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How information about individual pigs can help to reduce aggression and injuries after mixing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

H.W. Erhard ,
M. Mendl  and
D.D. Ashley
H.W. Erhard
Affiliation:
Genetics and Behavioural Sciences Department, SAC Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
M. Mendl
Affiliation:
Genetics and Behavioural Sciences Department, SAC Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK
D.D. Ashley
Affiliation:
Glasgow University, Veterinary School, Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK
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Extract

Dominance hierarchies are commonly observed in groups of pigs (Beilharz & Cox 1967). These hierarchies appear to be established by individuals assessing each other's relative abilities, usually through fighting (Rushen & Pajor 1987). The resulting aggression is a well documented problem in pig husbandry. It could be reduced by mixing pigs who differ in certain respects, such that they rapidly form a hierarchy without vigorous fighting. Hessing et al. (1994) found that mixing pigs who showed high levels of resistance to being placed on their backs in a “back test” with pigs who were less resistant resulted in low levels of aggression. In this study we investigated whether mixing pigs which differ in their aggressiveness could reduce the negative effects of regrouping.

Type
Pig Feeding Behaviour
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 1996 , March 1996 , pp. 12
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1996

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References

Beilharz, R.G. and Cox, D.F. 1967. Social dominance in swine. Animal Behaviour 15: 117–122.10.1016/S0003-3472(67)80021-6CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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