Document type: Scientific article published in Frontiers in Animal Science
Authors: S, Devillers N, Crowe TG, Zhang QY, Yan X, and Faucitano L
Abstract in French (translation): Vibrations and movements inside a flat-bottomed trailer and their effects on pig behavior during transport
This study evaluated the relationship between pig behavior during transportand the vibrations recorded in a two-axle “pot-belly” trailer. During seven transport trips (135 km) of pigs (125 kg) to the slaughterhouse, five compartments (front-high [C1], rear-high [C4], front-middle [C5], center-middle [C7], and front-low [C9]) were equipped with accelerometers on the floor. Four road sections (RS) lasting 17 minutes each were selected, and the acceleration data were processed to calculate the vibration dose value (VDV) on the vertical, horizontal, and lateral axes, as well as the overall vibration exposure (VDVv). The percentage of pigs standing, lying down, and sitting, as well as the number of loss-of-balance (LOB) events in the horizontal, lateral, and vertical directions, were observed in pens C1, C4, and C5. The data were analyzed to determine the effect of the route section and pen location using mixed models. The effect of pen location on VDV varied by path section. Horizontal VDV was higher in compartments C5 and C7 than in compartment C4 on section RS1 (p = 0.005), whereas it was higher in compartment C4 than in compartments C1, C5, and C9 on section RS2 (p = 0.001). Lateral VDV in C1 was consistently the highest in each route section (p ≤ 0.001). C4 had the highest values and C9 the lowest for vertical VDV and VDVv in RS2, RS3, and RS4. Finally, C7 had the highest values and C5 the lowest for vertical VDV and VDVv in RS1 (p ≤ 0.05). A higher percentage of pigs were standing in C5 compared to C1 and C4 (p ≤ 0.05), while pigs in C4 exhibited more vertical LOBs than those in C1 and C5 for all sections of the course. Finally, pigs in C4 recorded the lowest number of lateral LOBs during the RS2 section, but the highest during the RS3 and RS4 sections (p ≤ 0.05). No clear relationship could be established between vibration levels and the behavioral response of the pigs. In the upper rear compartment, which was more affected by vertical vibrations, the pigs showed greater instability at the end of the route, whereas in the front compartments, the pigs showed greater instability during RS2, which included roundabouts. The impact of vibrations and jolts in the trailer on the pigs’ behavior is most likely the result of several interacting factors.
Preview: This study assessed the relationship between in-transit pig behavior and the vibrations recorded in a two-axle pot-belly trailer. During seven shipments (135 km) of pigs (125 kg) to the slaughter plant, five compartments (front-top [C1], rear-top [C4], front-middle [C5], center-middle [C7], and front-bottom [C9]) were equipped with accelerometers at the floor level. Four route sections (RS) lasting 17 min each were selected, and acceleration data were processed to calculate the vibration dose value (VDV) on the vertical, horizontal and lateral axes and the global vibration exposure (VDVv). Percentage of pigs standing, lying and sitting and the number of loss of balance (LOB) on the horizontal, lateral and vertical directions were observed in C1, C4 and C5. Data were analyzed for the effect of route section and compartment location using mixed models. The effect of compartment location on VDVs differed between route sections. Horizontal VDV was higher in C5 and C7 than C4 in RS1 (p = 0.005), whereas it was higher in C4 than C1, C5 and C9 in RS2 (p = 0.001). Lateral VDV in C1 was always the highest in every route section (p ≤ 0.001). C4 had the highest and C9 the lowest values for vertical VDV and VDVv for RS2, RS3 and RS4. Finally, C7 had the highest, and C5 the lowest vertical VDV and VDVv in RS1 (p ≤ 0.05). A greater percentage of pigs were standing in C5 compared to C1 and C4 (p ≤ 0.05), while pigs in C4 showed more vertical LOB than in C1 and C5 for all route sections. Finally, pigs in C4 had the lowest number of lateral LOB during RS2, but the highest during RS3 and RS4 (p ≤ 0.05). No clear relationship could be established between vibration levels and behavioral reaction of pigs. In the top rear compartment, more affected by vertical vibrations, pigs showed more instability during the end of the journey, whereas in front compartments, pigs showed more instability during RS2 which included roundabouts. The impact of vibrations and jolts in the trailer on pig behavior is most likely the result of several interacting factors.
