Effects of an intensified human-animal interaction on tail biting in pigs during the rearing period
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Effects of an intensified human-animal interaction on tail biting in pigs during the rearing period. / Buettner, Kathrin; Czycholl, Irena; Basler, Heidi; Krieter, Joachim.
In: Journal of Agricultural Science, Vol. 156, No. 8, 2018, p. 1039-1046.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of an intensified human-animal interaction on tail biting in pigs during the rearing period
AU - Buettner, Kathrin
AU - Czycholl, Irena
AU - Basler, Heidi
AU - Krieter, Joachim
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Tail biting in pigs is a serious welfare problem with multifactorial causes. Several risk factors are described in the literature ranging from environmental factors including stocking densities, deficiencies in feed quality or accessibility, to internal factors such as poor health status, genetics or sex. Also, the human-animal relationship can have an effect on behaviour and performance of the animals. Thus, the aim of the current study was to evaluate whether intensified human-animal interaction in the rearing period can reduce the occurrence of tail biting in weaned piglets. For this, two treatment groups were established. The trial group differed only in intensified human-animal interaction (e.g. calm speech, petting, food provision) from the control group, which was carried out three times a week by one person for 15 min in each pen. Once a week the animals' tails were scored regarding tail lesions and losses and a human approach test was performed. The intensified human-animal interaction influenced the animals' behaviour towards the human as well as towards their pen mates. The trial group showed significantly better results compared with the control group, i.e. fewer tail lesions and more animals with intact tails. Also, the results of the human approach test in the trial group showed a lower latency to approach compared with the control group. Thus, integration of an intensified human-animal interaction into the daily practice of pig farms could be one possibility for enhancing the human-animal relationship and reducing occurrence of tail biting.
AB - Tail biting in pigs is a serious welfare problem with multifactorial causes. Several risk factors are described in the literature ranging from environmental factors including stocking densities, deficiencies in feed quality or accessibility, to internal factors such as poor health status, genetics or sex. Also, the human-animal relationship can have an effect on behaviour and performance of the animals. Thus, the aim of the current study was to evaluate whether intensified human-animal interaction in the rearing period can reduce the occurrence of tail biting in weaned piglets. For this, two treatment groups were established. The trial group differed only in intensified human-animal interaction (e.g. calm speech, petting, food provision) from the control group, which was carried out three times a week by one person for 15 min in each pen. Once a week the animals' tails were scored regarding tail lesions and losses and a human approach test was performed. The intensified human-animal interaction influenced the animals' behaviour towards the human as well as towards their pen mates. The trial group showed significantly better results compared with the control group, i.e. fewer tail lesions and more animals with intact tails. Also, the results of the human approach test in the trial group showed a lower latency to approach compared with the control group. Thus, integration of an intensified human-animal interaction into the daily practice of pig farms could be one possibility for enhancing the human-animal relationship and reducing occurrence of tail biting.
KW - Animal welfare
KW - intensified human-animal interaction
KW - pig
KW - tail biting
KW - DECISION-SUPPORT-SYSTEM
KW - SEMANTIC MODEL
KW - RISK-FACTORS
KW - BEHAVIOR
KW - PIGLETS
KW - FEAR
KW - PERFORMANCE
KW - GENDER
KW - FEMALE
KW - STRAW
U2 - 10.1017/S002185961800103X
DO - 10.1017/S002185961800103X
M3 - Journal article
VL - 156
SP - 1039
EP - 1046
JO - Journal of Agricultural Science
JF - Journal of Agricultural Science
SN - 0021-8596
IS - 8
ER -
ID: 328017177