Maternal behaviour of domestic sows and crosses between domestic sows and wild boar

Abstract

We compared maternal behaviour in domestic sows and wild boar crosses (wild-type sows) to assess whether pre-parturient behaviour and/or the ability to care for offspring has been reduced and/or modified through domestication. Seven domestic sows and seven wild-type sows were used. Nest building behaviour, nursing behaviour during week 1–3 and activity measures were recorded in an outdoor environment with farrowing huts. There were no differences between the two genotypes of sows in the frequency or pattern of nest building behaviour. The number of nutritive nursings was reduced in the second week post partum for both wild-type and domestic sows. Domestic sows allowed their piglets to massage the udder for a longer time after milk ejection than the wild-type sows the first week of observation and tended to do the same the second week of observation. Both wild-type and domestic sows tended to terminate more nursings the second week post partum compared to the first week and wild-type sows terminated a larger proportion of nursings compared to the domestic sows. During the third week after parturition, domestic sows tended to lie down more and move less than wild-type sows. The frequency of nose-contacts between the sow and her piglets was higher in the wild-type sows than domestic sows. This study demonstrated large similarities in the maternal behaviour of wild-type and domestic sows. The few observed differences might indicate that domestic sows have adapted to some extent to a life in human protection, where it may be more beneficial from a life-time reproductive aspect to invest more in the current litter. The results suggest that the pre-parturient need of sows and the ability to care for the offspring have not been substantially modified by domestication.