The behaviour of male fattening pigs following either surgical castration or vaccination with a GnRF vaccine
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| Category | Journal Articles |
|---|---|
| Abstract |
Vaccination of male fattening pigs with a gonadotropin releasing factor (GnRF) vaccine is regarded as a possible solution to solve the welfare problem associated with surgical castration, which causes pain and stress even when performed under local or general anaesthesia. The objective of the present study was to compare the behaviour of male fattening pigs either surgically castrated without anaesthesia (T1) or vaccinated twice with a GnRF vaccine (T2). Data collection took place in a commercial German fattening unit. Each treatment comprised 8 groups of 12 pigs, housed in fattening pens with partially slatted floor and liquid feed provided three times a day. Data on postures were scored from 24-h videos recorded in every week of the fattening period (16 weeks) using scan sampling with 5 min intervals. Social behaviour was analysed in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 16 by continuous behaviour recording of focus animals in four blocks of 2 h phased evenly during the day. Overall, during the whole fattening period, vaccinates (T2) were more active than surgical castrates (T1), indicated by a higher proportion of pigs standing (T1: 9.3 |
| Date | 2010 |
| Publication Title | Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
| Volume | 124 |
| Issue | 1/2 |
| Pages | 28-34 |
| ISBN/ISSN | 0168-1591 |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.applanim.2010.01.004 |
| Language | English |
| Author Address | Institute of Animal Husbandry and Animal Welfare, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria. johannes.baumgartner@vu-wien.ac.at |
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