Does pre-weaning mixing and/or object enrichment improve piglet behaviour, welfare, and performance around weaning?
| dc.contributor.author | Scott, Ashlyn | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Yang, Chengbo (Animal Science) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Ahloy-Dallaire, Jamie (Animal Science) | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | King, Meagan | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-09-12T02:08:27Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-09-12T02:08:27Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-08-23 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2023-08-23T14:32:16Z | en_US |
| dc.date.submitted | 2023-09-11T20:29:08Z | en_US |
| dc.degree.discipline | Animal Science | en_US |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Science (M.Sc.) | |
| dc.description.abstract | While abrupt weaning is a common practice in commercial swine barns, it subjects piglets to numerous changes at once which is often associated with negative welfare. Our objective was to study the effects of pre-weaning socialization (starting at 1 to 3 days of age) in multi-litter groups as well as object enrichment (burlap sheet) in the pre- and post-weaning environment. We compared piglet performance, behaviour, and welfare across 6 treatments that combined group size (1 vs. 2 vs. 4 litters mixed pre-weaning) and burlap provision (yes vs. no). We recorded piglet behaviour, piglet body weights, and sow and piglet lesion scores. An ANOVA linear model was run on all normal conforming data, while data that did not meet the normality criteria were transformed or analyzed using a non-parametric test. SOCIAL ENRICHMENT (PRE-WEANING MIXING): Increased burlap use and cross-sucking with group size (P < 0.1). Decreased biting among weaned piglets when mixed in groups of 4 litters pre-weaning (P = 0.03). Improved piglet lesion scores 1-week post-weaning (P = 0.07) and reduced the worsening of sow lesions (P = 0.05). Had no effect on total piglet mortality, however a lower proportion of piglets were crushed by the sow as the number of litters mixed increased (P = 0.02). OBJECT ENRICHMENT (BURLAP): Reduced biting between piglets pre- (P = 0.07) and post- (P < 0.001) weaning. Reduced pen object manipulation (P = 0.006) and displacements throughout the pen (P = 0.003) but tended to reduce fighting throughout the pen (P = 0.06). Also tended to improve piglet lesion scores after weaning (0.05 < P < 0.10). Had no effect on piglet mortality. Piglet weights and number of piglets weaned per sow were not affected by either treatment factor (P>0.10). Overall, social and object enrichment allow piglets to socialize with others at a younger age and redirect their attention and aggression toward objects such as burlap, which does not negatively impact piglet performance and can improve piglet behaviour and welfare around weaning. | |
| dc.description.note | October 2023 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/37641 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.rights | open access | en_US |
| dc.subject | Animal Science | |
| dc.subject | Agriculture | |
| dc.subject | Piglets | |
| dc.subject | Object Enrichment (Burlap) | |
| dc.subject | Social Enrichment (Pre-weaning Mixing) | |
| dc.subject | Animal Behaviour | |
| dc.subject | Animal Welfare | |
| dc.title | Does pre-weaning mixing and/or object enrichment improve piglet behaviour, welfare, and performance around weaning? | |
| dc.type | master thesis | en_US |
| local.subject.manitoba | yes |