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The role of handling in communication between humans and weanling pigs
Abstract
This study examined whether regular handling influenced the behavioral response and patterns of the pigs toward a human during the progress of the treatment. Eighteen 4-week-old crossbred weanling pigs from three litters were allotted at random within litters to one of two treatments. The pigs in the handling treatment were individually identified and received regular handling from the experimenter for 15 min, three times per week for 4 weeks. Besides this treatment, the pigs in the handling treatment received brushing for 15 min, once per week for 3 weeks. The pigs in the no-handling treatment had no contact with humans apart from that received during routine husbandry. A catching test was conducted on the pigs in the handling treatment once a week for 4 weeks, and the same test was imposed on the pigs in the no-handling treatment at the start of the experiment. At the end of the experimental period, an experimenter unknown to the pigs conducted the catching test on both treatment groups. The response of the pigs toward the experimenter was classified as either approaching or avoiding behaviors. Specific transitional patterns existed in pigs' physical interaction with a human. During the progression of the handling treatment, the proportion of avoidance behavior significantly (P < 0.05) decreased and the mean aversion score also significantly (P < 0.05) decreased. The variety of physical interactions significantly (P < 0.05) increased. As a consequence, the number of interactions observed in the handling treatment was more than that of the no-handling treatment during the catching test at the end of the experiment. The pigs receiving the regular handling repeatedly tried to make frequent physical contact with the experimenter in spite of repeated chasing and catching events. In conclusion, handling pigs regularly from 4 to 7 weeks of age increases their propensity to approach humans and the variety of their interactions with a human handler, possibly by reducing their fear of humans.
... Contexte ). D'un point de vue plus théorique, déterminer INTRODUCTION GENERALE 15 l'impact des interactions entre l'homme et l'animal profite à une meilleure connaissance de la perception mutuelle de chaque partenaire de la relation et plus largement, de l'univers relationnel des animaux (Appleby et Hughes, 1993 ;Tanida et al., 1994). (1982)). ...
... Prodiguer des contacts tactiles doux (par rapport à l'absence de contact) diminue la latence d'approche de l'homme par les animaux, augmente le temps passé près de l'homme et les interactions avec celui-ci. Ces résultats ont été observés lors de tests réalisés en présence de l'homme, chez différentes espèces domestiques comme les ovins (tenir l'animal dans les bras , le caresser et le tapoter ), les porcins (grattages , brossages (Tanida et al., 1994)), les bovins (poser la main sur l'animal, le caresser, et le tapoter ), les poussins (tenir et caresser l'animal ). Un relâchement général du corps de l'animal, une diminution de l'agitation et de l'activité locomotrice, ainsi que du rythme cardiaque, sont également observés suite à des interventions tactiles de nature positive chez le rat, le chien et le cheval . ...
... The 51 quality of the interactions -pleasant, neutral or unpleasant -conditions the long-term response 52 developed by domestic animals toward humans . Studying the 53 factors influencing the quality of a given interaction is thus a first crucial step that requires 54 detailed investigation (Appleby and Hughes, 1993;Tanida et al., 1994). 55 ...
La relation homme-animal se construit à partir des interactions entre chacun des partenaires qui se transmettent des informations via les signaux sensoriels. Mieux comprendre l’effet de ces interactions passe par la détermination de la sensibilité des animaux aux signaux émis par l’homme. Les interactions vocales entre l’homme et le porc domestique ont été peu étudiées, alors que ce canal est utilisé par l’homme dans les pratiques d’élevage.La thèse a donc cherché à déterminer (1) la sensibilité des porcelets aux variations du signal vocal, (2) les effets de son utilisation dans la mise en place de la relation homme-animal et (3) son utilisation dans la communication référentielle avec l’animal. Les réponses des porcs ont été évaluées (1) dans des tests de discrimination de stimuli vocaux, (2) lors de la mise en place de la relation et de tests de réponse à la présence humaine et (3) lors de tests de choix en présence de signaux humains.Les porcelets se sont révélés sensibles à la voix féminine neutre, sans montrer d’attirance particulière pour cette voix. Néanmoins, une voix féminine aigüe et parlant lentement les a attirés physiquement. Associée à la présence répétée de l’homme, la voix féminine aigüe et lente est associée par l’animal à une valence positive. Les résultats suggèrent que la voix pourrait être impliquée dans la reconnaissance de l’homme par les animaux. Enfin, il est possible d’apprendre aux animaux à utiliser les propriétés référentielles de la voix, mais uniquement lorsqu’elle est combinée à des signaux visuels (pointage du doigt statique et dynamiq
... La réactivité des porcs envers l"Homme peut être influencée par leur expérience antérieure avec ce dernier. Il a été montré qu"une manipulation positive et répétée rend les porcs plus enclins à être approchés (Tanida et al., 1994), et à rentrer en contact avec l"Homme (Gonyou et al., 1986;Hemsworth et Barnett, 1992;Hemsworth et al., 1996). Des animaux habitués à voir une personne rentrer dans leur parc pour effectuer la vérification quotidienne se sont montrés moins réactifs au transport que ceux qui n"avaient pas été exposés à la présence de cette personne dans le parc (Geers et al., 1995). ...
... There is ample evidence showing that prior experiences influence how pigs perceive their environment. Repeated positive handling increases pigs" willingness to be approached by a human (Tanida et al., 1994) or their motivation to approach or physically contact a human (Gonyou et al., 1986;Hemsworth and Barnett, 1992;Hemsworth et al., 1996). Negative handling (e.g. the use of an electric prod) reduces this motivation Gonyou et al., 1986). ...
... Les porcs qui ont été entrainés ou exposés à plus de manipulations par l"Homme se sont montrés moins craintifs à leur égard(Geverink et al., 1998c; Hemsworth et al., 2002). Le problème est que ces animaux vont bien souvent essayer de maintenir un contact avec l"Homme(Tanida et al., 1994), ce dernier devant ainsi recourir à une manipulation plus intense, impliquant notamment l"utilisation d"aiguillons électriques, pour bouger les animaux(Geverink et al., 1998c; Hemsworth et al., 2002;Krebs et McGlone, 2009). Au contraire, les animaux exposés à un nouvel environnement mais non manipulés par l"Homme bougent plus facilement et ce, sans l"utilisation des aiguillons électriques.Krebs et McGlone (2009) suggèrent que ces animaux ne sont plus craintifs à l"égard du nouvel environnement, mais le sont toujours vis-à-vis de l"Homme. ...
Transportation is necessary, but has been reported as the most stressful step of swine production. This thesis aimed at identifying stressors contributing to physiological and behavioural stress responses of market-weight pigs during transport, and to develop means of reducing those stress reactions.
This thesis demonstrated the effect of stressors associated with vehicle design. It was found that unloading pigs was easier when a ramp with a slope equal to or lower than 21o, no step at the bottom of the ramp, or an angle of entrance equal to or lower than 30o was used. Results also highlighted that ramp length could be detrimental to the way the animal perceived the ramp. Results also showed that under Canadian climatic conditions, long transports (18 h) in cold weather appear to be more detrimental to pig‟s welfare. Exposure to cold temperature made pigs reluctant to rest on cold floors and caused an increase in metabolism (cold coping mechanism) and thirst.
This thesis also demonstrated that factors associated with animal handling and previous experience could contribute to the stress of transport. It was found that daily exercise, by itself, improved the ease of handling and reduced cardiovascular response, while it appeared that a previous exposure to a ramp had no beneficial effects. Results also highlighted the importance of rest duration on the capacity of adaptation to stress, by demonstrating that when pigs are not initially given enough rest to recover from exercise, the recovery from a subsequent exposure to the same exercise is negatively affected.
Overall, this thesis suggests that some improvements in truck design and animal handling should be made in order to improve the welfare of market-weight pigs during transport.
... Pigs are not only social toward conspecifics, but also to humans. Studies on growing pigs show that when encouraged by the behavior of humans toward them, motivation to approach or to physically contact humans increases (Paterson and Pearce, 1992;Hemsworth et al., 1994Hemsworth et al., , 1996aTanida et al., 1994Tanida et al., , 1995. Negative behavior by the human toward the pig (e.g., by use of an electrical prod), decreased this motivation (Gonyou et al., 1986;Hemsworth et al., 1986). ...
... Reciprocal interactions between the handler and these pigs increased significantly only at the very end of the training period, when these pigs spent approximately 35% of their time in physical contact with the handler during the handling sessions. Previous studies using recently weaned pigs reported approximately 65% of time spent in physical contact after 1 wk of handling; more training did not increase these contacts (Tanida et al., 1994(Tanida et al., , 1995. The faster increase in physical contact and the higher final levels Figure 5. ...
... Their interest in the handler is further underlined by the fact that, when in the pen half away from the handler, they were oriented toward her as often as HI pigs, and that during locomotion, they oriented more often toward her than HI pigs. The results from the present and other studies (Hemsworth et al., 1994(Hemsworth et al., , 1996Tanida et al., 1994Tanida et al., , 1995 indicate that pigs are generally motivated to interact with hu-mans, although differences exist between individual pigs. For example, two HI pigs never accepted reciprocal interactions with humans (data not shown). ...
Pigs housed in groups received different handling treatments for 40 d until slaughter age. Pigs of the human interaction (HI) and refusal of contact (RC) groups were individually introduced into a pen each day, where they remained for 3 min in the presence of a squatted handler. The handler tried to increase progressively physical reciprocal interactions with the HI pigs using eye and body contact and voice. The handler remained immobile and avoided eye contact and use of voice with RC pigs. These pigs were pushed away when they touched the handler. Control pigs remained in their home pens. Over sessions, HI pigs progressively increased physical interactions with the handler, up to 35% of their time. The RC pigs were motivated to interact with the handler as they tried to establish physical contact with the handler throughout the experiment. They increased levels of locomotion, rubbing, immobility, and snout contact with the wall, suggesting that they were frustrated by the refusal of contact. At the end of the experimental period, all pigs were subjected to three human exposure tests, where pigs were exposed to the handler and two other persons, one of which was unfamiliar, in a Latin square design. During this test, behavior of the humans was the same as for the RC treatment. The HI pigs discriminated between the handler and the other persons as indicated by their increased approach behavior towards the handler. Part of the prior handling experience was generalized to other humans as indicated by higher levels of proximity of HI and RC pigs with the different persons compared with controls. Physical contact with the human was associated with increased heart rates. Two possibilities are that these two characteristics are part of a general behavioral/physiological reactive profile, or that contact with humans provokes an arousal or emotional response. Despite this, behavioral data show that pigs are motivated to be in physical contact with a handler, even when the handler consistently refuses contact.
... There is ample evidence that reactivity to humans is influenced by prior experience. Repeated positive handling increases pigs' willingness to be approached by a human (Tanida et al., 1994), or their motivation to approach or physically contact a human (Gonyou et al., 1986;Tanida et al., 1994Tanida et al., , 1995Hemsworth and Barnett, 1992;Hemsworth et al., 1994Hemsworth et al., , 1996aPaterson and Pearce, 1992). Very negative behaviour by the human towards the pig, for example the use of an electrical prodder, reduces this motivation Gonyou et al., 1986). ...
... There is ample evidence that reactivity to humans is influenced by prior experience. Repeated positive handling increases pigs' willingness to be approached by a human (Tanida et al., 1994), or their motivation to approach or physically contact a human (Gonyou et al., 1986;Tanida et al., 1994Tanida et al., , 1995Hemsworth and Barnett, 1992;Hemsworth et al., 1994Hemsworth et al., , 1996aPaterson and Pearce, 1992). Very negative behaviour by the human towards the pig, for example the use of an electrical prodder, reduces this motivation Gonyou et al., 1986). ...
Stress reactions to the slaughter procedure influence ante- and post-mortem muscle metabolism and, consequently, the rate and extent of glycogen breakdown and pH decline, colour and drip loss. Effects are principally due to variations in ATPase activity and muscle glycogen reserves. Behavioural, physiological and metabolic responses to aversive situations depend on genetic background and prior experience of the animals. For example, reactivity to humans depends on breed; compared to Large White pigs, Durocs approach humans more. The effect of slaughter conditions on peri-mortem muscle metabolism depends also on breed; muscles of Durocs were relatively insensitive to slaughter conditions. Prior experience, such as repeated handling, modifies reactivity to familiar and unfamiliar humans. Repeated positive handling during rearing did not modify meat quality of Large Whites. Mild negative handling during rearing changed pre-slaughter muscle metabolism only if the negative handler was present at slaughter. Literature indicates that severe negative handling during rearing may influence peri-mortem muscle metabolism in the absence of the negative handler. Reactivity to humans measured in pigs with no handling experience, weeks or months before slaughter, may predict pre- or post-slaughter muscle metabolism. Thus, physical and visual contacts with the human, established by the pig, were negatively correlated with post-bleeding muscle temperature and ultimate pH. Fighting during mixing was positively correlated with ultimate pH and colour. Up to 42% of variability in ultimate pH in pigs of similar genetic and rearing background could be explained by fighting during mixing and reactivity to humans. Fighting during mixing could be predicted by fighting during a food competition test and levels of exploration of an unfamiliar object. Overall, results show that the technological meat quality indicators studied were little influenced by positive or mildly negative handling experience during rearing. In contrast, genetic background, slaughter conditions and behavioural characteristics of the pig, established early in life, explained a large part of variability in a number of technological meat quality parameters.
... Le fait de gratter et caresser de façon répétée pendant trois semaines des porcelets sevrés induit une attraction positive pour l'humain (plus de contact) mesurée dans la semaine qui suit (Tallet et al., 2014). Les porcelets semblent préférer le fait d'être brossés que caressés (Tanida et al., 1994). Les porcelets préfèreraient aussi les grattages à l'arrière du corps plutôt qu'à l'avant (Tallet et al., 2014). ...
La relation entre les porcs et les humains est au centre de l’élevage et est un des piliers du bien-être animal. L’humain, par son comportement et ses choix de pratiques, de conditions de logement et de gestion du troupeau va influencer l’état mental de ses animaux. Cette synthèse propose un bilan des travaux sur la relation humain-animal en élevage porcin. Les pratiques et les modes d’élevage ont un impact sur la relation à l’humain. Certaines pratiques sont source de douleur et de peur pour les porcelets, et provoquent des réactions ultérieures de peur vis-à-vis des humains, même inconnus. Inversement, des pratiques ayant pour but de développer une relation de proximité diminuent la peur des humains et favorisent une relation de confiance. En effet, les interactions humaines modifient le comportement des porcs. La présence humaine suffit à habituer un porcelet aux humains, même quelques minutes par jour. Parler aux animaux est primordial, y comprisin utero. Les porcelets apprécient les contacts tactiles doux, caresses ou grattages. L’humain, ainsi associé à des interactions positives, prend une valeur positive, ce qui permet d’instaurer un climat de confiance et peut susciter des émotions positives favorables au bien-être animal. Créer une bonne relation en élevage est donc essentiel. Ceci sera bénéfique non seulement au bien-être des porcs, mais aussi à la sécurité et la satisfaction au travail des éleveurs. Cela nécessite de mieux connaître le comportement des porcs pour davantage le prendre en compte. Le conseil et la formation aux éleveurs doivent intégrer ces connaissances.
... Gentle or positive handling can be a potential way to reduce pigs' anxiety caused by interactions with humans. Several studies have reported that after 5-10 weeks of gentle handling, the time required for pigs to approach people was shorter, while the frequency of contact and communication with people increased [4][5][6][7][8]. Furthermore, touching and scratching the animals can improve their relationship with handlers, which consequently alters the heart rate of pigs and increases the intimacy between pigs and humans [9]. ...
In order to investigate the effect of gentle handling on the behavior, performance, and meat quality of pigs from weaning to slaughter, 144 6-week-old weaned hybrid Min piglets (a native breed) were selected and divided into a handling group (HG: 9 pens × 8 pigs) and a control group (CG: 9 pens × 8 pigs). After 6 weeks of handling, we observed and then evaluated the pigs’ responses to a handler with behavioral scores. Moreover, we measured heart rate and production performance. Three pigs were randomly selected from each of the 18 pens and divided into a handling group (HG: n = 27) and a control group (CG: n = 27), and the HG pigs were given gentle handling until slaughter. Subsequently, we evaluated meat quality and the production performance of six pigs from each group. The results show that AA test (approaching–avoidance test) scores in HG pigs, the number of contacts with the handler and absence of contact with the handler, were significantly higher than in the CG pigs (p < 0.01). The occurrences of avoidance and looking at the handler were lower in the HG than in the CG group (p < 0.01); however, heart rate was not found to be significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.63). No significant difference was found in the average daily gain, average daily feed intake, and feed conversion ratio between the two groups during the two periods (p > 0.05). The b* value was determined 45 min after slaughter, and it was significantly lower in the HG than that in the CG group (p = 0.002). Furthermore, 2 h after slaughter, the L value of the HG group was significantly higher than that of the CG group (p = 0.047), but no difference was observed in carcass quality or other meat quality indicators between the two groups (p > 0.05). The results indicate that gentle handling could reduce pigs’ anxiety and increase their willingness to approach the handler, increasing the intimacy of the pigs and handlers. However, long-term gentle handling had little effect on pig performance, carcass quality, and meat quality.
... According to several studies related to pigs, sheep, and cattle [46][47][48], different treatments may influence the behavior of the domesticated animals and animal-human interactions (from the aspect of fear and approachability). In rabbits, touching the animal by hand, according to Hudson et al. [49], decreases fear if carried out during the first week after birth. ...
The effect of rabbit-assisted interventions on the anxiety levels of first-grade children at a primary school was analyzed. At the beginning of our research, no rabbit-assisted intervention was applied for 6 weeks in order to establish the level of stress caused by the start of the education period. We then alternated 6-week-long periods with and without rabbit-assisted intervention. The level of anxiety in children was assessed every three weeks both in the assisted and non-assisted periods, using the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, STAI-C. One of the examined classes did not apply the integrating policy while the other class contained pupils with special education needs (called the integrating class). Rabbit-assisted interventions proved to be efficient, as anxiety level scores were significantly lower during the animal-assisted periods. The rabbits actively initiated encounters with humans, not only in the framework of animal-assisted interventions, but also at other occasions. In cases of discomfort, the rabbit retreated to the cage and stayed inside for a short time. The children displayed signs of pleasure when the rabbits approached them. The favorable effect of animal assistance was more apparent in the integrating class. It could be concluded that rabbit-assisted interventions were suitable for decreasing the anxiety levels of elementary school children, improving the efficacy of the educational ability of teachers.
... In human-animal relationships, the quality of the interactionspleasant, neutral or unpleasant -has impact on the long-term response developed by domestic animals toward humans (Hemsworth and Coleman, 2011). It is therefore crucial to investigate the factors that influence the quality of a given interaction (Appleby and Hughes, 1993;Tanida et al., 1994). ...
Vocal communication is of major social importance in pigs. Their auditory sensitivity goes beyond the intraspecific level; studies have shown that domestic pigs are sensitive to and can learn to recognise human voices. The question of which prosodic features (intonation, accentuation, rhythm) of human speech may matter to this recognition, however, remains open. A total of 42 piglets were allocated to three experimental groups. Each piglet was submitted to three choice tests, during which different pairs of sounds were broadcast. Each group was first offered a choice between an unmodified (neutral) human voice and a background noise, in order to verify the attractiveness of human voice. We found that piglets could distinguish human voice; they gazed more rapidly (P < 0.05) and for longer (P < 0.05) in the direction of the human voice than in the direction of the background noise. Group 1 was then submitted to artificially modified voices: low vs high-pitched, and then slow vs rapid rhythm. Group 2 was submitted to artificially modified voices with a combination of these features: rapid and high-pitched vs slow and low-pitched, and then slow and high-pitched vs rapid and low-pitched. Group 3 was submitted to naturally recorded voices coding for different emotions (happiness vs anger) and then different intonations (interrogation vs command). We found that piglets approached the loudspeaker broadcasting the rapid rhythm (6 s (2–32)) more rapidly than the loudspeaker broadcasting the slow rhythm (33 s (15–70); p < 0.05). They also spent more time near the loudspeaker broadcasting the “high-pitched and slow” voice (86 s (52–110)) than near the one broadcasting the “low-pitched and rapid” voice (29 s (9–73); W = 86, P < 0.05). In sum, the sensitivity of piglets for human prosody was moderate but not inexistent. Our results suggest that piglets base their responses to human voice on a combination of prosodic features.
... Also, birds' responses towards the handlers did not change over time between 8-13 months of age. The lack of differences between treatments in this study is inconsistent with previous studies performed on dairy cows [12], pigs [41][42][43], and chickens [15,44], in which a positive relationship was observed between human exposure during development and human approach behaviour later in life. A possible explanation for the lack of an effect of husbandry practices in this study is that chicks from the S treatment may also have associated humans with the provision of feed and fresh water, even when human presence was only limited to routine farm management operations. ...
Simple Summary: Husbandry practices for rearing ostriches in commercial farming environments are currently not optimized. Ostrich chicks may experience stressful episodes and fear of humans during routine farm management practices such as handling, which ultimately may impact on their welfare and explain the poor production performance observed in this species. However, extensive human presence and regular gentle handling has been demonstrated to alleviate stress sensitivity during handling by lowering the fear of humans in other species; be they kept as livestock, in a laboratory, or as pet animals. In this study, ostrich chicks exposed to extensive human presence and gentle handling showed lower stress sensitivity when handled for feather harvesting and clipping and were more inclined to associate with familiar humans at a later stage of their life compared with chicks that had limited human presence and care. This suggests that providing ostrich chicks with extensive human presence and gentle handling at a young age can assist in improving ostrich welfare. Abstract: The effect of extensive human presence and regular gentle handling performed at an early age (0-3 months old) on stress responses and reactivity of juvenile ostriches towards humans was investigated. A total of 416 ostrich chicks over two years were exposed to one of three treatments for three months after hatching; namely, Human Presence 1 (HP1, N = 144): extensive/prolonged human presence with physical contact (touch, stroking), gentle human voice, and visual stimuli; Human Presence 2 (HP2, N = 136): extensive/prolonged human presence without physical contact, but with gentle human voice and visual stimuli; and the Standard treatment (S, N = 136): human presence limited to routine feed and water supply as a control. At 7.5 months of age, the plasma heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio was measured before and 72 h after feather harvesting and feather clipping to determine acute stress responses, while chronic stress was measured by quantification of corticosterone (CORT) concentrations in the floss feathers of the birds. Birds' behavioural response towards a familiar or an unfamiliar handler was evaluated at 12 months using docility and fear tests, and through behavioural observations conducted on random days between the ages of 8-13 months. Willingness to approach, and to allow touch interactions, aggressiveness, and exhibition of sexual display towards the handler, was recorded. No difference in the H/L ratios before and after feather harvesting and clipping was observed in HP1 birds, whereas H/L ratios showed a significant increase 72 h post feather harvesting and clipping in HP2 and S birds (p < 0.05). Birds from the S treatment exhibited a significantly (p < 0.05) higher feather CORT concentration compared with HP1 birds, while HP2 birds had intermediate responses. Birds' reactivity towards humans and temperament as evaluated using behavioural observations, docility, and fear tests was not affected by treatment (p > 0.05). However, HP1 and HP2 birds were more inclined (p < 0.05) to approach a familiar rather than an unfamiliar handler during the behavioural observations, indicating an ability to distinguish between a familiar and an unfamiliar handler. Overall, the results indicate that early gentle human interactions with ostrich chicks can be beneficial in reducing physiological stress sensitivity later in life and facilitate the ability of ostriches to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar handlers.
... Many scientific papers show that animals can develop neutral or positive perceptions of human beings if proper actions are taken (e.g., review of Hemsworth, 2007). Repeated gentle contacts induce a decreased fear of humans and even an increased approach towards humans (Paterson and Pearce, 1992;Tanida et al., 1994;Tallet et al., 2014;Brajon et al., 2015b). Approach and contact with a familiar gentle human may lead to positive emotions, as shown in sheep and cattle (Tallet et al., 2005;Schmied et al., 2008). ...
... Many scientific papers show that animals can develop neutral or positive perceptions of human beings if proper actions are taken (e.g., review of Hemsworth, 2007). Repeated gentle contacts induce a decreased fear of humans and even an increased approach towards humans (Paterson and Pearce, 1992;Tanida et al., 1994;Tallet et al., 2014;Brajon et al., 2015b). Approach and contact with a familiar gentle human may lead to positive emotions, as shown in sheep and cattle (Tallet et al., 2005;Schmied et al., 2008). ...
... A number of recent studies have indicated that the type of handling may infl uence behaviour and human-animal relationship in terms of approachability and fear of humans in different species of farm animals such as pigs (Tanida et al., 1994), sheep (Mateo et al., 1991), cattle (Boivin et al., 1994) and rabbits (Anderson et al., 1973;Kersten et al., 1989;Jezierski and Konecka, 1996;Pongrácz and Altbäcker, 2003;Verga et al., 2004). In kits, even minimal human contact is effective in reducing rejection of the caretaker, so handling could be a useful tool to reduce stress and improve welfare even under intensive farming conditions (Csatádi et al., 2005). ...
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of regular daily handling in the first week after birth on weight gain and the fear reaction towards a new environment and human beings in domestic kits (Tonic Immobility test: TI, Emergence test: ET). Two groups in the same environment and fed the same diet were analysed: handled group and control (17 litters, 9 kits/litter per group). No differences in weight gain were recorded. During ET at 33 d of age, handled kits took less time to enter the arena than control group kits. TI duration was shorter in handled kits, which required more inductions than the control group. It was found that minimal human contact imposed before nursing reduced the fear of humans in rabbit kits. Our handling method requires minimal contact and can be used to reduce fear and improve welfare in rabbits. Moreover, the short length of the handling procedure allows stockpersons to produce tamer rabbits, reducing stress levels.
... Some authors argue that the decreased avoidance of humans and increased motivation to interact with people as a result of touching and stroking may also facilitate handling procedures. Some research has been carried out with pigs, evaluating the effects of handling weanling pigs on their fear of humans (Gonyou et al., 1986;Hemsworth et al., 1986;Tanida et al., 1994). Generally, in previous research (Hemsworth and Barnett, 1992;Hemsworth et al., 1986;Tanida et al., 1995), handlers adopt a stationary squat posture and the contact has been at the initiative of the piglets themselves, with a view to making the interaction as positive as possible. ...
Early handling of animals including tactile stimulation (TS) has been shown to have beneficial effects on the physical and psychological development of species where considerable maternal interaction, e.g. in the form of licking, already occurs. But little is known about the magnitude of these effects, if any, in species without this natural mechanism. Piglets from 13 litters (N = 127) were subjected to four treatments: AH - all piglets in a litter received TS; NH - none of the piglets in a litter received TS; 50/50H - half of a litter received TS and 50/50NH - half of a litter did not receive TS. The TS was performed by a human stroking the back of the piglet for 2 min from 5 to 35 days of age. At 4 weeks of age the piglets were tested twice in an open-field/human-approach test, with either a familiar (F) or an unfamiliar person (U). Body weight was measured at birth, 5, 9 and 12 weeks of age. In the tests, AH and 50/50H piglets allowed more physical contact, regardless of the familiarity of the person (AH: 22.5 ± 2.3 F; 24.1 ± 2.3 U, 50/50H: 18.1 ± 2.2 F; 25.3 ± 2.2 U, P = 0.05). Additionally, AH piglets vocalized least and were least often in the perimeter zone (PZ) of the arena (AH grunts: 6.0 ± 0.8, P = 0.002; 12.8 ± 0.8, P = 0.0005; 18.1 ± 0.8, P = 0.08; AH PZ: 3.9 ± 0.8, P = 0.009; 9.1 ± 0.8, P = 0.003; 12.6 ± 0.7, P = 0.004 in isolation, stationary and moving person phase, respectively). In contrast, NH piglets vocalized most and were most often in the PZ. 50/50NH had higher body weights at 12 weeks than 50/50H, whereas AH and NH piglets were intermediate (AH: 36.9 ± 0.9, NH: 35.6 ± 1.0, 50/50H: 34.2 ± 1.3, 50/50NH: 37.8 ± 1.3, P = 0.03). This study suggests that early handling changed the way piglets reacted to challenging situations in that handled piglets showed behaviour suggesting they were less fearful in a novel environment and less fearful of being handled by people in general. Interestingly though, the early handling did not result in the same beneficial effects on the physical development of the piglets, as handled piglets were not heavier. Instead, it was the 50/50NH piglets that were the heaviest, implying that the daily presence of a human moving around in the pen to handle the 50/50H piglets seemed to stimulate weight gain.
... Reactivity tests, also called "fear tests", have been developed in order to evaluate the effects of human behaviour and routine management procedures in farm animals (Waiblinger et al., 2006;Forkman et al., 2007). Pigs (Tanida et al., 1994), and other species such as cows (Lensink et al., 2000), sheep (Mateo et al., 1991) and foxes (Pedersen, 1994) spontaneously express fear of humans and negative handling can accentuate these fear responses. For example, using loud tones, making threatening postures and forcing piglets in the creep area during the suckling period are perceived as aversive and increase the withdrawing response of piglets to a human approach on the day of weaning compared with piglets that receive neutral treatment (Sommavilla et al., 2011). ...
... To our knowledge, the influence of scratching has not been studied, while it is used by pig keepers and may have different consequences from stroking. Tanida et al. (1994) used brushing which is close to scratching but differs from it because of the presence of an object between the animal and the human. They observed that, after two weeks of treatment, pigs spent more time in contact with humans when they had been brushed than when they had been stroked. ...
... However, the actual approach behaviour towards the human shows interesting differences and apparent discrepancies. It might be predicted that outdoor gilts, exposed to greater handling and human contact than the indoor gilts, would be less fearful of humans and thus approach quicker (Tanida et al., 1994;Hemsworth et al., 1996a,b). Alternatively, outdoor gilts might be better at recognising an anomalous situation and hence be more cautious. ...
Systems’ welfare evaluation, including behavioural testing, is becoming increasingly popular in farm animal assurance schemes. The aims of this study were to investigate whether fairly short-term exposure to gestation housing systems, which varied in physical, environmental and human-input factors, influenced behavioural and physiological measures during a human approach test—often used to identify problems in human–animal interactions. Twenty-four Large White×Landrace gilts were initially subjected to identical human contact and daily husbandry. Forty-two days after service, the gilts were randomly assigned to either an indoor housing system (n=16) or an outdoor housing system (n=8), which differed physically and in the amount of human contact and daily husbandry. The indoor system used an electronic sow feeder (ESF), was more space-limited and thermally-controlled and had human contact centered on cleaning out. The outdoor system was more extensive, had much greater space accessible, was not thermally-controlled and had human contact that centered around feeding. The human approach test was carried out on all gilts 30–44 days after entry to the gestation system. At testing, each individual was fitted with heart rate monitor and then moved into a test arena. After 2min an unfamiliar human entered the pen and stood motionless for 3min against one wall and then approached the gilt and touched her snout. Throughout the experimental period, behaviour and sound within the test arena were recorded continuously. During the 2min familiarisation period, outdoor gilts had lower heart rates (108.2bpm versus 123.7bpm, P
... With sheep, it has been shown that gentle handling reduces the flight distance and the heart rate response to humans during subsequent aversive treatment (Hargreaves and Hutson, 1990) and improves the ease of handling during weighing procedures (Uetake et al., 2000). Similarly, Tanida et al. (1994) found that piglets receiving regular handling showed less aversion and even tried to make frequent physical contact with an experimenter in spite of repeated chasing and catching events. Interestingly, Jones and Waddington (1992) reported that early environmental enrichment also attenuated the tonic immobility reaction of chicks to manual restraint, suggesting that enrichment may have modified general, non-specific fearfulness. ...
Farm animals are confronted with major changes in their environment as they go through different phases of the production system. Examples include introduction to a new housing system, provision of a new type of feed, mixing with unfamiliar conspecifics or being exposed to new human handlers. Learning processes that reduce uncertainty in such situations are likely to be very important both for animal welfare and for performance.The aim of this paper is to describe, from the animal's point of view, situations typical of learning in farm animal husbandry and to provide a framework for assessing the significance of learning processes for farm animal husbandry and welfare. The literature reviewed covers experimental studies into the learning abilities of ruminants, pigs and poultry as well as evidence stemming from applied studies showing problems farm animals may face in situations of change. We argue that knowledge of species-specific learning abilities may help in the design of housing systems and the establishment of management routines that facilitate learning by the animals.Having searched the literature, we conclude that there is a lack of studies focusing on the initial phase after the introduction of farm animals into a new housing system and on the way they learn to use new housing equipment. Moreover, we suggest that studies into: (a) learning of farm animals during transport and in the slaughterhouse, (b) their motivation to explore the environment and (c) the development of enrichment tasks taking into account their learning abilities may provide solutions to some animal welfare problems.
... A number of recent studies have indicated that the manner of handling may influence behaviour and human-animal relations in terms of approachability and fear of humans in different species of farm animals like pigs Tanida et al., 1994)) sheep (Mate0 et al., 1991), cattle (Seabrook, 1972;Boivin et al., 1992;Boivin et al., 1994;Boissy and Bouissou, 1988) or rabbits (Kersten et al., 1989;Anderson et al., 1972). ...
The effect of handling of rabbit pups and juveniles on their mortality rate and weight gains was investigated. Thirty-two litters of White New Zealand rabbit does were used for the experiment. One or two pups were chosen at random from each litter to be in the handled group (H, n = 40) and the remaining pups were used as controls (C, n = 72). The handling began when the pups were 10 days old and lasted 30 weeks. The H rabbits were daily taken out of their nests/cages for 10 min and petted. By a set of tests when held on experimenter's knees, the rabbits were classified into two emotional categories. Rabbits spending more time in ‘freezing’ behaviour were classified as ‘timid’ and those spending more time for ‘non-freezing’ were classified as ‘bold’. The average mortality rate up to the age of 30 weeks was lower in the H group (17.5%) than in the C group (31.9%, P = 0.055). The H rabbits were significantly heavier than the C animals in the last 4 weeks of the experiment and had higher weight gains between the 6th and 30th weeks of life. There were more ‘bold’ individuals in the H group than in the C group (69 and 37% respectively, P < 0.01). Rabbits classified as ‘bold’ and ‘timid’ did not differ in their body weight and weight gains. It was concluded that the tender and frequent handling of young rabbits not only changes their behaviour in terms of reducing fear of humans but also positively influences the growth rate and reduces mortality rate.
... Reactivity tests, also called " fear tests " , have been developed in order to evaluate the effects of human behaviour and routine management procedures in farm animals (Waiblinger et al., 2006; Forkman et al., 2007). Pigs (Tanida et al., 1994), and other species such as cows (Lensink et al., 2000), sheep (Mateo et al., 1991) and foxes (Pedersen, 1994) spontaneously express fear of humans and negative handling can accentuate these fear responses. For example, using loud tones, making threatening postures and forcing piglets in the creep area during the suckling period are perceived as aversive and increase the withdrawing response of piglets to a human approach on the day of weaning compared with piglets that receive neutral treatment (Sommavilla et al., 2011). ...
This preliminary experiment aims to develop a conditioning protocol to study humananimal
relationship in piglets. One week after weaning, five groups of three piglets were
subjected to a conditioning situation repeated 11 times over 3 days: a human entered the
home pen and sat passively in a corner for 5 minutes (P) or delivered a stimulus each
time a piglet approached: positive (S: stroking or F: food reward) or negative (C: capture
attempt or B: ball gun hit). Following the conditioning period, a reactivity test was
performed and repeated weekly for 5 weeks: the same human sat passively in a corner of
the home pen and once piglets made contact or after 5 minutes, attempted to touch the
snout and the ear of each piglet in a random order. A 5-level reactivity score was given
(0: no withdraw to 4: no contact). Data were analysed with the MIXED procedure with
repeated measures (SAS). During conditioning, all P, S and F piglets made contact with
the human within 1 minute from the fourth session, while C and B piglets never made
contact. In the first reactivity test, C piglets never made contact and B piglets made
contact later than P, S and F piglets (B=227; P=0.3; S=0; F=0 seconds; P<0.05). Latency
to make contact decreased over time and was less than 30 seconds in all treatments by 3
weeks after conditioning. Reactivity score did not change over time (P>0.1) and was
higher in B, C and P piglets than in F and S piglets (B=2.11±0.25; C=1.89±0.26;
P=1.75±0.27; F=0.78±0.29; S=0.72±0.24 seconds; P<0.001). In conclusion, piglets were
successfully conditioned to the positive and negative treatments. However, piglets
seemed to habituate to the motionless human during testing after a few repetitions.
Reactivity to an approaching human was more consistent over time and would better
reflect the previous conditioning.
... Ainsi, des poulains manipulés deux fois dix minutes par jour la première semaine après la naissance puis un fois par semaine jusqu'à quatre mois ne montrent pas de différence par rapport aux témoins sur leur niveau de peur envers l'homme ou face à un stimulus nouveau (Mal et al., 1994). , 1994a ;Tanida et al., 1994). Les vaches ont ainsi besoin de plus de sept séances de manipulations pour discriminer entre les personnes les manipulant agréablement et celles le faisant aversivement. ...
Les manipulations modulant la réactivité émotionnelle, nous avons étudié leurs effets à deux périodes du développement des chevaux : la naissance et le sevrage. La première expérience s'est intéressée aux effets à long terme de manipulations effectuées au cours des quatorze premiers jours de vie sur la maniabilité et l'émotivité de vingt six poulains Welsh. Les épreuves comportementales ont montré que les manipulations néonatales n'ont d'effet positif que sur la maniabilité, les réactions à la surprise et la peur de l'Homme. Il n'y a pas de généralisation à des stimuli inconnus. De plus, l'effet est transitoire et disparaît totalement au bout d'un an. Ces manipulations s'apparentent donc à de l'habituation. La seconde expérience a cherché à déterminer si la période suivant le sevrage est une période favorable aux manipulations et à en évaluer les effets à long terme chez vingt quatre poulains Anglo-Arabes. Les animaux ont été manipulés dix minutes deux fois par jour pendant douze jours immédiatement après le sevrage (SO) ou vingt et un jours après (S21). Les manipulations et les épreuves comportementales, parfois associées à la mesure du rythme cardiaque, étaient semblables à celles effectuées à la naissance et ont été réalisées deux jours, trois, sept et dix mois après le sevrage. Les poulains SO ont eu un comportement plus passif lors des manipulations et des tests que les poulains S21 : moins de réactions à l'isolement, envers l'Homme ou à l'effet de surprise. La période suivant le sevrage peut donc être qualifiée de " période optimale " pour les manipulations. De plus, contrairement à la première expérience, les effets persistent jusqu'à dix mois.
... Two factors that could have resulted in different behavioural responses between the BSE-inoculated pigs and pigs of the other groups were considered: handling of groups by different husbandry staff prior to transport of all pigs to one building, which may have affected their subsequent behaviour, and -at the same time -mixing of pigs of each group, which were previously kept in groups of two. Both factors have been investigated in porcine behaviour studies43444546 with sometimes conflicting results. However, even if these factors were relevant, it would not explain why the behaviour of all pigs was unremarkable prior to transport regardless of group whereas after transport, when all pigs were subjected to the same 'treatment' (mixing and handling by the same person), only pigs in the BSE-inoculated group developed behavioural changes. ...
Histopathological examinations of brains from healthy pigs have revealed localised vacuolar changes, predominantly in the rostral colliculus, that are similar to the neuropil vacuolation featured in the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and have been described in pigs challenged parenterally with the agent causing bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Feedstuff containing BSE-contaminated meat and bone meal (MBM) may have been fed to pigs prior to the ban of mammalian MBM in feed of farmed livestock in the United Kingdom in 1996, but there is no evidence of the natural occurrence of a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) in the domestic pig. Furthermore, experimental transmission of BSE to pigs by the oral route has been unsuccessful. A study was conducted to investigate whether the localised vacuolar changes in the porcine brain were associated with a transmissible aetiology and therefore biologically significant. Two groups of ten pigs were inoculated parenterally with vacuolated rostral colliculus from healthy pigs either born before 1996 or born after 1996. Controls included ten pigs similarly inoculated with rostral colliculus from New Zealand-derived pigs and nine pigs inoculated with a bovine BSE brain homogenate.
None of the pigs inoculated with rostral colliculus developed a TSE-like neurological disease up to five years post inoculation when the study was terminated, and disease-associated prion protein, PrPd, was not detected in the brains of these pigs. By contrast, eight of nine BSE-inoculated pigs developed neurological signs, two of which had detectable PrPd by postmortem tests. No significant histopathological changes were detected to account for the clinical signs in the PrPd-negative, BSE-inoculated pigs.
The findings in this study suggest that vacuolation in the porcine rostral colliculus is not caused by a transmissible agent and is probably a clinically insignificant change. The presence of neurological signs in pigs inoculated with BSE without detectable PrPd raises the possibility that the BSE agent may produce a prion disease in pigs that remains undetected by the current postmortem tests.
... Another aspect of routine husbandry is that the only contact pigs have with humans is usually unpleasant (e.g., cutting teeth, tail docking, castration for the males, and vaccinations). Several authors report that additional pleasant handling will make pigs less fearful of humans (Hemsworth et al., 1994a; Tanida et al., 1994). Regular handling or environmental variation may affect responses during preslaughter treatment. ...
The effects of regular moving and handling during the finishing period on behavioral and physiological responses of pigs during preslaughter treatment and consequences for meat quality were studied. From the age of 10 wk onward, 144 pigs were housed in groups of four (two gilts and two castrates) and subjected to one of the following treatments. The Environment treatment allowed pigs to move freely for 8 min outside their home pen. Then the pigs were transported in a box for 2 min, and after which they were returned to their home pen. In the Handling treatment, an experimenter remained for 3 min in the pen, and whenever a pig made contact, it was gently stroked. The experimenter then walked for an additional 1 min, without attempting to pat or stroke any pigs but subsequently held each pig in a tight grip for about 5 s. This entire procedure was then repeated. A Control treatment was also included, in which the pigs were subjected to no treatment. The Environment and Handling treatments were applied twice a week at the age of 15, 17, 19, 21, and 23 wk. At 25 wk of age, pigs were transported to the abattoir. They were held unmixed in the truck and in lairage and were manually stunned. The stockmen needed significantly less time to move Environment pigs out of their pen and into the transport box. There were no differences between treatments in salivary cortisol concentrations before or after transport. Environment and Handling pigs had paler meat than Control pigs. Glycogen content at 1 h after death and water-holding capacity were lower in Environment pigs than in Control pigs, but this did not lead to a higher incidence of PSE meat. We conclude that the pigs that had experience with leaving their home pen and some of the transport conditions were much easier to handle at loading. Pigs that are easier to move are less likely to be subjected to rough handling, which implies improved welfare, and the workload for personnel at the time of marketing is reduced. Differences in meat quality due to treatment were slight.
... However, the actual approach behaviour towards the human shows interesting differences and apparent discrepancies. It might be predicted that outdoor gilts, exposed to greater handling and human contact than the indoor gilts, would be less fearful of humans and thus approach quicker (Tanida et al., 1994;Hemsworth et al., 1996a,b). Alternatively, outdoor gilts might be better at recognising an anomalous situation and hence be more cautious. ...
Vocal communication in the domestic pig is generally not well documented. The aim of this experiment was to categorise and ascribe the function of the vocalisations of 67 Large WhitexLandrace gilts during a standard human approach test. At testing, each group of 3-5 gilts was moved to a handling area where each individual in turn was fitted with a heart rate monitor and introduced individually to a 2.4mx2.4m test arena. After 2min familiarisation, an unfamiliar human entered the pen and stood for 3min against one wall. Behaviour and sound were recorded continuously with sound recordings transferred onto computer for analysis. Three categories of calls were initially identified: single grunts, single squeals and rapidly repeated grunts. Sixty-six gilts performed single grunts, whereas only 28 and 16 gilts performed the other two categories, respectively. Single grunts could be sub-divided into two types based on sound amplitude profile. These types differed significantly in duration. Gilts performed more short and long grunts per minute during the 3min test period than during the familiarisation period. Most short grunts observed in a subset of 15 gilts were performed with the snout close to a pen surface or the human. The rate of short grunts during the test period was negatively correlated with the time taken to make contact with the human and positively correlated with the amount of locomotor behaviour carried out, the total number of interactions with the human and the total time spent within 0.5m of the human. Most long grunts observed in a subset of 15 gilts were performed with the snout away from any surface. The rate of long grunts during the test period positively correlated with amount of locomotor behaviour and heart rate, after the effect of activity had been removed. Squeals could similarly be sub-divided into long and short types on the basis of amplitude profile. Gilts that squealed carried out more locomotor behaviour, interacted with the human more, had higher mean heart rates and lower heart rate rise when touched by the human, suggesting a higher degree of arousal. Rapidly-repeated grunts were associated with close human interaction. The results indicate that the domestic pig performs a number of distinct vocalisations during isolation. Short single grunts appear to be associated with investigatory behaviour. Long single grunts may be a form of contact call, the rate of which is related to physiological and behavioural activity. Squeals may have similar function but result from a higher level of arousal. Short, rapidly-repeated grunts appear to have either a greeting or threat function. With further research, certain pig vocalisations may be identified as providing useful additional information about an individual's welfare.
Traditionally pigs are perceived as farm animals, but in the last 70–80 years they are serving some other purposes, particularly as companion animals. It is necessary to have structured and comprehensive data on the specifics of their perception, communication and social behavior to manage their behavior and welfare effectively. This article gathers and analyzes information from currently available publications and studies conducted on wild boars, domestic pigs of productive breeds and miniature pigs, characterizing the functioning of their sense organs, specifics of social behavior and communication with humans.
The study was conducted to investigate the effects of practical variations in feed restriction, pre-slaughter handing and chilling regime on pork quality during ageing. A total of twenty male landraces were allocated into three treatments(i.e., pre-slaughter feeding, stress and chilling regime) in a factorial arrangement. pH, temperature, free calcium ions, WB-shear force, sarcomere length, cooking loss, drip loss and objective color were determined during rigor development and/or 1, 3, 7 d postmortem. Pre-slaughter chasing stress for approximately 15 min had no effects on pH/temperature profile and objective meat quality. There was an interaction(P , in spite of a significant effect of the fasting treatment (P
Modern technologies of animal husbandry, which minimize human contact with animals, may create situations perceived by animals as a threat. Additionally, as a result of improper handling of animals and only periodical (incidental) contacts with humans, these interactions are often marked with fear and aversion. This affects the level of welfare of farm animals, as well as production results and the quality of products obtained. It is therefore necessary to develop effective and practical strategies of alleviating stress in animals and of promoting a more positive human-animal relationship. Results of studies on the perception of people by livestock may prove useful in developing such a model of animal husbandry. This knowledge may also facilitate the interpretation of observed animal behavior and lead to the development of new research methods.
Animals develop relationships with intra- and interspecific partners, including humans. In some cases this can lead to strong emotional bonds indicating the existence of attachment. The sheep is well known to develop various forms of social attachment (mothers towards young, lambs towards siblings). The relationship they can develop with humans is much less understood. In this review, based on the attachment theory framework developed in human infants, we outline features and mechanisms that participate in the development and the expression of affiliative behaviours that lambs can develop with their mother or a human. Behavioural tests comparing responses towards a presumed attachment figure with those directed towards unfamiliar or familiar conspecifics demonstrate that lambs do search specifically the proximity of their mother or human caregiver. Differential emotional responses in the presence (calmness) or the absence of the partner (agitation) are also expressed. However, a relationship with a human takes place more easily when lambs are reared without their primary attachment figure, the mother. Human-lamb attachment is then facilitated by positive social contacts (gentling, hand-feeding) provided by a specific caregiver. In the case of attachment with the mother, suckling is the main reward. Although the existence of a sensitive period is still unclear, in both cases attachment develops more rapidly if positive interactions take place immediately after birth. Three neurochemical systems have profound impact on the expression of filial attachment in sheep: the gut peptide cholecystokinin, endogenous opioids, and oxytocin, all known to play a key role in prosocial behaviours in mammals. In addition, positive nutritive or non-nutritive interactions activate specific brain regions that are involved in the expression of social and emotional behaviours. In conclusion, lambs do develop intra- and interspecific attachment but not in a concomitant manner as the presence of the mother strongly reduces their motivation to interact with a human. Nonetheless, under artificial rearing conditions the human becomes a salient attachment figure.
Goumon, S., Bergeron, R., Faucitano, L., Crowe, T., Connor, M. L. and Gonyou, H. W. 2013. Effect of previous ramp exposure and regular handling on heart rate, ease of handling and behaviour of near market-weight pigs during a simulated loading. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 93: 461–470. The objective of this study was to assess whether stress response during simulated loading could be reduced by providing pigs with experience prior to the event. Two weeks before simulated loading, 160 Large White × Landrace near market-weight pigs were allocated to one of four treatments: physical training (EXERCISE), psychological training (RAMP), EXERCISE and RAMP trainings (BOTH) or no training (CON). Once training was completed, pigs were loaded into a simulated trailer compartment, and the metrics of behaviour, pig and handler's heart rates, loading time and handling difficulty were measured. During loading, heart rate was lower (P<0.05) for EXERCISE and BOTH pigs compared with RAMP and CON pigs. The numbers of touch/slap and push were lower (P<0.05 and P<0.05, respectively) for EXERCISE pigs compared with CON, RAMP and BOTH pigs, which did not differ (P>0.05). The number of balks was the lowest (P<0.05) for EXERCISE pigs, whereas there were no differences (P>0.05) between BOTH and CON or RAMP pigs. This study demonstrates that daily exercise, by itself, improves the ease of handling and reduces cardiovascular response, while it appears that previous exposure to a ramp had no beneficial effects.
A growing literature suggests that animals of various species can discriminate between individual humans. In the present study, 15 experimentally naive sheep were rewarded for making a nosepress response in the presence of one handler (S+) and non-reinforced for this behavior in the presence of a second person (S−). All animals responded significantly more to the S+ handler (P<0.001) during non-reinforced test trials. Furthermore, sheep engaged in clearly different behavior during a 10-s pre-trial period, depending on which handler was present. Control conditions preclude discrimination based on order effects, temporal cues, or a win-stay/lose-shift learning set. The ability to differentiate between individual humans, regardless of its sensory basis, suggests that animals can use humans to predict the delivery of hedonic events that routinely occur in research settings. The resultant human-based operant and Pavlovian conditioning has implications for the design of research protocols and the interpretation of results.
Fear is now widely regarded as an undesirable state of suffering by many members of the public, the scientific community, welfare and policy groups, as well as by a growing number of farmers. At first glance this view appears to be inconsistent with one based on biological significance, in which fear is regarded as an adaptive state with fear behaviour functioning to protect the animal from injury. Fear is often adaptive in ideal circumstances but neither we nor the animals in our care live in an ideal world. In reality, many farming systems prevent the animals from responding in an adaptive fashion to potentially threatening stimuli. In these circumstances, fear can be a powerful and potentially damaging stressor, particularly if it is intense or persistent. Both acute and chronic fear can seriously harm the welfare and performance of poultry. Certain fear responses, such as violent escape or panic, are inap-propriate in intensive systems and can cause injury, pain or even the death of birds. High levels of underlying fearfulness have also been negatively associated with plumage condition, egg production, egg shell quality, growth, and food conversion efficiency. Furthermore, because fear inhibits all other motivational systems, its elicitation is likely to impair the ability of birds to adapt to environmental change, to interact successfully with each other or with the stock person, and to utilize new resources. Therefore, high fear is clearly undesirable from the bird's and the farmer's viewpoint and its reduction is of major importance. This objective had been hampered because of the complex-ity of the concept of fear and the controversy over its measurement. However, operational definitions of fear and its components are given in this review and a number of tests which have been used to measure fear in poultry are described. Strong intra-individual correlations found between the fear scores afforded in many of these tests suggested that they are measuring the same intervening variable, presumably underlying fearfulness, rather than purely stimulus-specific responses. Two of the commonest and potentially most frightening events encountered by poultry are sudden changes in their physical or social environment and exposure to humans. Other more specific types of alarming stimuli are also listed. Hitherto, the most promising ways of reducing underlying fearfulness and increasing adaptability, at least in the laboratory, involve one or more of the following approaches: environmental enrichment, regular handling or related treatments, vitamin C supplementation of the diet or drinking water, and genetic selection. The potential benefits and short-comings of these remedial measures are discussed, with attention to their practical relevance as well as to their more fundamental implications. Other measures to mask and/or minimize the incidence of frightening events are also briefly mentioned. Our objective should be not only to achieve a balance between maintaining an emotional state that facilitates the avoidance of danger while reducing the likelihood of overreaction and the expression of inap-propriate responses, but also to provide a stimulating, safe but economically viable environment. Continued investigation should enable recommendations to be made concerning the most effective programme, in terms of environmental modification, human-animal interaction, nutritive manipulation, and selective breeding, in order to achieve the optimal levels of fear in poultry, whatever the future trends in the industry.
An early training procedure commonly termed “foal imprint training” is widely promoted in the horse industry. However, there have been no published scientific investigations of its efficacy. This study determined the effects of a training procedure on foals and their reaction to stimuli used in the early training procedure, and to a novel stimulus, at 1, 2 and 3 months of age. Twenty-five foals received a standard training procedure at 2, 12, 24, and 48h after birth. After the training procedure, the foals received minimal additional handling that included veterinary treatments and occasional relocation.Twenty-two foals born over the same time period served as controls. All 47 (25 trained, 22 control) foals were tested at 1 month of age. Only 20 were available for testing at 2 months of age, and nine were available at 3 months. Percentage change from baseline heart rate, time required to complete exposure to each stimulus (foals that were more reactive took longer) and the behavior of each foal during the introduction of each stimulus were recorded. Overall, the control foals tended to receive lower (better) behavioral scores at 1 and 2 months of age. Foals that underwent the training procedure tended to require less time to complete exposure to the stimulus and had lower heart rates during exposure to the stimuli at 1 and 2 months of age. By 3 months of age, there were no significant differences between trained and control foals for any measures. Early training was not efficacious in this study.
This study examined how handling of individual animals affected their responses to humans, and whether they discriminated among humans based on previous experience. Twelve 4-week-old crossbred weanling pigs from three litters were allotted at random within litters to one of two treatments: handling (n = 6) and no-handling (n = 6). The pigs in the handling treatment received individual handling from the same person for 10 min day−1, 5 days a week for 3 weeks. The pigs in the no-handling treatment had no contact with humans apart from that received during routine husbandry. A ‘human test’, a ‘catching test’ and a ‘walking human test’ were conducted to see the effect of individual handling on the responses of pigs toward humans. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the treatments.With the progression of the handling treatment, the mean elapsed time until pigs initiated physical contact with the handler significantly (P < 0.01) decreased and the total contact time significantly (P < 0.01) increased. The transitional patterns between physical interactions with the handler became more complex with time. Pigs in the handling treatment touched and interacted with the experimenters significantly (P < 0.01) sooner and longer than pigs in the no-handling treatment, regardless of whether this ‘human test’ was conducted by the handler or an unfamiliar person. The non-handled pigs showed avoidance behavior toward a walking or sitting human in the ‘walking human test’ and ‘human test’. When the responses of the handled pigs toward the stranger and the handler were compared in the ‘human test’ and ‘catching test’, they significantly (P < 0.01) preferred to interact with the handler. In conclusion, the handled pigs reduced their fear of humans in general, but they responded differently to familiar and unfamiliar individuals.
The purpose of the study was to ascertain the relationship between efficient medical services and Nigerian undergraduates’ participation in sports. Methods and Materials: A randomly sampled population of 280 students and 12 managerial staff of sport and medical units participated in the descriptive study. Responses to a validated questionnaire provided the source of data. A test–retest reliability coefficient (r) = 0.80. Data were analyzed with simple percentages and chi-square at < 0.05 alpha level. Results: Majority of the participants were aged 18 to 41 years (95.9%) while females constituted 60.6%. Majority of the respondents were single (79.8%) and (99.3%) were Christians. Results also revealed that all the respondents in medical centre and sport unit oriented the students on the available medical services and facilities on campus: availability of first aid services, treatment services for complicated injuries (inpatient), referral services for specialized care, financial support during hospitalization. Complementary results from the students showed that the majority of the respondents (50%) strongly agreed that medical centre was available in the Campus, and 36% strongly affirmed to availability of first aid services. Thirty four percent of the respondents strongly agreed to the availability of treatment services, while 40% of the respondent agreed to the availability of free medical services. The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between efficient medical services and students’ participation in sports. Conclusion: All medical services were available but students perceive the services as inefficient hence its poor or non utilization.
Many studies on pigs, poultry, and dairy cattle have shown that rough or aversive handling of farm animals by people can substantially reduce the animals' productivity and welfare. Some of this effect occurs because the animals become afraid, either of people in general, or of specific individuals as a result of aversive handling. In this paper, we review a number of studies showing that farm animals handled roughly or aversively learn to associate the handling with people, and that this learned fear of people can have marked effects on production. The ability to recognize individual people has now been shown indisputably for many species of farm animals, although under some circumstances, animals do not behave differently to different people. Animals' learned fear of individual people can markedly affect their productivity. For example, in dairy cattle, the presence of an aversive handler during milking can reduce milk yield and substantially increase residual milk. Pigs appear to use multiple cues to distinguish people, although visual cues are clearly important. Cows can readily learn to distinguish between people wearing different colour clothes, but it is more difficult for them to distinguish between people wearing the same colour. Furthermore, cows' responses to people change markedly when clothing colour is changed, although this does not seem to be true for poultry. However, animals' responses to people can be affected by the context. For example, cattle's learned responses to individuals can be strongly affected by the place they are in. We finish with some suggestions as to how these results can be used to reduce fear in farm animals.
This study examined the influence of human posture and movement on the behaviour of pigs. Thirty-six 3-week-old crossbred (Duroc × Large White) weanling pigs from five litters were used. In order to identify the main cues that pigs use when interacting with humans, several tests were conducted. Responses to a dummy and a walking human were studied in Experiment 1, and responses to a human looking over a partition and a human approaching and withdrawing were studied in Experiment 2.Latency to initiated tactile contact with a dummy lying face down (LFD) was significantly (P < 0.01) shorter than that with a dummy standing straight (SS) or a dummy stooping down (SD) at distances of 1 m and 2 m. Latency to contact in SS treatment was significantly (P < 0.01) longer than that to SD treatment at a distance of 1 m, but there was no significant difference in latency to the two postures at 2 m. A flight zone toward humans existed in the pigs. The height of a partition which screened a human did not influence the response of the pigs. The pigs showed less (P < 0.05) withdrawal to a human moving away than to a human approaching, and they spent significantly (P < 0.05) more time in close proximity of a human in a quadrupedal posture than a human in a standing posture.In conclusion, posture, distance, type of movement and direction of approach of a human affect a pig's fear response.
This study examined the effects of darkness and shadows on the behavioral responses of piglets. Twenty-six 1-week-old piglets were used for two tests. In the test of ‘response to darkness’, piglets were held in an enclosure, then allowed access to a like-sized adjacent enclosure. Treatments (original enclosure and exposed enclosure) were light to light, light to dark, dark to light, dark to dark with provision of dazzling light beam, dark to dark with provision of a light beam from the back, and dark to dark. The stimuli evaluated in the test of ‘response to shadows’ were a vertically striped shadow, horizontally striped shadows, painted black and white vertical stripes, painted black and white horizontal stripes, a moving shadow of human shape, a spot light, and no shadows as a control.The piglets significantly (P < 0.05) feared staying in darkness. Provision of the light beam significantly (P < 0.01) enhanced the piglets' movement into a dark area. The spot light and painted black and white patterns on the floor had a tendency to frighten the piglets. The results of the present study indicate that piglets have a tendency to move towards a more brightly illuminated area and that they negatively respond to sharp contrast of black and white on the floor. Shadows and darkness influence piglet behavior.
Objective: To determine if field observa-tions of reduced pig activity after injecting Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccines could be confirmed and quantified by observing willingness to approach (WTA) an observer for 15 seconds. Materials and methods: Three studies were conducted. Two weeks post nursery place-ment, pigs 17 to 23 days old were evaluated to determine WTA using the Swine Welfare Assurance Program behavioral protocol. Pigs were observed at 4:00 pm the day before injection and at 4:00 pm 24 hours later, 6 hours post injection. The difference between the two WTA scores is reported as a decrease in percent willing to approach. In Study One, 1832 pigs were vaccinated either with MycoFLEX (36 pens) or RespiSure-ONE (36 pens). In Study Two, 2568 pigs were injected with MycoFLEX (39 pens), RespiSure-ONE (39 pens), or saline (38 pens). In Study Three, 1750 pigs were injected with saline (35 pens) or not injected (35 pens).
The aim of this experiment was to determine the interactive effects of handling and environmental enrichment on the behaviour, performance and welfare of the growing/finishing pig. Groups of pigs were exposed to one of eight treatments arranged in a 2×4 factorial design with two levels of handling (M: minimal and P: pleasant), and four levels of environmental enrichment (B: barren, C: chain, S: chopped straw, or T: destructible toy). Daily food intake was significantly affected by handling during 1–6 weeks with the P groups eating slightly more food than the M groups (1.88 kg per day versus 1.75 kg per day; S.E.D.=0.077; P<0.05), however, this increased intake was not reflected in daily live-weight gain or food conversion ratio during the same period. The time taken for a group of pigs to exit their pen during a routine handling test was significantly affected by the handling treatments (46.2 s versus 37.8 s for P and M groups to exit their pen respectively; S.E.D.=3.38; P<0.05). Behavioural time budgets, and postmortem muscle pH and stomach lesion scores were unaffected by treatment. These results suggest that pleasantly handled pigs are more difficult to move during routine husbandry tasks which may be mediated through their reduced fear of humans.
It is possible to modify lifting techniques in small laboratory pigs to evoke less of a fear response, strengthen the human–animal bond, and improve welfare. The authors hypothesized that recently weaned pigs lifted with a ventral (belly) scoop method would show less fear of new humans and less fear during treatment than pigs lifted vertically by their hind limbs. To evaluate this hypothesis, 32 Yorkshire-cross pigs (age 3 weeks) were divided into 8 groups of 4. All pigs were acclimated to humans for 11 days and uniformly enriched prior to any lifting tests. Pigs were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 different combinations of ventral and/or vertical lifting techniques that varied by consecutive day (1 ventral-ventral; 2 ventral-vertical; 3 vertical-ventral; 4 vertical-vertical). Each day, data were collected regarding pigs’ aversion to lifting and willingness to be caught multiple times. Two hours later, their time to approach a new person and proportion of time spent hiding from the new person were also measured. Aversion scores were assigned based on duration of squealing, shaking, and freezing responses during lifting. Pigs that were lifted using alternate methods on consecutive days showed significantly less aversion when being scooped ventrally (P = 0.008) as compared to lifted vertically by their hind limbs. Additionally, behavioral trends were identified during the study. Based on standardized aversion scores, this research shows that the ventral scoop method induces less fear than the vertical lift method.
This study examined the ability of miniature pigs to discriminate between a stranger and their accustomed handler. Five 8-week-old Göttingen line miniature pigs were used for two experiments. They interacted daily with their handler in a pen daily for 5 weeks before and 4 weeks during the experiments. During this interaction, the pigs were gently touched, talked to in a quiet soft voice, and fed raisins as a reward whenever they approached the handler. They were then trained to receive the reward from the handler in a Y-maze installed in an experimental room. In Experiment 1, each pig was subjected each day to a series of 20 trials. In each trial, the pig was given the opportunity to choose the handler or stranger, who occupied positions assigned at random in each trial at the ends of the two arms of the maze. A choice of the handler in each trial was rewarded with raisins dispensed by the handler. The criterion for successful discrimination was that the pig made at least 15 correct choices in 20 trials (75% correct choice rate: P<0.05). All the pigs exceeded the criterion within four sessions and therefore were able to discriminate between the handler and the stranger. However, two pigs exhibited stimulus generalization toward the experimenters in the early sessions. In Experiment 2, the voice, odor and sight of the handler and the stranger were obscured in various combinations. The seven treatments were nonobstruction of visual (V), auditory (A), olfactory (O), visual and auditory (VA), visual and olfactory (VO), auditory and olfactory (AO) and obstructions of all (NO) cues, respectively. There were no pigs which achieved successful discrimination in all the treatments, and there were individual variations in their performance. In conclusion, the pigs could discriminate between a stranger and their familiar handler with all three cues, but obstruction of visual, auditory and/or olfactory cues affected their discrimination. It seems that olfactory cues alone were of little importance.
In the present study, the influence of handling during lactation on fear of humans and on sexual behaviour in the presence and absence of a human was investigated. Prior to handling, the sows were selected as being either fearful (n=24) or confident (n=24) towards humans based on their reactions to a human that entered their home pen. Within each group, half of the sows were handled either adversely or gently twice daily during the last 6 days prior to weaning until the end of the following oestrus. On the day of weaning, the sows were tested for their fear of humans in human approach tests in their home pen and in a novel arena. In order to determine when oestrus set in and whether ovulation took place, the back pressure test was performed by the stock persons from the fourth day after weaning and until the end of oestrus, and the sows were subjected to trans-rectal ultrasonographical scans from 12 h after onset of behavioural oestrus. Finally, a T-maze test was applied to investigate the sexual behaviour of the sows with and without the handler present on the third day after weaning until the end of oestrus. One of the stimulus compartments of the T-maze contained a boar and the other was empty. When the handler was present the handler stood in the goal area in front of the boar pen. The back pressure test and the trans-rectal scans revealed that all the sows came into oestrus during the experimental period. In the human approach test in the home pen the confident sows showed a significantly shorter latency to stay within 0.5 m of the handler (P=0.02), to sniff the handler (P=0.007) and to root (P=0.04). The gently handled sows had a longer latency to freeze (P=0.0001), shorter latency to root (P=0.01), a tendency for shorter latency to stay within 0.5 m of the handler (P=0.10) and to sniff the handler (P=0.07) than the adversely handled sows. Handling and fear class affected the behaviour in the novel arena in a similar way. Thus, irrespective of fear classes, handling affected the sows and adverse handling generally made the sows more fearful of humans. The results of the T-maze test before oestrus revealed that the adversely handled sows and the fearful sows spent shorter time standing at the boar pen when the handler was present than when the handler was not present, whereas the opposite was the case for the gently handled sows and for the confident sows, respectively (P<0.001). During oestrus, however, only the fearful sows that were handled adversely spent significantly less time close to the boar when the handler was present compared to when the handler was not present (P<0.05), whereas all other sows spent an equal amount of time standing close to the boar whether the handler was present or not. Thus, in contrast to the pre-oestrus observations, during oestrus, adverse handling only affected the fearful and not the confident sows. This indicates that it is possible to improve oestrus behaviour and thus the possibility to detect oestrus by gentle handling of fearful sows.
The adaptive response to environmental challenges involves both behavioral and neuroendocrine adjustments, and genetic factors have been shown to partly determine the intra- and interspecific variability observed in stress responses. To gain access to the biological and genetic basis of this variability, differences in neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to a 10-min novel environment exposure were studied in Meishan (MS) and Large White (LW) pig breeds, as well as in their F1 (MS x LW), F1R (LW x MS), and F2 (F1 x F1) crossings. Different behavioral scores were recorded and blood was taken by venipuncture, before and after the test, to measure levels of stress hormones (adrenocorticotropic hormone: ACTH and cortisol). MS pigs exhibited low vocalization, locomotion, and defecation scores when compared to LW. F1s showed intermediate locomotion scores. The vocalization scores of F1s were not significantly different from the respective scores of their parental MS and LW breeds. The defecation scores in F1s showed that there was some degree of dominance in the MS direction. Basal and poststress cortisol levels were higher in MS, F1s, and F2 than in LW, suggesting the dominance of this trait. Basal ACTH levels did not differ between the genetic types, whereas LW displayed higher poststress ACTH levels than MS. Phenotypic correlations were analyzed in the F2 segregating cross to study a possible link between behavioral and neuroendocrine traits. All behavioral variables were intercorrelated with 3 levels of association. The correlations between vocalization and locomotion scores and poststress ACTH levels suggest that these measures reflect the level of reactivity to the environmental challenge, and that they may share a common genetic control.
This paper reviews the influence of social mechanisms on oestrus and sexual motivation in pigs. The social relations between the animals and the signals they send out can inhibit as well as encourage their social motivation. Social stimuli from both boars and other sows in oestrus tend to induce and synchronise oestrus and ovulation amongst sows. The courting behaviour of boars is also facilitated by social stimuli from other boars. However, when sows are kept under conditions where the social pressure is high, e.g. due to limited space and/or resources, the social stress experienced by particularly the subordinate individuals may inhibit sexual motivation during oestrus. To a large extent this effect seems to be mediated via specific fear reactions towards dominant individuals of sows that have lost many aggressive encounters. For example, fear reduces the sexual motivation during mating and during sexual interactions amongst sows within a group, and fear may thus inhibit their chances of reproductive success. Similarly, fear of humans caused by innate fearfulness or negative handling procedures reduces sexual motivation in the presence of the human handler even when sows are in standing oestrus.
A recent educational pamphlet entitled “We Need Farm Animals”3 was issued from an enlightened self-interest group and stated:
Humans and domestic animals have mutually benefited each other for centuries. Each contributes to the well-being of the other; humans provide the feed and housing for animals, and animals produce milk, eggs, fiber, meat, draft power, and recreation for humans. Animals give us improved nutrition, better health, and companionship. Animals help us enjoy greater prosperity and an improved standard of living.
Forty weanling Quarter Horses, from the Pitchfork Ranch, Dickens, Texas, were randomly assigned to one of five groups based on the amount of handling they would receive. The five groups were: (1) limited handling; (2) 1 week of handling; (3) 2 weeks of handling; (4) 3 weeks of handling; (5) continuous handling for 18 months. As 2-year-olds, the horses were tested in a simple place-learning T-maze after being preconditioned. A maximum of 30 daily trials were conducted for 20 consecutive days, with feed location alternating between sides on successive days. If a horse met the criterion of 11 out of 12 correct responses with 8 correct responses being consecutive, it was retired without completing the 30 trials. Group 1 made fewer correct responses during the 20 days than any other group except Group 3. All groups achieved learning by Day 10, but the most-handled group reached a consistently higher percentage of correct responses earlier than the less-handled groups. Group 5, the group receiving the most handling, was the least emotional, as determined by the animals' reactivity to a novel stimulus, and received the highest scores for trainability after being ridden. Preconditioning trainability scores, or estimates of the horses' ability to learn prior to conditioning and testing, tended to predict maze-learning ability. These scores were also significantly correlated with post-maze training scores.
The influence of three handling treatments, imposed for 10 weeks from 15 kg liveweight, on the behaviour, growth, subsequent reproductive performance and free corticosteroid concentrations were studied in 60 female pigs. The pleasant treatment involved individually handling the pig in a pleasant manner (e.g. gentle stroking). There were two unpleasant handling treatments; one involved individually handling the pig in an unpleasant manner (e.g. brief shocking or brief slapping) whenever the pig failed to withdraw from the experimenter and the other involved handling the pig within a group in an unpleasant manner whenever the pig failed to withdraw from the experimenter. The individual handling treatments were imposed for 30 s day−1 for 5 days week−1 and the group handling treatment was imposed for 2.5 min day−1 for 5 days week−1. There were no differences between treatments in growth rates over the 10-week period; however, the pigs in the pleasant handling treatment had a higher (P<0.01) growth rate in the first 5 weeks of the handling period than pigs in the two unpleasant handling treatments. The feed conversion efficiency of pigs in the pleasant handling treatment was also superior (P<0.05) in the first 5 weeks. The pigs in the unpleasant handling treatments were more (P<0.01) fearful of humans, as indicated by their approach behaviour to a stationary experimenter at 20 weeks of age, and those that were individually handled experienced a greater (P<0.05) increase in their free corticosteroid response to humans at 24 weeks of age than did pigs in the pleasant handling treatment. There was no physiological evidence at 24 weeks of age that the pigs in the unpleasant handling treatments were chronically stressed. These results indicate that aversive handling of pigs, either as individuals or as members of a group, will adversely affect the growth performance of the young pig. The fact that there was no evidence that the unpleasantly handled pigs were chronically stressed and that some recent results in this area are contradictory are considered in the discussion.
A study was conducted to determine if different handling procedures would affect the behavior, growth and adrenal gland morphology of growing pigs. Sixty-four young gilts (8–10 weeks) in groups of 4 were exposed to one of 4 handling treatments (Positive, Negative, Minimal or Aversive) for 10 weeks. The experimenter entered the Minimal pens only when it was necessary to clean the area. For all other treatments, the experimenter entered the pens for 2 min/day, 5 days a week, in order to impose the treatments. Aversive-treatment pigs were electrically shocked if they failed to avoid the experimenter. To handle pigs in a Positive manner, the experimenter squatted, allowed the pigs to contact the experimenter, and would attempt to scratch the pigs only when they appeared receptive to scratching. A treatment consisting of signals which had previously been evaluated as Negative involved remaining upright, approaching the pigs and reaching toward the pigs' heads with gloved hands.When tested for approach behavior toward a human standing erect in a small arena at 3 weeks and at the end of the trial. Minimal-, Positive- and Negative-treatment pigs approached the human more quickly and interacted with the human more frequently than did the Aversive pigs. Minimal and Positive pigs did not differ in growth rate, but Negative and Aversive pigs gained less during the initial 6 weeks of the trial than did those on the other treatments. Only the Aversive treatment resulted in adrenal morphology (increased area of cortex) which was indicative of chronic stress. It is concluded that if frequent handling of animals is necessary, non-aversive methods should be employed to avoid deleterious growth responses.
The influence of three handling treatments on the behaviour, reproduction and free corticosteroid concentrations was studied in 15 male and 30 female pigs. Two handling treatments, considered as pleasant and unpleasant, were imposed for 5 min, three times per week from 11 weeks of age. The third handling treatment involved minimal contact with humans from 11 weeks of age. In a 3-min test at 18 weeks, pigs in the pleasant treatment were quicker (P<0.01) to enter an area within 0.5 m of the experimenter and had more interactions (P<0.05) with the experimenter than pigs in the unpleasant and minimal treatments. Gilts in the unpleasant treatment had a lower (P<0.05) pregnancy rate at the second oestrus when mated to non-experimental boars than gilts in the pleasant treatment (33.3 and 87.5%, respectively). Boars in the unpleasant treatment had smaller (P<0.05) testicles at 23 weeks of age and attained a coordinated mating response at a later age (P<0.05) than boars in the pleasant treatment (53.2 and 63.3 cm2, and 192 and 161 days, respectively). In addition, pigs in the unpleasant treatment had higher (P<0.05) free corticosteroid concentrations in the absence of humans at 20 weeks (gilts) and 27 weeks (boars) than pigs in the pleasant treatment (boars and gilts combined, 2.4 and 1.7 ng ml−1, respectively). For many of the reproductive parameters, the effect of the minimal handling treatment was intermediate to that of the other two treatments. It was concluded that the unpleasant handling treatment resulted in a chronic stress response, with consequent adverse effects on reproduction.
This study assessed the fear of human beings at 19–21 days of age in individually housed female chicks which had been handled twice daily either between 1 and 9, 10 and 18 or 1 and 18 days of age, and in non-handled controls. Regular handling reduced behavioral inhibition, avoidance of the experimenter and tonic immobility fear reactions regardless of the developmental stage at which it was applied. Further, regular handling exerted equal effects in each of the three handled groups. These findings suggest firstly, that the handling regime need not be initiated during the first 9 days of age and secondly, that its effects persist for a minimum of 10 days after cessation of treatment, or at least in those chicks handled from 1 to 9 days of age. These findings are not consistent with the traditional concept of a very early and sharply circumscribed sensitive period. Reduced fear of human beings via regular handling has important implications for the welfare and performance of farm animals, and the domestic chick's sensitivity to handling represents an affordable and strategically relevant model system.
The present experiment investigated the influence of pleasant or unpleasant handling by humans on the growth, carcass composition, adrenal morphology and behaviour of male pigs, between 40 and 90 kg bodyweight, housed in groups of eight in barren or enriched pens. Enriched pens were supplied with toys such as chains, tyres and bars. Pigs handled unpleasantly during rearing in both types of environment were significantly more fearful of humans (P<0.01) when tested after 24 handling periods. However, housing pigs in enriched pens reduced their fear of humans, regardless of handling treatment (P<0.05). Observations taken around the time of handling showed that unpleasantly handled pigs spent more time resting (P<0.05) and sitting or standing inactive (P<0.001), and less time interacting with other pigs. (P<0.01) than pigs handled pleasantly. In the enriched environment, pleasantly handled pigs showed more exploratory behaviour than unpleasantly handled pigs (P<0.01). There were no differences between treatments in mean growth rates, last rib fat depth, eye muscle area, or ratio of cross-sectional area of adrenal cortex to adrenal medulla.These results suggest that pigs housed in groups were not chronically stressed by unpleasant handling, even though they were highly fearful of humans. Social interactions and adoption of an inactive “cut-off” strategy through increased sitting and standing inactive may have protected the pigs from the physiological consequences of unpleasant handling (i.e., depressed growth and adrenal hypertrophy). Provision of toys in the enriched environment is suggested to have improved the welfare of the pigs by reducing their fear of humans, irrespective of the type of handling, and allowing the performance of exploratory behaviours otherwise unavailable, in barren environments.
At the 25th Anniversary Congress of the Society for Veterinary Ethology (now the International Society for Applied Ethology), six workshops were held on the future of applied ethology. Each was asked to identify important issues and to make recommendations on how those issues should be addressed. The topics of the workshops were: socioeconomics; genetic selection and manipulation; environmental technology; behavioural physiology; conservation; human-animal relationships. Three common themes to emerge were: first, the continuing importance of ethology's emphasis on the individual animal; second, the increasing role of interdisciplinary studies; third, an increasing need for dissemination of the information gained in applied behaviour studies.
The influence of 4 handling treatments on the behaviour, growth and free corticosteroid concentrations were studied in 32 young female pigs housed in individual pens. The pleasant treatment involved stroking the pig whenever it approached the experimenter, the unpleasant treatment involved forcing the pig away whenever it approached the experimenter and the inconsistent treatment was a combination of unpleasant and pleasant treatments (imposed at a ratio of 1:5). These 3 treatments were imposed for 3 min each, 3 times per week, from 7 to 13 weeks of age. The fourth treatment, minimal handling, involved minimal contact with humans during this 6-week period. Gilts in the pleasant and minimal handling treatments had higher (P < 0.05) growth rates and feed conversion efficiencies over the first 2 weeks of the study than gilts in the unpleasant and inconsistent handling treatments. The gilts in the unpleasant and inconsistent handling treatments had higher (P < 0.01) free corticosteroid concentrations in the absence of humans at 14 weeks of age and were more (P < 0.05) fearful of humans, as indicated by less approach to a stationary human, at 14 weeks of age than gilts in the pleasant and minimal handling treatments. It was concluded that the unpleasant and inconsistent handling treatments resulted in a chronic stress response with consequent adverse effects on growth performance. The implications of these results for the reproductive performance and welfare status of breeding pigs are discussed.
When contingency tables of data on sequences, social relationships, feeding, habitat use, or other behaviour exhibit significant associations between variables, ethologists may analyse the residuals in the table in order to test more precise hypotheses about the associations found. This paper critically evaluates currently used and potentially available statistical methods for performing such tests. Specific examples of use are given and recommendations made.
The objective of this article is to discuss the human-animal relationship in animal production, emphasizing the importance of this relationship to the productivity and welfare of the animal, some of the factors that may regulate the relationship, and how to manipulate this relationship to improve the productivity and welfare of the animal.
The behaviour of the pigstockman and its influence on pig performance and behaviour—a review
- Seabrook
Seabrook, M.F., 1988. The behaviour of the pigstockman and its influence on pig performance and behaviour--a review. Pig News Inf., 9: 403-406.
The human-animal relationship and its importance in pig production
- P H Hemswonh
- J L Barnett
Hemswonh, P.H. and Barnett, J.L., 1987b. The human-animal relationship and its importance in pig production. Pig News Inf., 8: 133-136.
The human-animal relationship and its importance in pig production
- Hemsworth