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No apparent effect of an experimental narrow confinement on heart activity and cortisol in domestic pigs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2010

S. Jaskulke  and
G. Manteuffel
S. Jaskulke
Affiliation:
Behavioural Physiology Unit, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2, 18196 Dummerstorf, Germany
G. Manteuffel*
Affiliation:
Behavioural Physiology Unit, Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology, Wilhelm-Stahl-Allee 2, 18196 Dummerstorf, Germany
*
†E-mail: manteuff@fbn-dummerstorf.de
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Abstract

The effects of continuing spatial restraint were examined in domestic pigs. For this purpose, the animals (German Landrace barrows) were housed individually in metabolic cages (12 animals) and, as controls, in single pens (six animals). In six replications with two experimental animals and one control animal, we collected saliva each morning (0730 h) for the cortisol analysis, recorded the behaviour and the heart beat for 3 h/day (0800 to 0900 h, 1100 to 1200 h, 1400 to 1500 h). Each replication consisted of 5 days of habituation to single housing and 8 experimental days during which the experimental animals lived continuously in the metabolic cages. Weight gain, cortisol, heart rate and heart rate variability were not significantly affected by experimental narrow confinement that only had a significant influence on the behaviours, locomotion and sitting. In conclusion, the experimental animals adapted very fast and did not show physiological indications of chronic stress. However, the absence of apparent stress does not exclude other, subtler, welfare impairments.

Keywords

pigrestraintheart rate variabilitybehaviourcortisol
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , March 2011 , pp. 433 - 438
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2011

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