Investigating risk factors behind piglet facial and sow teat lesions through a literature review and a survey on teeth reduction.

Introduction: Piglet facial and sow teat lesions are the main reported reasons why pig producers routinely practice teeth resection. This is a painful procedure performed on piglets, where their needle teeth are clipped or ground to resect the pointed tip. The practice raises welfare concerns.

Improving young pig welfare on-farm: The Five Domains Model.

Considering welfare through the "neonatal and nursery pig perspective" is an exciting approach and one that resonates with consumers. Overlaying this with the Five Domains Model, as we suggest in this review, points to practical on-farm improvements that provide each pig the opportunity to experience positive mental states. The Five Domains Model is broken into physical and functional states, which include Domain 1: Nutrition, Domain 2: Physical Environment, Domain 3: Health, and Domain 4: Behavioral Interaction, and Domain 5: Mental State.

Potential improvements of the cognition of piglets through a synbiotic supplementation from 1 to 28 days via the gut microbiota.

The influence of feed supplements on behavior and memory has been recently studied in livestock. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effects of a synbiotic on: an episodic-like (SOR: Spontaneous Object Recognition), a working (BARR: Fence barrier task), a long-term (TMAZE: Spatial T-maze task) memory test and on gut microbiota composition. Eighteen female piglets were supplemented from 1 to 28 days of age with a synbiotic (SYN), while 17 served as control (CTL).

Characterizing the postnatal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response of in utero heat stressed pigs at 10 and 15 weeks of age.

In utero heat stress alters postnatal physiological and behavioral stress responses in pigs. However, the mechanisms underlying these alterations have not been determined. The study objective was to characterize the postnatal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response of in utero heat-stressed pigs.

Repeated intranasal oxytocin administration in early life dysregulates the HPA axis and alters social behavior.

Agonistic interactions are a powerful stressor. Conversely, positive social interactions can reduce the adverse effects of social stress. This possibly occurs through the action of oxytocin (OT), a neuropeptide able to reduce activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

Identification of low and high frequency ranges for heart rate variability and blood pressure variability analyses using pharmacological autonomic blockade with atropine and propranolol in swine.

Understanding autonomic nervous system functioning, which mediates behavioral and physiological responses to stress, offers great potential for assessing farm animal stress and welfare. Evaluation of heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV), using time and frequency domain analyses may provide a sensitive and reliable measure of affective states and stress-mediated changes in sympathetic and parasympathetic tones. The aim of this research was to define low (LF) and high frequency (HF) power spectral ranges using pharmacological autonomic blockade, and to examine HRV and BPV parameter changes in response to atropine and propranolol in swine.

Gene expression of serotonin and dopamine receptors and monoamine oxidase-A in the brain of dominant and subordinate pubertal domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) fed a β-adrenoreceptor agonist.

Aggression is a major source of social stress with negative effects on health and well-being, yet limited information is known about the molecular mechanisms mediating aggressive behavior in swine. Ractopamine (RAC) is a β-adrenoreceptor agonist that enhances growth but increases aggressive behaviors in female pigs. Thus, the effects of RAC, sex, and social rank on the mRNA abundance of genes encoding serotonin and dopamine receptors, and monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A in brains of sub-adult pigs were evaluated.