Influence of environmental stimuli on maternal behaviour related to bonding, reactivity and crushing of piglets in domestic sows

Abstract

The influence of environmental stimuli considered biologically relevant for nest building and lactating sows, on maternal behaviour was investigated. Effects of floor type (sand vs. concrete) and substrate type (straw feeder vs. no straw feeder) were examined in a 2×2 factorial experiment with nine replicates of four multiparous sows. From one week prepartum until 13–15 days postpartum, sows were kept individually in roofed 7.6 m 2 `get-away pens'. Video recordings of sow and piglet behaviour in the nest area were made for 24 h on Days 0, 3, 6 and 12 postpartum. A lower proportion of sows with access to either sand, straw or both stimuli crushed piglets by rolling on Day 3, than sows on concrete floors (11% vs. 60%; P<0.05). On Day 0, a lower frequency of postural changes was found for experienced sows (parity 4–5) on sand vs. concrete floors (1.01±0.19 vs. 2.01±0.32, respectively; F 2,14=4.85, P<0.03) and with vs. without straw feeder (1.05±0.18 vs. 1.95±0.31, respectively; F 2,14=3.96, P<0.05). Furthermore, on Days 1–3 postpartum, a higher proportion of sows with access to both stimuli responded by standing up during the playback of a piglet distress call (100% vs. 54%; P<0.02). The general decrease in time spent inside the nest area from Days 0–12 (99.0±0.3% to 90.0±1.8%; P<0.001), tended to be less for sows on sand than sows on concrete floors ( F 1,21=4.19, P<0.053). On Days 13–15 postpartum, the latency to recognition of their own piglets during separation from the litter was shorter for sows with access to environmental stimuli than for sows on concrete floors (>180 s vs. <136 s, respectively; χ 2=4.06, P<0.05). The results suggest that provision of environmental stimuli considered relevant for nest-building affect the maternal behaviour of domestic sows and favour survival of the piglets. Maternal bonding and maternal responsiveness might be increased due to increased comfort of the sow, the physical properties of the environmental stimuli or increased relevance of feedback from the environment either pre- or postpartum.