Can Ambient Sound Reduce Distress in Piglets During Weaning and Restraint?
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2000 |
Authors: |
Sylvie Cloutier, Daniel M. Weary, David Fraser |
Publication/Journal: |
Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science |
Keywords: |
animal welfare, animal well-being, auditory enrichment |
Abstract:
Music or other background sounds are often played in barns as environmental enrichment for animals on farms or to mask sudden disruptive noises. However, previous studies looking at the effects of this practice on nonhuman animal well-being and productivity have found contradictory results. This study monitored the vocal responses of piglets, as indicators of well-being, to evaluate the effect of various sounds played during 2 simulations of stressful farm procedures: (a) the 5 min the animals were held as if for castration and (b) the first 20 hr after weaning. The sound treatments included pink noise, music, vocalizations made by other piglets during actual castrations or the first hours after weaning, and silence (control). The study presented pink noise and music both with and without a binaural beat in the delta-theta frequency range. In both the handling and weaning situations, none of the sound treatments reduced the piglets’ call rate below that heard during the control. Piglets vocalized most during playback of pink noise and least during silence and playback of calls from other pigs. These results suggest that playing music or other sounds provides no improvement in conditions for piglets during handling and weaning.