ‘I’ll blow your house down’

In order for a scientific project involving animals to run smoothly, it is essential that the Animal Technologists have a good understanding of both the animals they are dealing with and of the project itself. Therefore our input to the...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Duckett, L., Phelon, L., Wheeler, L. 2018.Three little pigs! straw, sticks and bricks: ‘I'll blow your house down'. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(3), 201-203 (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation).

Environmental enrichment for pregnant sows modulates HPA-axis and behavior in the offspring

Our goal was to assess the effects of environmental enrichment during gestation on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) and behavior of offspring. In order to test our hypothesis, we kept 18 sows (Sus scrofa domesticus) in straw during the final third...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Tatemoto, P., Bernardino, T., Alves, L. et al. 2019. Environmental enrichment for pregnant sows modulates HPA-axis and behavior in the offspring. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 220, 104854.

A pig’s tale, “travelling in style”

This paper describes the design and construction – by Animal Care Technicians – of a cage-style crate to transport experimental pigs between buildings that minimizes harm and distress.

Year Published: 2019Topics: Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Duckett, L., Phelon, L., Wheeler, L. 2018. A pig's tale, “travelling in style”. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(3), 189-192 (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation).

Animal personality in the management and welfare of pigs

Personality is defined as individual behavioral differences that are consistent over time and across contexts and is constructed from a number of underlying traits. Over the last 27 years, studies on pig personality have investigated links between personality traits and...

Year Published: 2019Topics: PersonalityAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: O'Malley, C. I., Turner, S. P., D'Eath, R. B. et al. 2019. Animal personality in the management and welfare of pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 218, 104821.

A review of the effects of non-straw enrichment on tail biting in pigs

Tail biting remains a common problem in pig production. As producers are reluctant to use straw to reduce this behaviour, we review studies on the effectiveness of other types of enrichment. Roughage, hessian sacks, compost, fresh wood, space dividers, rope,...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Buijs, S., Muns, R. 2019. A review of the effects of non-straw enrichment on tail biting in pigs. Animals 9(10), 824.