Individual variation in sow aggressive behavior and its relationship with sow welfare

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between individual sow aggressive behavior and sow welfare, based on aggression, skin injuries, and stress, in a total of 275 pregnant domestic sows. Over 4 time replicates, sows were randomly mixed into groups of 10 (floor space of 1.8 m2/sow) within 7 d of insemination in both their first and second gestations (200 sows per gestation with 126 sows observed in both gestations). Measurements were taken on aggression (both delivered and received) at feeding, skin injuries, and plasma cortisol concentrations at d 2, 9, and 51 after mixing. Live weight gain, nonreproductive removals, litter size (born alive, total born, and stillborn piglets), and farrowing..