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The effect of salt deficiency on the behaviour of finishing pigs in a tail chew test

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

V.E. Beattie ,
K.B. Breuer ,
L.M. Dunne ,
S.A. Edwards ,
J.T. Mercer ,
N.E. O’Connell ,
K.A. Rance ,
I.A. Sneddon  and
M.E.M. Sutcliffe
V.E. Beattie
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, BT26 6DR
K.B. Breuer
Affiliation:
Rattlerow farms Ltd, Hillhouse Farm, Stradbroke, Eye, Suffolk, IP21 5NB
L.M. Dunne
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, BT26 6DR
S.A. Edwards
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Newcastle, King George VI Building, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU
J.T. Mercer
Affiliation:
Independent Breeding consultants, Harryburn Stables, Lauder, berwichshire, TD2 6PD
N.E. O’Connell
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, BT26 6DR
K.A. Rance
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Aberdeen, MacRobert Building, Aberdeen, AB24 5UA
I.A. Sneddon
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN
M.E.M. Sutcliffe
Affiliation:
Rattlerow farms Ltd, Hillhouse Farm, Stradbroke, Eye, Suffolk, IP21 5NB
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Extract

Tail-biting is an adverse behaviour which can lead to injury in the recipient pig, reducing welfare and causing abscesses in the carcass. A survey in abattoirs in the UK found that 5 percent of pigs at slaughter have their tails bitten (Guise & Penny, 1998). Work by Fraser (1987) suggested that tail-biting is linked to a deficiency in dietary minerals. This study investigated whether finishing pigs were more attracted to salt after being offered a diet deficient in salt for two weeks.

Type
Poster Session I
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2001 , 2001 , pp. PC2
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2001

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References

Breuer, K.B., Beattie, V.E., Dunne, L.M., Slade, E.C., Davies, Z., Mercer, j.T., rance, K.A., Sneddon, I.A., Sutcliffe, S.A. and Edwards, S.A. 2001. Validation and development of a behavioural test to predict the predisposition of groing pigs to perform harmful social behaviour such as tail biting. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science, York.Google Scholar
Day, J.E.L., Kyriazakis, I. and Lawrence, A.B. 1995. The effect of food deprivation on the expression of foraging and exploratory behaviour in the growing pig. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 42; 193–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, D. 1987. Attraction to blood as a factor in tail-biting by pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 17: 61–68 Google Scholar
Guise, H.J. and Penny, R.H.C. 1998. Tail-biting and taildocking in pigs. Veterinary Record 142: 46 Google Scholar