Network for swine breeding and ethology
- the influence of maternal traits on piglet production

Project plan

Conclusions

Members

Publications

Articles published within the Network.

Om Du vill läsa om Nätverket för svinavel och etologi på svenska.

A network for swine breeding and ethology has been established in the Nordic countries. The project "Maternal behaviour of sows, with a focus on genetics, physiology and social environment" was performed within the network, 1998-2001.

This four-year project was supported by the Nordic Joint Committee for Agricultural Research (NKJ). The research was performed in cooperation between twenty scientists from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Ethologists, veterinarians and geneticists from the Danish Institute of Agricultural Science, the University of Helsinki, the Agricultural University of Norway and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have worked together in the project.  

With today's breeding programmes, litter size at farrowing is increased due to the selection involved. But increases in litter size generally tend to result in higher piglet mor­tality. Thus, maternal traits must be improved so that the sow can take care of her piglets successfully. Furthermore, in modern piglet production, characterised by larger herds and a lower degree of supervision, the sow has greater responsibility for rearing her piglets. Our cooperation between geneti­cists and ethologists in the Nordic countries originated from increased concern about maternal behaviour of sows. The long-term aim of our project was to improve piglet survival and growth, as well as sow and piglet welfare.

The project has included different kinds of genetic and ethological research. Ethological methods for recording maternal behaviour have been developed. Survival and behavioural traits are often recorded in classes, e.g. dead or alive; thus, quantitative genetic methods for ana­lysing categorical traits have been developed. A computer programme for analyses of traits recorded in two or more categories, with an animal model, has been con­structed.

Experimental studies have been performed at the Danish Institute of Agricultural Science (Foulum), at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Lövsta) and in the experi­mental stable at the Department of Animal Nutrition and Management at the Swedish Univer­sity of Agricultural Sciences. The data base of the Finnish litter recording scheme and that of the experimental herd at Lövsta have been used for genetic studies of piglet survival. Studies of maternal behaviour have been performed in some Danish breeding herds, and, on a larger scale, in Swedish breeding herds. Question­naires have been used to record sow behaviour in Finnish and Norwegian breeding herds. Furthermore, mice have been used as a model for pigs in behavioural studies at the Agricultural University of Norway (Ås).

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Nätverket för svinavel och etologi - modersegenskapers betydelse för smågrisproduktionen

Ett tjugotal forskare från Danmark, Finland, Norge och Sverige har bildat ett nätverk för svinavel och etologi. Medlemmarna arbetar på olika sätt med svinavel och svinens beteende. Vårt mål är att öka kunskaperna om modersegenskapers genetiska bakgrund hos suggan, vilket på lång sikt kommer leda till bättre djuromsorg och lägre smågrisdödlighet. Vill du veta mer om nätverket och om denna forskning så hör av dig till Lotta Rydhmer, som leder Nätverket för svinavel och etologi - modersegenskapers betydelse för  smågris- produktionen.

Nätverket för svinavel och etologi och det nordiska projektet som vi beskriver här stödjs av NKJ (Nordiskt kontaktorgan för jordbruks- forskning). Den svenska delen av projektet har finansierats av SJFR (Skogs- och jordbrukets forskningsråd).

Modersbeteende hos suggor, med fokus på genetik, fysiologi och social miljö

Detta nordiska samarbetsprojekt kring suggors modersegenskaper startade 1998. Det  4-åriga projektet innehöll experimentella studier i försöksbesättningar och fältförsök i avelsbesättningar.

Ett av målen var att skatta genetiska och fenotypiska parametrar för modersegenskaper. Men först måste mätegenskaper och analysmetoder för avelsvärderingen utvecklas. De olika mätegenskaperna togs fram på Foulum i Danmark och dessa egenskaper användes i avelsbesättningarna. 

Ett annat mål var att hitta hormoner och metaboliter i blodet som hänger samman med modersegenskaperna. Upprepade blodprov från digivande analyserades för att jämföra suggornas hormonnivåer och ämnes- omsättning, samt sambanden med mjölkmängd och beteende. En annan del av projektet handlar om stress och social miljö. Samband mellan djurens sociala förmåga i grupp, deras förmåga att hantera stress och modersegenskaper studerades.

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Publications related to the network

Algers, B. 1998. Behaviour of the sow and litter in relation to welfare. Is there a conflict between    productivity and welfare. 15th IPVS Congress, Birmingham, England, 5-9 July 1998. p. 345-348.

Algers, B. 2000. Animal Physiology. Effects of maternal characteristics and physical constraints on milk production in the sow. 51st EAAP meeting, Hague, The Netherlands.

Andersen, I.L, Færevik, G., Bakken, M. & Bøe, K. 1999. Fear in piglets. 11th Nordic ISAE Symposium, Skara, Sweden.

Andersen, I.L., Færevik, G., Bøe, K., Janczak, A.M. & Bakken, M. 2000. Effects of diazepam on the behaviour of weaned pigs in three putative models of anxiety. Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci. 68:121-130.

Andersen, I.L., Færevik, G., Bøe, K., Janczak, A.M. & Bakken, M. 2000. Behavioural evaluation of methods for assessing fear responses in weaned pigs. Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci. 69:227-240.

Damgaard, L.H. 2001. On the repeatability of maternal behaviour in sows. 13th Nordic ISAE Symposium, Lammi, Finland.

Damgaard, L.H., Rydhmer, L., Lövendahl, P. & Grandinson, K. 2001. Genetic parameters of within litter variation in piglet weight at birth and at three weeks of age in litters born of Swedish Yorkshire sows. 52nd EAAP meeting, Budapest, Hungary.

Damgaard, L.H., Rydhmer, L., Lövendahl, P. & Grandinson, K. 2002. Genetic parameters for within-litter variation in piglet birth weight and change in within-litter variation during suckling. J. Anim. Sci. 81:604-610.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L. & Lund, M. 1999. Piglet survival – can it be improved through selection? 33rd Congr. ISAE. Lillehammer, Norway. p. 171.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L., Strandberg, E. & Thodberg, K. 2000. Large scale recording of maternal behaviour in sows and estimation of heritabilities. 12th Nordic ISAE Symposium, Siggerud, Norway.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L., Strandberg, E. & Lund, M.S. 2000. Estimation of genetic parameters for mortality and causes of death in piglets. 51st EAAP meeting, Hague, The Netherlands.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L. & Thodberg, K. 2001. Genetic analysis of on-farm tests of maternal behaviour in sows. 35th Congr. ISAE, Davis, USA. p. 127.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L., Strandberg, E. & Thodberg, K. 2001. Genetic analysis of on-farm tests of maternal behaviour in sows. 52nd EAAP meeting, Budapest, Hungary.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L., Strandberg, E. & Thodberg, K. 2002. Genetic analysis of sows' reaction to piglet scream, and its relation to piglet mortality and growth. 14th Nordic Symposium of the ISAE, Tune. Internal Report no. 151, Danmarks Jordbrugsforskning.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L., Strandberg, E. & Thodberg, K. 2002. Genetic analysis of sows' reaction to a screaming piglet, and its relation to piglet mortality and growth. 7th World Congr. Genet. Appl. Livest. Prod. Montpellier, France. 4 pp.

Grandinson, K., Lund, M.S., Rydhmer, L. & Strandberg, E. 2002. Genetic parameters for the piglet mortality traits crushing, stillbirth and total mortality, and their relation to birth weight. Acta Agric. Scand. Sect. A, Anim. Sci. 52:167-173.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L., Strandberg, E. & Thodberg, K. 2003. Genetic analysis of on-farm tests of maternal behaviour in sows. Livest. Prod. Sci. 83:141-151.

Grandinson, K., Rydhmer, L., Strandberg, E. & Solanes, X. 2003. Genetic analysis of sow body condition during lactation, and its relation to piglet survival and growth. Submitted.

Grandinson, K. 2003. Genetic aspects of maternal ability in sows. Doctoral thesis. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae, Agraria 390.

Hultén, F., Tantasuparuk, W., Valros, A. & Einarsson, S. 2000. Influence of metabolic status during lactation on post weaning reproductive performance in multiparous sows. 14th ICAR-congress, Stockholm, Sweden. p. 126.

Hultén, F., Valros A., Rundgren, M. & Einarsson, S. 2001. Nursing behaviour influences reproductive endocrinology in lactating multiparous sows. 6th Int. Conf. on Pig Reproduction, Columbia, Missouri, USA, 3-6 June.

Hultén, F., Valros A., Rundgren, M. & Einarsson, S. 2002. Reproductive endocrinology and postweaning performance in the multiparous sow. 1. Influence of metabolic status during lactation. Theriogenology 58:1503-1517.

Hultén, F., Valros A., Rundgren, M. & Einarsson, S. 2002. Reproductive endocrinology and postweaning performance in the multiparous sow. 2. Influence of nursing behaviour. Theriogenology 58:1519-1530.

Högberg, A. & Rydhmer, L. 2000. A genetic study of piglet growth as an estimate of maternal capacity. Acta Agric. Scand. Sect. A, Anim. Sci. 50:300-303.

Janczak, A.M., Bakken, M. & Braastad, B.O. 1998. The differences in fearfulness between two mouse strains. 10th Nordic ISAE Symposium, Tune, Denmark.

Janczak, A.M., Braastad, B.O. & Bakken, M. 1999. Effects of selection for high litter size on aversion-related behavior in mice. 11th Nordic ISAE Symposium, Skara, Sweden.

Janczak, A.M., Bakken, M. & Braastad, B.O. 1999. Effects of selection for high litter size on social defensive-behavior in mice. 33rd Congr. ISAE. Lillehammer, Norway, p. 69.

Janczak, A.M., Pedersen, L.J., Jensen, K.J., Andersen, I.L., Bøe, K.E. & Bakken, M. 2000. No effect of variation in handling in behaviour in a porcine elevated plus-maze - a brief report. Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci., 69:169-173.

Janczak, A.M., Braastad, B.O. & Bakken, M. 2000. Fear-related behaviour in two mouse strains differing in litter size. Animal Welfare 9:25-38.

Janczak, A.M. 2001. Predicting social and maternal behaviour in swine. 13th Nordic ISAE Symposium, Lammi, Finland.

Janczak, A.M., Pedersen, L.J. & Bakken, M. 2001. Do pigs have consistent personality traits? 35th Congr. ISAE. Davis, USA.

Janczak, A.M., Braastad, B. & Bakken, M. 2001 A cautionary note regarding the use of nutritional L-tryptophan to alter aversion-related behaviour in mice. Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci. 72:365-373.

Janczak, A.M., Andersen, I.L., Færevik, G., Bøe, K.E. & Bakken, M. 2002. Factor analysis of behaviour in the porcine and murine elevated plus-maze models of anxiety. Appl. Animal Behaviour Sci. 77:155-165.

Janczak, A.M., Pedersen, L.J., & Bakken, M. 2002. Effects of variation in pre-test transport duration and animal age on behaviour in the porcine elevated plus-maze - a brief report, Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci. 77:233-238.

Janczak, A.M., Pedersen, L.J., & Bakken, M. 2003. Aggression, fearfulness and coping styles in female pigs. Appl. Anim. Beh. Sci. 81: 13-28.

Janczak, A.M., Pedersen, L.J., Rydhmer, L. & Bakken, M. 2003. Relation between early fear- and anxiety-related behaviour and maternal ability in sows. Appl. Anim. Beh. Sci. 82: 121-135.

Janczak, A.M., Sandem, A. & Bakken, M. 2003. Behavioural differences in sub-adult female mice exposed to a murine elevated plus-maze: correlated effects of selection for high litter size. Appl. Anim. Beh. Sci. 80: 347-354.

Janczak, A.M., Pedersen, L.J. & Bakken, M. 2002. Predicting maternal behaviour in pigs. 14th Nordic Symposium of the ISAE. Tune, Denmark. Internal Report no. 151, Danmarks Jordbrugsforskning.

Janczak, A.M. 2002. Fear, anxiety and coping styles: validity and implications for maternal ability in pigs. DrAgric thesis. Dept. of Animal Science, Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway.

Korsgaard, I.R., Lund, M.S., Sorensen, D., Gianola, D., Madsen, P. & Jensen, J. 1999. Multivariate analysis of Gaussian, right censored Gaussian, ordered categorical and binary traits. 50th EAAP meeting, Zurich, Switzerland.

Korsgaard, I.R., Lund, M.S., Sorensen, D., Gianola, D., Madsen, P. & Jensen, J. 1999. Multivariate Bayesian analysis of Gaussian, right censored Gaussian, ordered categorical, and binary traits using Gibbs Sampling. J. Anim. Sci. 77, suppl. 1.

Korsgaard, I.R., Lund, M.S., Sorensen, D., Gianola, D., Madsen, P. & Jensen, J. 1999. Multivariate Bayesian analysis of Gaussian, right censored Gaussian, ordered categorical and binary traits using Gibbs Sampling. Interbull meeting, Finland. p. 79-92.

Lindqvist, A., Rundgren, M., Rydhmer, L., Algers, B. & Saloniemi, H., 1998. Interactions between maternal behaviour, metabolic parameters, hormone profiles in the sow and early piglet weight gain. Proc. XVIII Nordic Veterinary Congress, Helsinki, Finland.

Lindqvist, A., Saloniemi, H., Rundgren, M. & Algers, B. 1999. Sow metabolism and piglet performance. 50th EAAP meeting, Zurich, Switzerland.

Lund, M.S., Puonti, M., Rydhmer, L. & Jensen, J. 2000. Relationship between litter size, perinatal, and preweaning survival in Landrace pigs. 51st EAAP meeting, Hague, The Netherlands.

Lund, M.S., Puonti, M., Rydhmer, L. & Jensen, J. 2002. Relationship between litter size, perinatal, and preweaning survival in pigs. Anim. Sci. 74:217-222.

Pedersen, L.J, Andersen, E.H, Jensen, K.H. & Bakken, M. 2000. The influence of early social experiences of piglets on response pattern to social and non-social challenges. 34th Congr. ISAE. Florianopolis, Brazil. p. 180.

Rydhmer, L. Algers, B., Bakken, M., Jensen, J. & Saloniemi, H. 1998. Network for swine breeding and ethology - the influence of maternal traits on piglet production. 32nd Congr. ISAE. Clermont-Ferrand, France. p. 136.

Rydhmer, L. 2000. Genetics of sow reproduction, including puberty, oestrus, pregnancy, farrowing and lactation. Livest. Prod. Sci. 66:1-12.

Rydhmer, L., Grandinson, K. & Thodberg, K. 2000. Sows’ reactivity towards piglet scream. 34th Congr. ISAE. Florianopolis, Brazil.

Rydhmer, L. 2002. Selection for maternal behaviour in sows? Experiences from the Nordic network. 14th Nordic Symposium of the ISAE, Tune. Internal Report no. 151, Danmarks Jordbrugsforskning.

Rydhmer, L., Grandinson, K., Janczak, A., Lund, M.S., Thodberg, K., Vangen, O. & Valros, A. 2003. Bilan du projet des pays de l'Europe du Nord sur l'étude du comportement maternel des truis. Journées Recherche Porcine 35, 301-308.

Thodberg, K., Jensen, K.H. & Herskin, M.S. 1998. Development of a test for maternal behaviour in sows – "The screaming piglet test". 32nd Congr. ISAE. Clermont-Ferrand, France. p. 140.

Thodberg, K. & Jensen, K.H. 1999. How to test sows’ motivation to nurse their piglets? 33rd Congr. ISAE. Lillehammer, Norway. p. 72.

Thodberg, K., Jensen, K.H., Herskin, M.S. & Jörgensen, E. 1999. Influence of environmental stimuli on nest building and farrowing behaviour in domestic sows. Appl. Anim. Behav­iour Sci. 63: 131-144.

Thodberg, K., Jensen, K.H. & Herskin, M.S. 1999. A general reaction pattern across situations in prepubertal gilts. Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci. 63:103-119.

Thodberg, K. 2001. Individual variation in maternal behaviour of gilts and sows. PhD thesis. The Royal Vet. and Agr. Univ., Dept. of Anim. Sci. and Anim. Health, Sect. for Anim. Welfare and Ethology.

Thodberg, K., Jensen, K.H. & Herskin, M.S. 2002. Nest building and farrowing in sows: Relation to the reaction pattern during stress, farrowing environment and experience. Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci. 77:21-42.

Thodberg, K., Jensen, K.H. & Herskin, M.S. 2002. Nursing behaviour, postpartum activity and reactivity in sows: Effects of farrowing environment, previous experience and tempera­ment. Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci. 77:53-76.

Valros, M., Rundgren, M., Algers, B., Saloniemi, H. & Spinka, M. 2000. Interactions between sow nursing behaviour, catabolic state and piglet growth. 34th Congr. ISAE. Florianopolis, Brazil.

Valros, A., Rundgren, M., Spinka, M., Saloniemi, H., Rydhmer, L. & Algers, B. 2002. Nursing behaviour of sows during a 5 weeks lactation and effects on piglet growth. Appl. Anim. Behaviour Sci. 76:93-104.

Valros, A., Rundgren, M., Špinka, M., Saloniemi, H., Rydhmer, L., Hultén, F., Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Tomanek, M., Krejcí, P. & Algers, B. 2003. Metabolic state of the sow; nursing behaviour and milk production. Livest. Prod. Sci. 79:155-167.

Valros, A., Rundgren, M., Špinka, M., Saloniemi, H., Hultén, F., Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Tomanek, M., Krejcí, P. & Algers, B. 2002. Oxytocin, prolactin and somatostatin in lactating sows; associations with body resources mobilisation and maternal behaviour. Submitted.

Valros, A., Rundgren, M., Špinka, M., Saloniemi, H & Algers, B. 2003. Sow activity level, frequency of standing-to-lying posture changes and anti-crushing behaviour, within sow-repeatability and interactions with nursing behaviour and piglet performance. Appl. Anim. Beh. Sci. 83:29-40.

Valros, A., Rundgren, M., Špinka, M., Saloniemi, H., Hultén, F., Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Tománek, M., Krejcí, P. & Algers, B. 2002. Oxytocin, prolactin and somatostatin in lactating sows; associations with body resources mobilisation and maternal behaviour. 36th Congr. ISAE. Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands.

Vangen, O., Holm, B., Rossly, T., Vasbotten, M., Valros, A. & Rydhmer, L. 2002. Genetic variation in maternal behaviour of sows. 7th World Congr. Genet. Appl. Livest. Prod. Montpellier, France. 4pp.

Vangen, O., Rossly, T., Vasbotten, M., Rydhmer, L., & Holm, B. 2002. Genetic variation in maternal behaviour of sows - results from a questionnaire to breeding herds. 14th Nordic Symposium of the ISAE. Tune. Internal Report no. 151, Danmarks Jordbrugsforskning.

Wallenbeck, A. 2002. Fear and aggression in gilts as predictors of maternal ability. Exam work no. 234. Dept. of Animal Bredding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

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Contact Lotta.Rydhmer@hgen.slu.se  about this web. Last updated 2004-03-18