Effects of the environmental enrichment on pigs’ behavior and performance

Oliveira, Rodrigo Fortunato de; Soares, Rita da Trindade Ribeiro Nobre; Moreira, Rennan Herculano Rufino; Andrade, Rayanne Prates de; Rosenfield, Derek Andrew; Pizzutto, Cristiane Schilbach

doi:10.37496/rbz5220210123

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Biometeorology and animal welfare • R. Bras. Zootec. 52 • 2023 • https://doi.org/10.37496/rbz5220210123 copy

Effects of the environmental enrichment on pigs’ behavior and performance

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

The study evaluates the influence of environmental enrichment on behavior, leucometry, and performance of commercial pigs. Thirty-two hybrid pigs (Landrace × Large White × Pietran), at 69 days of life, were divided into four groups and subjected to different environmental stimuli: concrete floor, with no enrichment (C); floor bedding with wood chips (CM); concrete floor, with mobiles (MO); floor bedding with wood chips and the presence of mobile (CM + MO). The study collected behavioral data of the animals during 84 days, through the growing and finishing phases, each lasting 42 days, assessing the animals’ position and behavior by the instantaneous scan sampling method. The animals received ad libitum water and a specially formulated feed following the nutritional requirements for growing and finishing phases. The study considered daily feed intake, daily weight gain, and feed conversion. Group CM in the growing phase showed prolonged standing position periods and demonstrated a greater exploration of their environment (2.1%). Groups MO and CM + MO, in the growing phase, demonstrated extended periods of interaction with the offered enrichments (10.8±2.1 and 9.1±2.8%, respectively). Piglets in the finishing phase housed in pens with floor bedding with wood chips and those housed in pens with floor bedding with wood chips and the presence of mobile (tires and chains) showed longer interaction time with enrichments (4.8 and 5.4%, respectively), compared with the other groups C and Mo. Group C remained overall the longest in a standing position in both breeding phases. There was no effect on the animals’ leukogram. Environmental enrichment with wood shavings (as beddings) and hanging mobiles improves behavioral aspects of piglets in the growing and finishing periods.

Keywords:
animal welfare; floor bedding; mobiles; stress; swine

Behavioral observations	Description
Standing	Standing in the stall
Lateral recumbency	Laying on the side
Floor	Located on the floor
Feeder	Located next to the feeder
Pacing	Walking around the stall
Eating	Ingesting feed from the feeder
Rooting	Exploring the floor or parts of the installation with the nuzzle
Still (inactive)	Open eyes, without any motion
Animal interacts with the environment	Playing environment enrichment items
Urinating	Urinating
Defecating	Defecating
Scratching	Rubbing body parts against stall construction
Sleeping	Laying on the floor, with eyes closed, in the stall area
Drinking	Ingesting water from the water fountain
Vocalizing	Producing sound and grunts
Biting	Abnormal behavior, chewing parts of the installation

Behavior	Shift	Treatment¹ 1 Control - concrete floor, with no enrichment; CM - floor bedding with wood chips; MO - concrete floor, with mobiles; CM + MO - floor bedding with wood chips and the presence of mobile.				P-value
Behavior	Shift	Control	CM	MO	CM + MO	P-value
Standing	Morning	23.6±9.1^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	40.2±7.5^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	27.7±5.3^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	19.1±3.3^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.03
	Afternoon	34.8±6.7	42.2±8.0	37.6±5.3	35.1±1.8	0.50
	Total	29.2±5.3	41.2±7.0	32.6±5.0	30.1±3.1	0.25
Lateral recumbency	Morning	72.1±9.6^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	55.5±7.0^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	68.8±6.3^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	76.8±4.7^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.03
	Afternoon	58.5±4.8	50.3±6.9	55.5±5.5	56.5±6.9	0.49
	Total	65.3±4.3	52.9±5.8	62.2±5.1	63.5±5.1	0.77
Floor	Morning	77.5±10.9	74.7±5.1	86±3.5	88.9±3.8	0.25
	Afternoon	88.6±4.5	83.7±7.1	90±3.5	88.1±6.3	0.36
	Total	83±7.7	79.2±5.5	88±3.0	85.8±3.3	0.77
Feeder	Morning	22.5±10.9	25.3±5.1	14±3.5	11.6±3.7	0.27
	Afternoon	11.4±4.5	16.3±7.1	10±3.5	11.9±6.2	0.36
	Total	17±7.7	20.8±5.5	12±3.0	14.3±3.1	0.77
Pacing	Morning	1.6±0.4^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	2.1±0.4^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.1±0.5^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.6±0.3^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.04
	Afternoon	3±0.9^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	3.2±0.5^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	2.2±0.7^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.8±0.1^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.03
	Total	2.3±0.6^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	2.7±0.4^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.6±0.7^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.7±0.1^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.02
Eating	Morning	14.6±6.6	20.7±4.0	12.4±3.2	6.1±5.0	0.14
	Afternoon	4.7±1.8	12.5±6.2	7.7±3.6	9.6±5.9	0.70
	Total	9.6±4.2	16.6±4.1	10±2.4	10.9±3.9	0.38
Nuzzling	Morning	10.1±2.5	14.8±2.1	9.3±3.7	8.7±3.0	0.30
	Afternoon	27.3±2.6	26.8±4.0	19.6±4.4	17.9±4.4	0.14
	Total	18.7±2.3	20.8±2.3	14.4±3.7	13.6±3.6	0.18
Inactive	Morning	18±5.6	20.7±4.8	16.8±3.5	23.3±4.0	0.61
	Afternoon	33.1±5.8	27±0.7	26.9±3.2	29.4±1.9	0.41
	Total	25.5±5.4	23.8±2.7	21.8±3.3	23.2±3.2	0.24
Animal × enrichment	Morning	0^c a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.8±0.2b^c a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	7.8±2.3^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	4.7±1.3^ab a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	< 0.01
	Afternoon	0^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.5±0.6^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	13.9±2.2^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	8.7±2.3^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	< 0.01
	Total	0^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.1±1.1^b a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	10.8±2.1^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	9.1±2.8^a a-c Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	< 0.01
Urinating	Morning	0.5±0.3	0.7±0.1	0.5±0.1	0.3±0.03	0.23
	Afternoon	0.8±0.3	0.7±0.2	0.7±0.2	0.7±0.2	0.18
	Total	0.7±0.2	0.7±0.2	0.6±0.1	0.5±0.1	0.28
Defecating	Morning	0.2±0.1	0.3±0.1	0.6±0.1	0.6±0.03	0.07
	Afternoon	0.2±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.1±0.1	0.3±0.2	0.52
	Total	0.2±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.1±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.63
Scratching	Morning	0.2±0.03	0.4±0.3	0.2±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.33
	Afternoon	0.4±0.1	0.4±0.2	0.4±0.2	0.1±0.1	0.13
	Total	0.3±0.04	0.4±0.2	0.3±0.1	0.1±0.1	0.10
Sleeping	Morning	50.5±5.3	32.7±8.3	47.5±4.3	49.8±8.5	0.14
	Afternoon	21.5±2.2	20.3±5.6	22.6±4.0	24.9±9.1	0.16
	Total	36±3.0	26.5±6.4	35.1±2.1	34.9±7.5	0.41
Drinking	Morning	1.7±0.5	3.2±1.4	1.7±0.4	1.9±0.6	0.36
	Afternoon	1.1±0.2	1.3±0.3	1±0.2	1.1±0.4	0.35
	Total	1.4±0.3	2.3±0.8	1.3±0.3	1.6±0.5	0.39
Vocalizing	Morning	0.4±0.03	0.1±0.1	0.6±0.1	0	0.34
	Afternoon	0.5±0.1	0.6±0.4	0.3±0.2	0.2±0.1	0.78
	Total	0.2±0.1	0.4±0.2	0.2±0.2	0.7±0.1	0.36
Biting	Morning	0.4±0.1	0.2±0.2	0.2±0.1	0.2±0.2	0.74
	Afternoon	1.4±1.1	0.4±0.3	0.4±0.1	0.4±0.2	0.40
	Total	0.9±0.6	0.3±0.2	0.3±0.1	0.3±0.1	0.28

Behavior	Shift	Treatment¹ 1 Control - concrete floor, with no enrichment; CM - floor bedding with wood chips; MO - concrete floor, with mobiles; CM + MO - floor bedding with wood chips and the presence of mobile.				P-value
Behavior	Shift	Control	CM	MO	CM + MO	P-value
Standing	Morning	18.3±10.1	18.7±0.6	27.9±8.3	19.3±2.5	0.70
	Afternoon	21.7±5.1	23.1±3.8	27.3±0.2	24.3±6.3	0.42
	Total	20.0±2.9	20.9±1.6	27.6±4.2	22.8±2.2	0.16
Lateral recumbency	Morning	79.8±10.0	77.1±1.1	68.0±7.2	78.2±3.0	0.42
	Afternoon	67.6±5.6	62.8±6.1	64.9±1.6	67.3±5.0	0.31
	Total	73.7±2.2	70±3.6	66.4±3.4	72.8±1.6	0.17
Floor	Morning	86.4±10.6	89.9±1.1	82.0±8.8	88.9±3.2	0.36
	Afternoon	91.4±2.0	93.3±1.4	93.8±0.9	92.0±1.4	0.82
	Total	88.9±4.3	91.6±1.3	87.9±4.4	90.5±1.1	0.39
Feeder	Morning	13.6±10.6	10.1±1.1	18±8.8	11.1±3.2	0.36
	Afternoon	8.6±2.0	6.7±1.4	6.2±0.9	8.0±1.4	0.82
	Total	11.1±4.3	8.4±1.3	12.1±4.4	9.5±1.1	0.39
Pacing	Morning	1.0±0.4	1.1±0.1	1.3±0.3	1.3±0.4	0.27
	Afternoon	1.6±0.4	1.8±0.6	1.8±0.5	1.5±0.3	0.15
	Total	1.3±0.2	1.5±0.3	1.5±0.4	1.4±0.2	0.21
Eating	Morning	12±9.0	10.7±0.6	18.6±8.2	10±2.4	0.60
	Afternoon	3.8±1.3	4.7±1.3	5.2±0.9	6.5±1.0	0.26
	Total	7.9±4.0	7.7±0.8	11.9±3.9	8.2±1.2	0.70
Nuzzling	Morning	6.5±1.8	6.8±2.0	7.6±2.2	8.4±1.6	0.30
	Afternoon	21.7±1.9	20.4±4.9	17.3±1.6	14.6±1.9	0.21
	Total	14.1±0.3	13.6±3.1	12.4±1.8	11.5±1.3	0.53
Inactive	Morning	20.9±4.6	23.6±2.2	16.9±2.1	21.9±1.1	0.25
	Afternoon	52±1.8^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	45.5±5.0^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	46.6±3.5^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	31.7±2.7^b a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	< 0.01
	Total	36.4±2.9^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	34.6±3.2^ab a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	31.7±4.0^ab a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	26.8±0.9^b a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	< 0.01
Animal × enrichment	Morning	0	2.4±1.6	2.3±0.9	3.7±1.7	0.13
	Afternoon	0^b a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	2.1±0.9^ab a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	7.3±0.9^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	7.1±3.0^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	< 0.01
	Total	0^b a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	2.3±1.2^ab a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	4.8±1.3^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	5.4±1.9^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	< 0.01
Urinating	Morning	0.6±0.4	0.2±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.4±0.1	0.30
	Afternoon	0.6±0.1	0.7±0.2	0.5±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.15
	Total	0.6±0.2	0.5±0.1	0.3±0.04	0.3±0.1	0.93
Defecating	Morning	0.2±0.1	0.4±0.1	0.4±0.03	0.6±0.03	0.26
	Afternoon	0.3±0.1	0.1±0.1	0	0.1±0.1	0.16
	Total	0.2±0.1	0.1±0.1	0.2±0.01	0.7±0.04	0.11
Scratching	Morning	0.1±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.1±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.74
	Afternoon	0.4±0.3	0.6±0.4	0.1±0.1	0.4±0.3	0.62
	Total	0.2±0.2	0.4±0.2	0.1±0.1	0.3±0.1	0.38
Sleeping	Morning	56.8±13.7	52.7±2.8	49.6±5.7	51.1±5.8	0.22
	Afternoon	13.5±5.2	18.7±10.6	16.0±5.8	31.7±5.8	0.19
	Total	35.1±5.1	35.7±6.5	32.8±0.2	41.4±2.8	0.41
Drinking	Morning	0.9±0.3	1.2±0.3	2.2±0.6	1.8±0.4	0.08
	Afternoon	0.5±0.1^b a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.2±0.2^ab a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.4±0.1^ab a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.5±0.4^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	0.03
	Total	0.7±0.1^b a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.2±0.4^ab a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.8±0.3^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	1.7±0.2^a a-b Different letters in the same row differ significantly by Tukey's test at 5% probability.	< 0.01
Vocalizing	Morning	0	0	0	0	-
	Afternoon	0.2±0.1	0.2±0.1	0.4±0.1	0.2±0.03	0.13
	Total	0.1±0.1	0.1±0.1	0.2±0.03	0.1±0.01	0.13
Biting	Morning	0.3±0.2	0.3±0.2	0.7±0.5	0.2±0.03	0.31
	Afternoon	0.6±0.3	0.5±0.4	0.5±0.4	0.1±0.1	0.78
	Total	0.5±0.2	0.4±0.3	0.6±0.4	0.7±0.03	0.42

Variable	Treatment¹ 1 Control - concrete floor, with no enrichment; CM - floor bedding with wood chips; MO - concrete floor, with mobiles; CM + MO - floor bedding with wood chips and the presence of mobile.				P-value	SE
Variable	Control	CM	MO	CM + MO	P-value	SE
	Growing
Leukocytes (/mm³)	14712.50	15412.50	13875.00	15650.00	0.209	2062.08
Eosinophils (/mm³)	282.87	369.12	306.00	426.25	0.670	139.797
Neutrophils (/mm³)	5493.62	7566.62	5332.00	8535.37	0.070	2331.61
Lymphocytes (/mm³)	8258.25	6833.62	7779.62	5898.25	0.364	2230.46
Monocytes (/mm³)	543.37	389.37	352.12	497.87	0.340	156.413
Neutrophils:lymphocytes	0.759	1.294	0.765	1.546	0.059	0.56336
	Finishing
Leukocytes (/mm³)	14050	13937.5	14612.5	13937.5	0.090	2279.75
Eosinophils (/mm³)	378.25	569.37	378.50	354.25	0.068	172.279
Neutrophils (/mm³)	5038.25	4644.5	6141.12	4733.87	0.732	2119.81
Lymphocytes (/mm³)	8287.25	8208.25	7591.5	8268	0.159	1854.47
Monocytes (/mm³)	306.37	382.12	321.25	481.12	0.553	197.571
Neutrophils:lymphocytes	0.804	0.598	0.989	0.746	0.384	0.47500

Variable	Treatment¹ 1 Control - concrete floor, with no enrichment; CM - floor bedding with wood chips; MO - concrete floor, with mobiles; CM + MO - floor bedding with wood chips and the presence of mobile.				P-value	SE
Variable	Control	CM	MO	CM + MO	P-value	SE
	Growing
Initial weight (kg)	26.29	27.23	26.34	25.11	0.083	5.44
Final weight (kg)	62.56	63.53	61.23	57.56	0.370	4.95
Average feed intake (g)	1952.07	1707.99	1851.61	1724.26	0.840	246.93
Daily weight gain (g)	863.5	864.25	830.75	772.75	0.860	91.39
Feed conversion	2.27	2.01	2.23	2.24	0.689	0.28
Backfat thickness (mm)	10	9	8	10	0.095	2
	Finishing
Final weight (kg)	101.71	101.45	98.03	92.13	0.142	6.71
Average feed intake (g)	2664.3	2540.21	2448.94	2407.99	0.592	283.15
Daily weight gain (g)	932	902.75	876.25	823	0.165	71.52
Feed conversion	2.87	2.85	2.81	2.92	0.243	0.37
Backfat thickness (mm)	12.38	11.63	13.63	14.75	0.101	3.95

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[1] * Corresponding author: fortunatorodrigo@ymail.com