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| Author(s): |
Roberta Sommavilla
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | Pirassununga. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Zootecnica e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZE/BT) |
| Defense date: | 2015-05-22 |
| Examining board members: |
Evaldo Antônio Lencioni Titto;
Daniele dos Santos Martins;
Anibal de Sant'Anna Moretti;
Iran José Oliveira da Silva;
Adroaldo José Zanella
|
| Advisor: | Evaldo Antônio Lencioni Titto; Maria José Hötzel |
| Abstract | |
The aim of this work was to compare the behavioral parameters indicative of stress, meat quality and the influence of enrichment in pigs housed in intensive confined system, according to the quality of the treatment received. For this, 144 piglets were separated in three groups with different treatment: 1) Aversive (TA): the person responsible for the treatment was rude with the animals, used an aggressive tone of voice and moved harshly and unpredictably; 2) Control (TC): the person responsible for this treatment was careful to move around as was using a soft tone of voice; 3) Mixed (TM): the animals received TA during farrowing room and nursery, and with TC during growing and finishing phase. After weaning, piglets were tested to assess fear and if they could recognize its usual handler. Behavioral time budgets at each change of phase, was registered by scan sampling every 5-min. In the growing-finishing phase half of the animals received environmental enrichment. After slaughter, meat quality was analysed in relation to their pH, temperature, colour, drip loss, water holding capacity e tenderness. Variables such as cortisol, creatine phosphokinase, weight gain, feed conversion and consumption of solid food were also assessed. The experimental design was randomized and to analyse the data, we used PROC MIXED and GLM procedure of SAS statistical program. Animals TA had more frequency of agonistics interactions at farrowing room (P=0.01), nursery (P=0.04), growing/finishing phase (P=0.0002) and at the day before the slaughter (P=0.06); in addition they had higher frequency of belly-nosing after weaning (P=0.001), higher activity on fear tests (P=0.01), lower time (P=0.03) and lower frequency (P=0.005) of a contact with the novel object. Animal that received environmental enrichment showed more frequency of exploratory behaviour (P=0.01). No difference was found on weight gain, meat quality and blood analysis (P>0.05), but to lactate that was higher to aversive treatment animals (P<0.05). Piglets that received an aversive treatment showed behavioral patterns indicative of higher stress. Finishing the aversive treatment was not enough to this animal restoring their behavioral pattern, indicating a residual effect of the aversive treatment. In addition, these animals were more fearful to novelty, social isolation and the aversive handling. Although there is no difference in performance and meat quality, the results show a poor animal welfare. In other hand, when the treatment was finished and an environmental enrichment was introduced, the residual effect of stress of the farrowing room and nursery were supressed and piglets showed an improvement of behavioral pattern and animal welfare. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 11/22038-4 - Human-animal interaction on pig production |
| Grantee: | Roberta Sommavilla |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |