运输空间容量对断奶仔猪行为和生产性能的影响

为了解运输对断奶仔猪行为与生产性能的影响,针对北京至邯郸的实际仔猪运输,设计两种运输空间容量(0·09m2/头和0·15m2/头),对运输过程断奶仔猪的躺卧、站立行为进行观察,并对运输前后仔猪体重和体表受损程度进行测定,其结果表明:(1)在试验运输条件下,运输温度与仔猪躺卧行为呈明显的负相关(PearsonCorrelationTest,R=-0·324,P<0·01);(2)两种运输空间容量下,仔猪站立行为(Mann-WhitneyUTest,P>0·05)及运输过程中仔猪的活动激烈程度无显著差异(Chi-squareTest,P>0·05),但仔猪的躺卧行为有显著差异(Mann-WhitneyUTest,P<0·05);(3)不同运输时间持续段上,仔猪的站立和躺卧行为所占比例(FriedmanTest,P<0·001)和仔猪的活动激烈程度有显著差异(Chi-squareTest,P<0·01);(4)两种运输空间容量下,仔猪体表受损程度(Mann-WhitneyUTest,P>0·05)和仔猪体重变化无显著差异(tTest,P>0·05)。这些结果提示,将运输空间容量降低到仔猪趴卧时所需的空间容量,对断奶仔猪的躺卧行为有一定的影响,但对仔猪的站立行为、体表受损及体重变化无显著影响。其原因可能是仔猪趴卧的面积并不是仔猪运输空间的最低阈值,这需要进一步研究证实。

Effect of Transport Space Allowance on Piglets' Behaviour and Performance

In order to investigate piglet welfare and the effect of transport on piglets, a transport experiment was designed on the road from Beijing to Handan. The piglets' behaviour and performance was measured and the transport temperature, transport space allowance and transport duration were considered in this experiment. Data processing showed: (1) Significant negative correlation between transport temperature and the percent of pigs' lying behaviour in this experiment (Pearson Correlation Test, R=-0.324,P<0.01); (2) No significant difference between two transport space allowances on the piglets' standing (Mann-Whitney U Test, P>0.05) and active (Chi-square Test,P>0.05) behaviours, but a significant difference between transport space allowances on the piglets' lying behaviour (Mann-Whitney U Test, P<0.05); (3) A significant effect of transport duration on piglets' standing, lying (Friedman Test,P<0.001) and active (Chi-square Test, P<0.01) behaviour; (4) No significant difference between two transport space allowances on pig skin damage (Mann-Whitney U Test, P>0.05) or weight change (t Test, P>0.05). The results indicate that under certain transport conditions the piglets' behavior may be affected by transport duration, but not by transport space allowance in this experiment. It is possible that pigs' sternum area is not the lowest limit of transport space allowance.