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Behavioural differences between weaner pigs with intact and docked tails

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

MA Paoli ,
HP Lahrmann ,
T Jensen  and
RB D’Eath
MA Paoli*
Affiliation:
Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Easter Bush, Roslin EH25 9RG, UK
HP Lahrmann
Affiliation:
Danish Agriculture and Food Council, Pig Research Centre, Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, DK-1609 Kbh V, Denmark
T Jensen
Affiliation:
Danish Agriculture and Food Council, Pig Research Centre, Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, DK-1609 Kbh V, Denmark
RB D’Eath
Affiliation:
Animal Behaviour & Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Research Group, SRUC, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: [email protected]
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Abstract

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Tail-biting in pigs (Sus scrofa) reduces welfare and production. Tail-docking reduces (but does not eliminate) tail-biting damage. The reason tail-docking reduces tail damage is unknown. It may reduce pigs’ attraction to tails (H1), or increase tails’ sensitivity to investigation (H2). To investigate these hypotheses, behavioural differences between 472 individually marked grower pigs with intact tails (nine groups of 25-34 pigs) or docked tails (nine groups of 22-24 pigs) were observed from 5-8 weeks of age on a commercial farm in Denmark. Pens had part-slatted floors, dry feeding and two handfuls of straw per day, and enrichment objects were provided. Behavioural sampling recorded actor and recipient for tail-directed (tail interest, tail in mouth, tail reaction) and investigatory behaviours (belly-nosing, ear-chewing, interaction with enrichment). Scan sampling recorded pig posture/activity and tail posture. Intact-tail pigs performed more overall investigatory behaviours but tail type did not affect the amount of tail-directed behaviours. Larger pigs performed more investigatory and tail-directed behaviours than smaller pigs and females performed slightly more tail investigation. Tail-directed behaviours were not consistent over time at the individual or group level. However, ear-chewing was consistent at the group level. One group with intact tails was affected by a tail-biting outbreak in the final week of the study (evidenced by tail-damage scores) and showed an increase over time in tail posture (tail down) and tail-directed behaviour but not activity. Overall, there were few behavioural differences between docked and undocked pigs: no evidence of reduced tail investigation (H1) or an increased reaction to tail investigation (H2) in docked pigs, and yet docked pigs had less tail damage. We propose that docking might be effective because longer tails are more easily damaged as pigs are able to bite them with their cheek teeth.

Keywords

abnormal behaviouranimal welfareintact tailpigstail-bitingtail-docking
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , May 2016 , pp. 287 - 296
Copyright
© 2016 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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