Lagoda Martyna E, O'Driscoll Keelin, Galli Maria C, Cerón José J, Ortín-Bustillo Alba, Marchewka Joanna, Boyle Laura A
Pig Development Department, Animal & Grassland Research & Innovation Centre, Teagasc Moorepark, Fermoy, Co Cork, Ireland.
Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Animal Behaviour, ul. Postępu 36A, Jastrzębiec 05-552.
Anim Welf. 2023 Jul 26;32:e52. doi: 10.1017/awf.2023.48. eCollection 2023.
Prenatal stress is the mechanism through which poor welfare of pregnant sows has detrimental effects on the health and resilience of their piglets. We compared two gestation housing systems (IMPROVED versus [conventional] CONTROL) in terms of sow stress and welfare indicators and sought to determine whether potential benefits to the sows would translate into improved offspring health. Sows were mixed into 12 stable groups (six groups per treatment, 20 sows per group) 29 days post-service in pens with free-access, full-length individual feeding/lying-stalls. CONTROL pens had fully slatted concrete floors, with two blocks of wood and two chains suspended in the group area. IMPROVED pens were the same but with rubber mats and manila rope in each stall, and straw provided in three racks in the group area. Saliva was collected from each sow on day 80 of pregnancy and analysed for haptoglobin. Hair cortisol was measured in late gestation. Sows' right and left eyes were scored for tear staining in mid lactation and at weaning. Numbers of piglets born alive, dead, mummified, and total born were recorded. Piglets were weighed and scored for vitality and intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) at birth. Presence of diarrhoea in farrowing pens was scored every second day throughout the suckling period. IMPROVED sows had lower haptoglobin levels and tear-stain scores during lactation. IMPROVED sows produced fewer mummified piglets, and these had significantly lower IUGR scores, and scored lower for diarrhoea than piglets of CONTROL sows. Hence, improving sow welfare during gestation improved the health and performance of their offspring.
产前应激是怀孕母猪福利不佳对其仔猪健康和恢复力产生有害影响的机制。我们比较了两种妊娠饲养系统（改良型与[传统型]对照型）在母猪应激和福利指标方面的差异，并试图确定对母猪的潜在益处是否会转化为后代健康状况的改善。配种后29天，将母猪混合到12个稳定的组中（每种处理6组，每组20头母猪），放置在有自由出入、全长个体饲养/躺卧栏的猪舍中。对照栏的地面是全漏缝的水泥地面，在群体区域悬挂有两块木头和两条铁链。改良栏与之相同，但每个栏中有橡胶垫和马尼拉绳，且在群体区域设置了三个放置稻草的架子。在妊娠第80天从每头母猪采集唾液并分析其中的触珠蛋白。在妊娠后期测量毛发皮质醇水平。在泌乳中期和断奶时对母猪的左右眼进行泪斑评分。记录出生时存活、死亡、木乃伊化和总出生仔猪的数量。在出生时对仔猪称重，并对其活力和宫内生长受限（IUGR）情况进行评分。在整个哺乳期每隔一天对产仔栏中腹泻情况进行评分。改良组母猪在泌乳期的触珠蛋白水平和泪斑评分较低。改良组母猪产出的木乃伊化仔猪较少，这些仔猪的IUGR评分显著较低，且腹泻评分低于对照组母猪的仔猪。因此，在妊娠期改善母猪福利可提高其后代的健康水平和性能。
