The in-utero experience of piglets born from sows with lameness shapes their life trajectory.

ABSTRACT: Experiences during gestation can alter the mother's behavior and physiology, thereby potentially affecting the behavioral and physiological development of the offspring. In livestock, one common challenge for pregnant animals is lameness: a multifactorial condition that causes pain, stress, resulting in poor welfare outcomes. Since maternal pain can affect offspring development, we aimed to quantify the behavioral response in 142 piglets born from sows with different degrees of lameness during pregnancy. Gait scores of 22 pregnant group-housed sows were assessed six times at 2-week intervals. Lameness scores varied from 0 (no lameness) to 5 (most severe lameness score). Saliva samples and behavior were assessed in the sows throughout pregnancy. Sows were moved to individual farrowing pens

SUBMITTER: Parada Sarmiento M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8219680 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature