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Abstract
Ursinus, W.W. (2014). A tale too long for a tail too short? Identification of
characteristics in pigs related to tail biting and other oral manipulations directed
at conspecifics. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
Tail biting in pigs, i.e. the chewing on and biting in tails of conspecifics, is a
multifactorial problem leading to impaired pig welfare and health and economic
losses in pig farming. In many countries tail docking is used as a preventive
measure, but there is increased societal concern about this practice. Therefore,
there is an urgent need to understand, prevent, and reduce tail biting and other
damaging behaviours directed at pen mates. The main aim of this thesis was to
identify biological characteristics of barren and enriched housed pigs that relate
to their tendency to develop these damaging oral manipulative behaviours. Tail
biting started already early in life and pigs that displayed tail biting post-weaning
seemed to stem from litters in which tail biting behaviour was already present. The
onset of tail biting behaviour was different for individual pigs, and many pigs were
not consistently tail biters throughout different phases of life. It was difficult to
predict which pigs would develop tail biting based on their individual behaviour.
Groups of pigs with tail biting problems were, however, more easy to identify by
increased activity, and increased levels of pig and pen-directed oral manipulative
behaviours. Subjecting pigs to an individual behavioural test showed that tail
biters may be more fearful. Fearfulness in pigs appeared related to measures
of the brain and blood serotonergic system. Moreover, measures of the blood
serotonergic system seemed temporarily altered in tail biting pigs mainly during
the phase of life in which they displayed this behaviour. Additionally, (tail) biting
behaviour may be associated with higher (phenotypic and genotypic) production,
such as higher growth. Growth of individual pigs can be affected by the other
pigs in a pen. The heritable effect of one pig on the growth of another group
member is referred to as an indirect genetic effect. Pigs with a relatively negative
indirect genetic effect for growth displayed more biting behaviours, caused more
tail damage and destroyed more of the available jute sacks. The presence of strawbedding
or jute sacks as enrichment materials for rooting and chewing largely
reduced damaging biting behaviours and, consequently, tail damage. Pigs that
still develop tail biting behaviour in an enriched environment likely do so due to
a (temporary) physiological problem, whereas in barren housed pigs the lack of
suitable rooting and chewing material plays a large role. Tail biting behaviour
in pigs thus seems to be caused by a variety of temporary states and more
stable traits that influence their motivation to display foraging and exploratory
behaviours. Therefore, the tale of (tail) biting behaviours in pigs needs a better
understanding of underlying physiological processes. Preventing and reducing
damaging biting behaviours in pigs requires a joint effort of science, industry
and society to optimize housing conditions, feeding, management and breeding
of pigs.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 3 Oct 2014 |
Place of Publication | Wageningen |
Publisher | |
Print ISBNs | 9789462570023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 3 Oct 2014 |
Keywords
- pigs
- tail biting
- behaviour disorders
- characteristics
- fearfulness
- animal welfare
- genetic effects
- growth rate
- environmental enrichment
- animal behaviour
- animal physiology
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Dive into the research topics of 'A tale too long for a tail too short? : identification of characteristics in pigs related to tail biting and other oral manipulations directed at conspecifics'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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Identification of biological characteristics that predict (mal)adaptation in pigs
Ursinus, N. (PhD candidate), Kemp, B. (Promotor), Bolhuis, L. (Co-promotor) & van Reenen, K. (Co-promotor)
1/02/10 → 3/10/14
Project: PhD