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VII Congresso Brasileiro de Biometeorologia,
Ambiência, Comportamento e Bem-Estar Animal
“Responsabilidade Ambiental e Inovação”
VII Brazilian Congress of Biometeorology, Ambience,
Behaviour and Animal Welfare
“Environmental Responsibility and Innovation”
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.5183053
VII Brazilian Congress of Biometeorology, Ambience, Behaviour and Animal Welfare 1
How do seasons and different combinations between on-farm fasting intervals and lairage period affect
pigs’ welfare, carcass and pork quality traits?
Filipe Antonio Dalla Costa1*, Osmar Antonio Dalla Costa2, Arlei Coldebella2, Antonio Sérgio Ferraudo1,
Antonio Guidoni2 (in memorian), Adriano Cleiton Holdefer3
1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zootecnia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista UNESP-
FCAV, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil; e-mail: filipedallacosta@gmail.com
2Embrapa Suínos e Aves, BR 153, Km 110, 89700-000, Concórdia, SC, Brazil; e-mail: osmar.dallacosta@embrapa.br;
arlei.coldebella@embrapa.br
3Cooperativa de Produção e Consumo Concórdia - Copérdia, Brazil
Abstract: The objectives of this study were to study the effects and interactions of different combinations of
on-farm fasting intervals and lairage period at different climates on blood stress parameters, carcass and meat
quality in pigs. A total of 960 finishing pigs from eight farms was split into 12 treatments during two seasons
used (5 pigs/12 treatments/2 seasons/8 repetitions or farm). Treatments consisted in a combination of four
different on-farm feed withdrawal periods (8, 12, 16, 20 h) with three different lairage periods (1, 3, 6 h).
Cortisol and lactate from 960 animals were collected in the sticking wound blood. All stomachs were
weighed full and emptied and their content were collected and subjectively scored according to the amount of
feed and water. In the chiller, carcass lesions were assessed on each left carcass side and classified by visual
assessment of shape and size. Meat quality traits, such as pH, colour and drip loss, were assessed in 960 loins
and hams. Blood lactate levels were greater in the summer than in the winter (P<0.001). Stomach content
was affected (P≤0.05) by season, on-farm fasting interval (P<0.001), lairage time (P<0.0001). The weight of
stomach contents reduces as the total feed withdrawal time increases. However, this effect stoppeds after on-
farm fasting of 17 h plus 1 h of lairage. Based on the analysis of principal components, the stomach content
can be influenced by feed and water in different ways accoring to treatments. Only 8 h of on-farm fasting is
not enough empty stomachs from feed content. On the other hand, an on-farm fasting period of 16 h or longer
can also be a problem due to stomachs containing more water. These analysis suggested that after 16 h of on-
farm fasting pigs get hungry and start to drink water in order to maintain satiety, while it is not observed
during on-farm fasting of 12 h even after 6 h of lairage. Carcass lesions caused by fighting were greater
(P≤0.005) in the winter, mainly after 3 and 6 h of lairage (P≤0.005). There was an interaction between season
and lairage time on pHμ of loin and ham, where pHμ was lower (P≤0.05) for pigs slaughtered after six hours
of lairage during the summer. The application of 12 h of on-farm fasting with 6 h of lairage seemed to be best
combination to reduce stomach content weight (feed and water). Mainly in the winter, shorter lairage period
can be used to reduce percentage of skin lesions and better pork quality traits in pigs.
Keywords: cortisol, feed withdrawal, lactate
Os autores deste trabalho são os únicos responsáveis por seu conteúdo e são os detentores dos direitos autorais e de reprodução. Este
trabalho não reflete necessariamente o posicionamento oficial da Sociedade Brasileira de Biometeorologia (SBBiomet).
The authors of this paper are solely responsible for its content and are the owners of its copyright. This paper does not necessarily
reflect the official position of the Brazilian Society of Biometeorology (SBBiomet).
VII Brazilian Congress of Biometeorology, Ambience, Behaviour and Animal Welfare 2
Introduction
Feed withdrawal and holding in the lairage are common commercial practices during preslaughter
handling. The benefits they provide to farmers, transporters and the abattoir include feed saving on-farm,
prevention of animal losses and travel sickness during transport, reduced carcass contamination due to lower
risk of gut content spillage during carcass evisceration, recovery from previous stress before arrival at
abattoir and improvements in pork quality. The lairage period provides a reservoir of animals for the
slaughter line, levelling out variations in the delivery schedule to the plant, and it also allows pigs to recover
from any previous stress. During this period, pigs can rest and recover from any previous stresses and
dehydration that occurred during transport from the farm to the abattoir. A lairage period of 1–3 h has been
recommended for its benefits to the welfare of pigs and meat quality, without imposing important harmful
effects such as long feed withdrawal, skin and carcass damage and meat quality (Dalla Costa et al., 2016).
Longer lairage periods may increase the risk of fighting in mixed groups of pigs resulting in a higher
incidence of pigs with skin and carcass damage and pork quality defects (Guàrdia et al., 2005; Dalla Costa et
al., 2016). Thus, based on the potential advantages of applying different combinations of on-farm fasting
interval and lairage period, further research is needed to understand and confirm these effects under
commercial conditions (Panella-Riera et al., 2012)
Most studies were conducted in the same period of the year and in countries where the climate
conditions are relatively stable. However, the effects of feed withdrawal during different seasons on animal
welfare, stomach content, and carcass and pork quality may vary depending on environmental conditions. It
is known, in fact, that thermic stress has an impact on pork quality (Guàrdia et al., 2005). However, the
effects of the interaction between the combination of on-farm fasting intervals with lairage periods at
different climates on animal welfare, stomach content, and carcass and pork quality have not yet been
assessed. Thus, the objectives of this study were to study the effects and interactions of different
combinations of on-farm fasting intervals and lairage period at different climates on blood stress parameters,
and carcass and meat quality in pigs.
Material and Methods
All experimental procedures performed in this study were approved by the institutional animal care
committee on the basis of the current guidelines of the São Paulo State University’s Animal Research Ethics
Board (protocol number 6119-08).
A total of 960 crossbred pigs (115±2 kg) originating from eight commercial swine growing-
finishing farms located in Southern Brazil (Santa Catarina) were randomly selected, tagged, weighed and
distributed into twelve groups of 20 pigs each according to each treatment. Treatments consisted in a
combination of four different on-farm feed withdrawal periods (8, 12, 16, 20 h) with three different lairage
periods (1, 3, 6 h). One day before shipping to abattoir, the pens were randomly assigned to each treatment of
on-farm feed withdrawal. On achieving slaughter weight, each treatment group was loaded into trucks in
groups of 4–5 pigs by a trained loading crew always using paddles and rattles. Pigs were shipped to the
abattoir in groups of 60 pigs per replicate (or farm) during two seasons (summer and winter) over 8 transports
(60 pigs × 2 seasons × 8 replicates). There was no rain during the period from loading, transport, unloading
until the slaughter. Transport trials were run during the winter and summer of 2008 (June to August) and
2009 (March to May), respectively, with an average ambient temperature of 14 °C (range from 13 to 18°C)
and 20.5 °C (range from 15 to 31°C) in the winter and the summer, respectively. The topography of the area
of transport from farms to abattoir was usually flat, however, there are some steep slopes. All pigs were
slaughtered in the same commercial abattoir under federal inspection service located 27°05′25″W (latitude)
and 52°37′23″S (longitude). A total of 960 pigs (5 pigs/12 treatments/2 seasons/8 repetitions) were used for
the analysis of blood stress indicators (cortisol and lactate) in the sticking wound blood. The stomachs of pigs
were collected directly on the dressing line during evisceration process. They were identified by a tag and
stored at 4oC until the moment of weighing. All stomachs were weighed full and emptied of their content.
The weights of stomach content are expressed on a wet weight basis. Indeed, the stomach content was
collected and subjectively scored. According to a visual score, the following categories were established: full
of only water and mucus (no feed content), mix of water and feed usually in a proportion of 50%
approximately), and full of only feed. In the chiller, carcass lesions were assessed on each left carcass side
and classified as fighting-type lesions or mounting-type lesions by visual assessment of shape and size
according to the photographic standards as described by Faucitano (2001). Meat quality was assessed in 960
VII Brazilian Congress of Biometeorology, Ambience, Behaviour and Animal Welfare 3
carcasses (5 pigs/12 treatments/2 seasons/8 repetitions) by measuring pH at 45 min and 24 h post-mortem
(pHi and pHu, respectively), colour using Minolta Chromameter and Japanese color standards (Nakai et al.,
1975) and drip loss according to a modified EZ-DripLoss procedure (Correa et al., 2007) in the Longissimus
dorsis and Semimembranosus muscle.
Data was analyzed as factorial design (4x3; on-farm fasting interval x lairage period) to check
effects of treatments. Frequencies of lesions and stomach content data were log-transformed and expressed as
the square root of (x + 1). The model included effects of farm, season, on-farm fasting interval, lairage
period, interaction between season, on-farm fasting interval and lairage period, and error supposedly
homoscedastic, independent and normally distributed. Variance analysis using GLM SAS (2003) was applied
to study each effect factor of the model using the group as experimental unit for the analysis of stomach
weight and content data, and the individual as the experimental unit for the analysis physiological and meat
quality data, and farm was the adopted repetition. A complementary analysis of response surface was
performed when any effect was present. The likelihood ratio and chi-square tests were used to compare the
skin lesion-type categories. Stomach weight content data was analyzed by logistic regression considering the
same effects of variance analyses. The tests were performed using the FREQ procedure of SAS (2003) with
Tukey test for mean comparison. The means of stomach content weight was standardized and submitted to a
multivariate analysis using Principal Components Analysis Statistica 7 in order to better understand the
behaviour of these variables in each cluster. A probability level of P < 0.05 was chosen as the limit for
statistical significance in all tests and probability levels of P ≤ 0.10 were considered as a tendency.
Results and Discussion
Blood cortisol levels were not significantly influenced by treatments or season (P > 0.05). However,
there was a significant effect of season (9.1±0.18 vs. 12.28±0.10 µg/dL; P < 0.001) on blood lactate level,
which greater in the summer. The greater lactate concentrations indicated that pigs were more physically
exhausted at exsanguination during the summer, which suggests the pigs were subjected to more stressful
conditions in this season and may have been more difficulties to handle.
Stomach content was affected (P ≤ 0.05) by season, on-farm fasting interval (P < 0.001), lairage time (P
< 0.001), and an interaction between on-farm fasting interval and lairage time (P < 0.01) was found. ). In the
winter, pigs had heavier stomachs than in the summer (407.94±13 versus 395.88±14.6, P ≤ 0.05). The weight
of stomach contents reduces as the total feed withdrawal time increases. However, this effect stopped after
on-farm fasting of 17 h plus 1 h of lairage. A longer overall feed withdrawal period resulted in lower weight
of stomach contents (Fig. 1). Based on this analysis, the use of an on-farm fasting interval of 16 h combined
to 1 h of lairage period had similar results to the use of 12 hours of on-farm fasting combined with 6 h of
lairage. Thus, in order to obtain empty stomachs (<350 g of stomach content on average), both combinations
(16_1 or 12_6) could be recommended. The analysis by principal components confirmed these findings and
provided a better understanding of the behaviour of these variables according to the treatments. Based on the
analysis of principal components (Fig. 2), the treatments are separated into two groups (SF and LF: shorter
and longer on-farm fasting, respectively) with specific caracteristics. As indicated by the arrows, the SF
group is mainly influenced by feed and water content and formed by treatments with on-farm fasting of 8 and
12 h, and the LF one by water content and has longer on-farm fasting intervals of 16 and 20 h. This clusters
sugested that only 8 h is not enough obtain empty stomachs since it is strongly influenced by feed content.
On the other hand, an on-farm fasting period of 16 h or longer can also be a problem due to stomachs
containing more water. Interestingly, these analysis suggested that after 16 h of on-farm fasting pigs get
hungry and start to drink water in order to maintain satiety, while it is not observed during on-farm fasting of
12 h even after 6 h of lairage. Thus, on this basis, an on-farm fasting of 12 h combined with 6 h of lairage is
recommened in order to obtain empty stomachs (feed and water).
VII Brazilian Congress of Biometeorology, Ambience, Behaviour and Animal Welfare 4
Figure 1 Analysis of response surface and principle components analysis of stomach weight of
pigs according to on-farm fasting interval1 and lairage time2.
SF: Shorter on-farm fasting interval. LF: Longer on-farm fasting interval.
1, 2 numbers in the figure separated by “_” means on-farm fasting interval and lairage period, respectively.
Carcass lesions were significantly influenced (P < 0.001) by season. In contrast to previous reports
(Panella-Riera et al., 2012), independently of the season, lairage period affected the incidence of carcass
lesions unlike on-farm fasting interval. Carcass lesions caused by fighting were greater (P ≤ 0.005) in the
winter, mainly after 3 and 6 h of lairage (P ≤ 0.005). The higher number of carcass lesions observed in the
winter, which were mainly caused by fighting, may have been linked to the pigs huddling together to better
cope with cold temperatures (Guàrdia et al., 2005;). The huddling behavior increases contact between pen
mates leading to fighting or climbing over the backs of other pen mates to find a place to lie down and rest,
and this is the likely reason for the difference found between seasons. Dalla Costa et al. (2016) reported that
non-fasted pigs showed a higher number of fights and a longer total duration of fights during lairage than
fasted (18 h) pigs.
There was an interaction between season and lairage time on pHμ of loin and ham, where pHμ was
lower (P ≤ 0.05) for pigs slaughtered after six hours of lairage during the summer. In contrast to Panella-
Riera et al. (2012), fasting interval did not raise pHμ. Independently of the treatment and season, none of
loins and hams had pHi < 6.0 or pHu > 6, which is indicative of PSE and DFD meat in pigs, respectively.
However, mainly in the summer, pigs kept at lairage for longer (6 h) had a pHu value lower than 5.5 in loin
and ham, which may indicate a mild pork quality defect. This study confirmed the negative effect of warm
season on meat quality. During the warmer seasons, several abattoirs have applied shorter lairage periods in
order to obtain higher quality of meat, however, without the support of literature.
Conclusions
Based on these results, commercial practices such as an on-farm fasting interval and lairage period at
the abattoir may significantly affect animal welfare, carcass and meat quality traits. Indeed, these practices
interact with season, which should be taken into account whenever the effects of presalughter handling on
animal welfare, carcass and meat quality traits are evaluated. The application of 12 h of on-farm fasting with
6 h of lairage seemed to be best combination to reduce stomach content weight (feed and water). Mainly in
the winter, shorter lairage period can be used to reduce percentage of skin lesions and better pork quality
traits in pigs. However, to obtain all this advantages, it is fundamental that producers and abattoirs establish a
good communication channel to plan the logistics of this phase of preslaughter handling which can be done
by technicians in cooperative systems or also by producers when planning the shipping of animals.
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate the assistance of Luiz Carlos Ajala, Édio Luís Klein and Dirceu da Silva, for
data collection at the slaughter plant and laboratory analysis, and Antonio Lourenço Guidoni (in memorian)
for the incentive and help in the experimental design. Sincere thanks go to the CNPQ (National Council of
Technological and Scientific Development) for granting a PhD scholarship to Filipe Dalla Costa to conduct
his studies and EMBRAPA Swine and Poultry for financial support, manpower, and facilities usage. Many
thanks also go to Neville George Gregory for the critical review of the manuscript.
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VII Brazilian Congress of Biometeorology, Ambience, Behaviour and Animal Welfare 5
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