82 Struggle behavior and vocalizations of male piglets during castration

Abstract

Abstract Castration without the use of analgesia is routinely performed on male piglets. The objective of this study was to assess acute pain during castration through behavioral indicators. Piglets (n=88) were randomly allocated to one of two treatments: castration without the use of analgesia (C) and sham-castration (S). Within 24 hours after birth (birth weight = 1.78kg ±0.71), identical procedures were followed for both treatment groups, except sham piglets were not castrated. Struggle behavior (curl ups, leg kicks, and body flailing) and vocalizations were collected via continuous video recording as piglets received treatment from start (first application of scalpel) to end (application of iodine). Vocalization parameters (duration and peak frequency) were analyzed using the Raven Pro: Interactive Sound Analysis Software (Version 1.5). Peak frequency was defined as low (< 1000 Hz) and high (≥ 1000 Hz). Data were analyzed using the Glimmix Procedure of SAS. For struggle behavior, treatment did not affect curl up frequency. However, castrated piglets kicked more frequently than did sham piglets (C=28.8±0.9 vs. S=21.3±0.9 kicks/min; P=0.02). Additionally, 52% of castrated piglets displayed body flailing, whereas only 4.4% of sham piglets displayed the same behavior (Chi-Square = 24.2; P < 0.0001). For vocalizations, no difference was found for duration and peak frequency of low frequency calls. However, castrated piglets responded with more high frequency calls than sham piglets (C=23.6±0.3 vs. S=18.6±0.3 calls/min; P=0.04). High frequency calls tended to be of longer duration for castrated piglets (C=0.45±0.04 vs. S=0.27±0.04 sec/call; P=0.08). Results indicate that castration without the use of analgesia increased the frequency of leg kicks, body failing, and high frequency calls. This suggests that leg kicks, body flailing, and high frequency calls maybe useful behavioral indicators of acute pain in piglets.