Rearing pigs with play opportunities: the effects on disease resilience in pigs experimentally inoculated with PRRSV.

Positive emotions can reduce disease susceptibility during infectious challenges in humans, and emerging evidence suggests similar effects in farm animals. Because play behaviour may support a positive emotional state in pigs, this study investigates whether rearing pigs with regular intermittent play opportunities enhances disease resilience when challenged with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Litters were assigned to either play (PLY;  = 5 L) or control (CON;  = 4 L) treatments at birth.

Effects of flavoring additives on feed intake, growth performance, temperament, and markers of immune function for newly received feedlot cattle.

Ninety Angus × Hereford steers (259.9 ± 36.18 kg body weight [BW]) were used in a 56-d experiment to assess the effects of flavoring additives on feed intake, and stress and immune response of newly received feedlot cattle.

Serum concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor as a potential biomarker of swine welfare.

Objective: Describe concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) detectable in piglet sera before and after road transport, and evaluate the correlation of serum BDNF with other physiological parameters used to assess swine welfare.

Animals: Commercial crosses of piglets that underwent weaning and transport at approximately 3 wk of age.

Procedure: Sixteen piglets were randomly selected from a larger study for complete blood counts, serum biochemistry testing, cortisol assays, and BDNF assays.

Exploration of plasma metabolite levels in healthy nursery pigs in response to environmental enrichment and disease resilience.

The purpose of this study was to explore plasma metabolite levels in young healthy pigs and their potential association with disease resilience and estimate genetic and phenotypic correlation with the change in lymphocyte concentration following disease challenge. Plasma samples were collected from 968 healthy nursery pigs over 15 batches at an average of 28 ± 3.23 d of age.

Effects of Wash Protocol and Contamination Level on Concentrations of Cortisol and Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in Swine Hair.

The effect of washing procedure and contamination level on the concentrations of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in swine hair was explored over two studies. Hair shaved from finisher pigs ( = 8) and sows ( = 8, cortisol study 1 only) was split into two treatments (two hair samples/pig) to receive either three isopropanol or methanol washes, and two paired subsamples of hair were contaminated with feces and urine, mildly or severely. Samples were further subdivided and received one, three, or five methanol washes.

Physiological response of weaned piglets to two transport durations observed in a Canadian commercial setting.

Observational studies describing the impact of transport duration on weaned piglet welfare are limited. Current Canadian transport regulations are heavily informed by studies involving market hogs. Due to physiological differences between weaned piglets and market hogs, additional data on their response to transport are needed for age-specific evidence-based recommendations.

Effects of Enrichment Type, Presentation and Social Status on Enrichment Use and Behaviour of Sows with Electronic Sow Feeding.

The goal of this study was to identify practical enrichments for sows in partially or fully slatted pen systems. Four treatments were applied: (1) Constant: constant provision of wood on chain; (2) Rotate: rotation of rope, straw and wood enrichments; (3) Stimulus: rotation of enrichments (as in Rotate) with an associative stimulus (bell or whistle); and (4) Control: no enrichment, with each treatment lasting 12 days. Six groups of 20 ± 2 sows were studied from weeks 6 to 14 of gestation in pens with one electronic sow feeder.

Season, Transport Duration and Trailer Compartment Effects on Blood Stress Indicators in Pigs: Relationship to Environmental, Behavioral and Other Physiological Factors, and Pork Quality Traits.

The objective of this study was to assess the effects of the season, travel duration and trailer compartment location on blood creatine-kinase (CK), lactate and cortisol concentrations in 384 pigs and assess their relationships with trailer temperature, heart rate and gastrointestinal tract temperature (GTT), behavior, carcass damage scores and meat quality. Blood CK was greater in pigs transported in summer ( = 0.02), after 18 h transportation ( < 0.