Pig

The legislative, ethical, and conceptual importance of replicability in farm animal welfare science

In this commentary, we discuss three replicability issues that are specifically relevant to research regarding farm animal welfare: (1) Legislative action, and its potential economic consequences, should derive from robust and replicable research to benefit animals kept in an industrial...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Nawroth, C., Gygax, L. 2020. The legislative, ethical, and conceptual importance of replicability in farm animal welfare science. agriRxiv 2020, 20203211980.

The role of sound in livestock farming—Selected aspects

To ensure the optimal living conditions of farm animals, it is essential to understand how their senses work and the way in which they perceive their environment. Most animals have a different hearing range compared to humans; thus, some aversive...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Husbandry & Management, VocalizationAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Olczak, K., Penar, W., Nowicki, J. et al. 2023. The role of sound in livestock farming—Selected aspects. Animals 13(14), 2307.

Saliva sampling material matters: Effects on the results of saliva analysis in pigs

The use of saliva as a biological sample from pigs is of high practical interest because blood collection from pigs is difficult and stressful. In this study, the influence of two different materials, a cotton roll and a polypropylene sponge,...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Ortín-Bustillo, A., Botía, M., López-Arjona, M. et al. 2023. Saliva sampling material matters: Effects on the results of saliva analysis in pigs. Animals 13(24), 3757.

Emotions on the loose: Emotional contagion and the role of oxytocin in pigs

We studied emotional contagion, a simple form of empathy, and the role of oxytocin herein in pigs. Two training pigs per pen (n = 16 pens) were subjected to a positive treatment (pairwise access to a large compartment filled with...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Reimert, I., Bolhuis, J. E., Kemp, B. et al. 2015. Emotions on the loose: Emotional contagion and the role of oxytocin in pigs. Animal Cognition 18(2), 517–532.

Judgement bias in pigs is independent of performance in a spatial holeboard task and conditional discrimination learning

Biases in judgement of ambiguous stimuli, as measured in a judgement bias task, have been proposed as a measure of the valence of affective states in animals. We recently suggested a list of criteria for behavioural tests of emotion, one...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Roelofs, S., Murphy, E., Ni, H. et al. 2017. Judgement bias in pigs is independent of performance in a spatial holeboard task and conditional discrimination learning. Animal Cognition 20(4), 739–753.

Effects of early and later life environmental enrichment and personality on attention bias in pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus)

We investigated effects of early and later life housing on attention bias, as an indicator of affective state, in pigs differing in coping style [reactive (LR) vs. proactive (HR)]. Pigs (n = 128) in barren or enriched housing from birth (B1 vs....

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Luo, L., Reimert, I., de Haas, E. N. et al. 2019. Effects of early and later life environmental enrichment and personality on attention bias in pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus). Animal Cognition 22(6), 959–972.

Effects of early life and current housing on sensitivity to reward loss in a successive negative contrast test in pigs

Animals in a negative affective state seem to be more sensitive to reward loss, i.e. an unexpected decrease in reward size. The aim of this study was to investigate whether early-life and current enriched vs. barren housing conditions affect the...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Luo, L., Reimert, I., Graat, E. A. M. et al. 2020. Effects of early life and current housing on sensitivity to reward loss in a successive negative contrast test in pigs. Animal Cognition 23(1), 121–130.

Sedline® miscalculation of depth of anaesthesia variables in two pigs due to electrocardiographic signal contamination

Two young (11-week-old) pigs underwent sole propofol anaesthesia as part of an experimental study. The depth of anaesthesia was evaluated both clinically and using the electroencephalography(EEG)-based monitor Sedline; in particular, the patient state index, suppression ratio, raw EEG traces, and...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Anesthesia & Sedation, Imaging & Electrophysiological RecordingAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Mirra, A., Hight, D., Kovacevic, A. et al. 2023. Sedline® miscalculation of depth of anaesthesia variables in two pigs due to electrocardiographic signal contamination. Animals 13(17), 2699.

Nosing around: Play in pigs

The predominant method of measuring welfare in swine focuses on overt physical ailments, such as skin lesions, lameness, and body condition. An alternative metric for assessing welfare in swine can be to measure the frequency and duration of positive behavioral...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Horback, K. 2014. Nosing around: Play in pigs. Animal Behavior and Cognition 2(2), 186.

Lateralised behavioural responses in livestock to environmental stressors: Implications for using infrared thermography to assess welfare conditions

Lateralised behavioural responses to environmental stressors have become more frequently used as indicators of social welfare in animals. These lateralised behavioural responses are under the control of asymmetrical brain functions as part of the primary functions of most vertebrates and...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle, Chicken, Equine, Fowl, Goat, Pig, Sheep

Citation: Goma, A. A., Uddin, J., Kieson, E. 2023. Lateralised behavioural responses in livestock to environmental stressors: Implications for using infrared thermography to assess welfare conditions. Animals 13(23), 3663.