Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Kulok, M.
• Wojtas, K.
• Ciorga, M.
• Pejsak, Z.
• Kołacz, R.

Titel

The effects of lack of movement in sows during pregnancy period on cortisol, acute phase proteins and lymphocytes proliferation level in piglets in early postnatal period

Ist Teil von

• Polish journal of veterinary sciences, 2021-01, Vol.24 (1), p.85-92

Ort / Verlag

Warsaw: Polish Academy of Sciences, Committee of Veterinary Sciences

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Free E-Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Prolonged exposure to stress may cause adverse effects on animal physiology. It is especially important during the gestation period as female physiology can affect the unborn offspring in the form of prenatal stress. Intensive pig farming industry developed gestation crates that enable to keep sows during gestation period in small stalls which do not allow animals to move freely for a maximum of 4 weeks after successful insemination (Council Directive 2008/120/EC). Although these crates have production advantages, many health and welfare issues have been raised recently. In this study we tested to what extent the lack of movement of sows kept in the gestation crates had an impact on some blood and saliva constituents of new-born piglets. In total, the samples were collected from 80 piglets when they were 3, 7 and 21 days of age and tested for cortisol levels in blood and saliva, acute phase proteins (amyloid A, C-reactive protein, haptoglobin) and lymphocytes proliferation index (in response to ConA, PHA and PWM). 40 piglets were from sows kept in free movement housing (FM group) from day 1 to day 100 of pregnancy and forty piglets were from sows in the movement restriction group (MR), in which the sows were kept in crates just allowing them to stand up and lie down from day 1 to day 100 of the pregnancy (research was conducted before the implementation Directive 2008/120/EC i.e. January 1,2013). The results of the study showed that the piglets delivered by sows kept under movement restriction conditions exhibited higher cortisol and acute phase protein levels as well as a lower lymphocytes proliferation index. This suggests that lack of movement in sows during the gestation period influences piglets' physiology and indicates that the piglets are suffering from prenatal stress caused by insufficient housing conditions of their mothers potentially leading to poor health and welfare of their offspring.