Dataset Information

Provision of straw by a foraging tower -effect on tail biting in weaners and fattening pigs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Straw is one of the most effective rooting materials to reduce tail biting in pigs. A so-called foraging-tower (FT) provides only small quantities of straw compatible with liquid manure systems. The focus of the present study was on the effect of providing straw by FT in order to prevent tail biting in tail docked pigs. Four consecutive batches of 160 pigs, randomly divided into a straw (SG) and a control group (CG) were followed up from weaning to slaughter.

Results

Tail wounds (Score???2) were detected in 104 out of 12,032 single observations (SG n?=?48; CG n?=?56) in 9 pens (SG n?=?4/32; CG n?=?5/32) mainly focused on the fattening period of batch 2 due to a failure in the ventilation system. No significant differences concerning the distribution of Score???2 in pens of the SG and CG could be identified. Bite marks (Score 1) were documented in 395 observations at animal level (SG n?=?197, CG n?=?198) in all batches. In the nursery period, the air velocity significantly increased the chance that at least one pig per pen and week showed a tail lesion score ?1 (p?=?0.024). In the fattening period ammonia concentration was positively associated with tail lesions (p?=?0.007). The investigation of blood samples revealed infections with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in all batches and a circulation of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (NA-vaccine strain) and Porcine Circovirus Type 2 in two batches each. The average daily straw consumption was 3.5 g/pig (standard deviation (SD)?=?1.1) during the rearing period and 31.9 g/pig (SD?=?7.7) during the fattening period.

Conclusion

Due to the low prevalence of tail biting in all batches the effect of the FT tower could not be evaluated conclusively. The operation of the FT with an average daily straw consumption of 3.5 g/pig (SD?=?1.1) during the rearing period and 31.9 g/pig (SD?=?7.7) during the fattening period did not affect the weight gain. Exploratory behaviour seems to cause bite marks (score 1), which do not necessarily result in tail biting. The main outbreak of tail biting was probably triggered by a failure of the ventilation system, which resulted in a number of climatic and air quality changes including higher ammonia concentrations and sudden temperature changes.

SUBMITTER: Holling C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5382410 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Provision of straw by a foraging tower -effect on tail biting in weaners and fattening pigs.

Holling Carolin C Grosse Beilage Elisabeth E Vidondo Beatriz B Nathues Christina C

Porcine health management 20170316

<h4>Background</h4>Straw is one of the most effective rooting materials to reduce tail biting in pigs. A so-called foraging-tower (FT) provides only small quantities of straw compatible with liquid manure systems. The focus of the present study was on the effect of providing straw by FT in order to prevent tail biting in tail docked pigs. Four consecutive batches of 160 pigs, randomly divided into a straw (SG) and a control group (CG) were followed up from weaning to slaughter.<h4>Results</h4>Ta ...[more]

PMID: 28405460

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Project description:Tail-biting (TB) in pigs is a serious behavioral disorder. It is an important challenge in swine production as it impacts animal welfare and health and the economics and safety of the pork meat supply chain. To prevent TB, approaches including enrichment material and tail docking are proposed but none are optimal. Nutrition appears to be an important factor in TB behavior, perhaps by modulating the intestinal microbiota (IM). Our aim was to assess the association between TB behavior and IM in pigs through comparisons of IM in groups of biter, bitten and non-biter/non-bitten pigs. Each group composed of 12 pigs was formed at the beginning of the growing/finishing phase based on a target behavior analysis centered on TB behavior for the biter group and a score of damages caused to the tail for the bitten group. Blood and fecal samples were collected from each pig during a TB episode, at time 0, t0, and when the TB episode was considered finished, 4 weeks later, at time 1, t1. Serum cortisol level was determined by ELISA and used as an indicator of stress. The pig's fecal microbiota was analyzed from DNA extracted from freshly collected fecal matter using amplicon sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. Serum cortisol levels were significantly higher in either the biter or bitten pig groups compared to the negative control group (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively). The microbiota alpha-diversity was not significantly different between all groups, biter, bitten and negative control. Analyses of beta-diversity, however, revealed a significant difference between either the biter or the bitten group in comparison to the non-biter/non-bitten negative control group in terms of structure and composition of the microbiota. Lactobacillus were significantly more abundant in the negative control group compared to the two other groups (p = 0.001). No significant difference was revealed between the biter and bitten groups. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) confirmed that lactobacilli were more abundant in the negative control group. Our study indicates that TB behavior is associated with the IM composition in pigs.

Project description:A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of tail docking on the welfare and performance of victimized pigs by tail biting and tail biters. Pigs ( = 240; 25.7 ± 2.9 kg average weight), including 120 pigs that were tail docked at birth and 120 pigs that remained with intact tails, were used. Pigs were housed in 8 pens of 30 pigs in a confinement barn for 16 wk, with 4 pens each housing pigs of both sexes with docked or intact tails. Tail biters and victimized pigs with damaged tails were identified during outbreaks of tail biting. Growth performance was monitored, and skin lesions on the tail, ears, and body were assessed. Blood samples were collected from focal tail biters, victimized pigs, and nonvictimized pigs for analysis of total serum protein, IgG, and substance P concentrations. When pigs were marketed, carcass weights and the number of pigs with carcass trim loss were recorded. During the growing-finishing period, 48% of pigs with docked tails and 89% of pigs with intact tails experienced lesions on their tails, including 5% of docked pigs and 30% of intact pigs identified as victimized pigs that experienced puncture wounds with signs of infection on their tails or loss of tails ( < 0.001). Victimized pigs tended to gain less weight ( = 0.07) between 17 and 21 wk of age than other pigs when tail biting prevailed in this study. Victimized pigs were more frequently ( = 0.04) sold for less than full value and had a lower dressing percentage ( < 0.001) compared with nonvictimized pigs. For victimized pigs, total serum protein and IgG concentrations were elevated 5 d after tails were injured, suggesting that tail damage can cause inflammation, which may lead to carcass abscesses and trim loss. Compared with victimized pigs and nonvictimized pigs, tail biters had lower total serum protein ( = 0.01) and IgG ( = 0.01) concentrations, indicating that tail biters may experience poor immune functions. Results of this study demonstrated that tail docking reduced tail damage in pigs kept in a confinement system. Tail damage can cause inflammation and reduce the value of market pigs. More research is needed to test whether compromised immune functions predispose pigs to tail biting.

Dataset Information

Provision of straw by a foraging tower -effect on tail biting in weaners and fattening pigs.

Background

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Provision of straw by a foraging tower -effect on tail biting in weaners and fattening pigs.

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