Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T09:54:26.054Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of weight, temperature and behaviour on the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol in growing pigs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2008

E. Hillmann*
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal Science, Physiology and Behaviour Group, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
L. Schrader
Affiliation:
Institute for Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Federal Agricultural Research Centre, 29223 Celle, Germany
C. Mayer
Affiliation:
Institute for Animal Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Federal Agricultural Research Centre, 29223 Celle, Germany
L. Gygax
Affiliation:
Federal Veterinary Office; Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station ART, Tänikon, 8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland
Get access

Abstract

In farm animals, salivary cortisol has become a widely used parameter for measuring stress responses. However, only few studies have dealt with basal levels of concentration of cortisol in pigs and its circadian rhythm. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ambient temperature and thermoregulatory behaviour on the circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol levels in fattening pigs. Subjects were 30 fattening pigs of different weight (60 to 100 kg), kept in six groups in an uninsulated building in pens with partly slatted floors. Saliva samples were taken every 2 h over periods of 24 h at different ambient temperatures at two times in winter and four times in summer. Thermoregulatory behaviour was recorded in the same 24-h time periods. The effect of time of day, body weight, ambient temperature and behaviour on the cortisol level was analysed using a mixed-effects model. Two peaks of cortisol levels per day were found. This circadian pattern became more pronounced with increasing weight and on days where thermoregulatory behaviour was shown. Mean cortisol levels per day were affected by weight but not by thermoregulatory behaviour. From our data, we conclude that long-term variations in cortisol concentration may be influenced by increasing age and weight more than by the respective experimental situation. In assessing animal welfare, it seems more reliable to consider the circadian pattern of cortisol concentration instead of only one value per day.

Type
Full Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bate, LA, Hacker, RR 1985. Effect of cannulation and environmental temperature on the concentration of serum cortisol in pregnant sows. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 65, 399404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boon, CR 1981. The effect of departures from lower critical temperature on the group postural behaviour of pigs. Animal Production 33, 7179.Google Scholar
Cook, NJ, Schaefer, AL, Lepage, P, Morgan Jones, S 1996. Salivary vs. serum cortisol for the assessment of adrenal activity in swine. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 76, 329335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Jong, IC, Prelle, TI, van de Burgwal, JA, Lambooij, E, Korte, SM, Blokhuis, HJ, Koolhaas, JM 2000. Effects of environmental enrichment on behavioral responses to novelty, learning, and memory, and the circadian rhythm in cortisol in growing pigs. Physiology and Behavior 68, 571578.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Leeuw, JA, Ekkel, ED 2004. Effects of feeding level and the presence of a foraging substrate on the behaviour and stress physiological response of individually housed gilts. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 86, 1525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ekkel, ED, Dieleman, SJ, Schouten, WGP, Portela, A, Cornelissen, G, Tielen, MJM, Halberg, F 1996. The circadian rhythm of cortisol in the saliva of young pigs. Physiology and Behavior 60, 985989.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ekkel, DE, Spoolder, HAM, Hulsegge, I, Hopster, H 2003. Lying characteristics as determinants for space requirements in pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 80, 1930.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geverink, NA, Schouten, WGP, Gort, G, Wiegant, VM 2003. Individual differences in behaviour, physiology and pathology in breeding gilts housed in groups or stalls. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81, 2941.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Griffith, MK, Minton, JE 1991. Free-running rhythms of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol and melatonin in pigs. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 8, 201208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hillmann, E, Mayer, C, Schrader, L 2004. Lying behaviour and adrenocortical reactions as indicators for the thermal tolerance of pigs of different weight. Animal Welfare 13, 329335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillmann, E, Mayer, C, Gygax, L, Schrader, L 2005. Effects of space allowance on behavioural and adrenocortical reactions to elevated temperatures in fattening pigs. Lanbauforschung Völkenrode 55, 255260.Google Scholar
Huynh, TTT, Aarnink, AJA, Gerrits, WJJ, Heetkamp, MJH, Canh, TT, Spoolder, HAM, Kemp, B, Verstegen, MWA 2005. Thermal behaviour of growing pigs in response to high temperature and humidity. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 91, 116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klemcke, HG, Nienaber, JA, Hahn, GL 1989. Plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol in pigs: effects of time of day on basal and stressor-altered concentrations. Experimental Biology and Medicine 190, 4253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Negrao, JA, Porcionato, MA, De Passille, AM, Rushen, J 2004. Cortisol in saliva and plasma of cattle after ACTH administration and milking. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 17131718.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinheiro, JC, Bates, DM 2000. Mixed-effects models in S and S-PLUS. Springer, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruis, MAW, Te Brake, JHA, Engel, B, Ekkel, ED, Buist, WG, Blokhuis, HJ, Koolhaas, JM 1997. The circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol in growing pigs: effects of age, gender and stress. Physiology and Behavior 62, 623630.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schönreiter, S, Zanella, AJ 2000. Assessment of cortisol in swine by saliva: new methodological approaches. Archiv für Tierzucht 43, 165170.Google Scholar
Venables, WN, Ripley, BD 2002. Modern applied statistics with S. Springer, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar