The Effect of Environmental Manipulation on Behavior, Salivary Cortisol, and Growth of Piglets Weaned at 14 Days of Age
Environmental enrichment can be a useful tool to reduce belly nosing behaviors in early weaned piglets. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of environmental enrichment on behavior, salivary cortisol, and productivity of piglets weaned at 14 days of age. The study assigned 112 piglets (line Camborough 22 of PIC) into 2 […]
Effects of Early Weaning on the Circadian Rhythm and Behavioral Satiety Sequence in Rats
The objective of this work was to study the effect of early weaning on circadian rhythm and the behavioral satiety sequence in adult rats. Male Wistar rat pups were weaned for separation from the mother at 15 (D15), 21 (D21) and 30 (D30) days old. Body weight and food intake was measured every 30 days […]
Effects of pre-weaning exposure to a maze on stress responses in pigs at weaning and on subsequent performance in spatial and fear-related tests
Learning, memory and regulation of the stress response are mediated by the hippocampus. Biologically relevant hippocampal-dependent tasks that develop and integrate cognitive processing of this region may not be available to piglets in some current production systems. Additionally, weaning piglets at less than two weeks of age may make them particularly vulnerable to disruptions during […]
Organizational effects of estrogen on male-type vulnerability to early weaning
Abstract We previously reported that early-weaned (postnatal day 14) male ICR mice, compared to normally weaned animals, exhibited a persistent increase in anxiety-related behavior in the elevated plus maze test. In this study, we examined whether steroid hormone manipulations on postnatal day 0 and at the ages of 2 or 3 weeks affected male-type vulnerability […]
Anxiety-like, novelty-seeking and memory/learning behavioral traits in male Wistar rats submitted to early weaning
The most frequently used animal models of early weaning (EW) in rodents, maternal deprivation and pharmacological inhibition of lactation, present confounding factors, such as high stress or drug side effects, that can mask or interact with the effects of milk deprivation per se. Given these limitations, the development of new models of EW may provide […]
Comparison of the behaviour of piglets raised in an artificial rearing system or reared by the sow
Over the last 15 years, rising sow fertility has led to a considerable increase in litter size. As a consequence, the number of live born piglets may outnumber the number of functional teats, and surplus piglets are removed from the sow at the age of 3–6 days and fed with artificial milk. The objective of […]