Effect of rearing environment and change of environment on the behaviour of gilts

The effect of previous experience on the behaviour of gilts was investigated. Twenty gilts were reared, from birth to farrowing, in an enriched environment and 20 in a barren environment. Six weeks prior to the expected date of parturition the gilts underwent a handling test and an open field test. A few days prior to parturition the gilts were moved into farrowing accommodation. There were two farrowing environments, barren and enriched, and, using a crossover design, gilts were moved either to a similar environment to that which they had previously experienced, i.e. barren to barren (BE) or enriched to enriched (EE) or to a different environment, i.e. barren to enriched (BE) or enriched to barren (EB). Gilts from enriched environments were more difficult to drive, scored on a scale of 1-5 (B 1.2, E 1.8, SEM 0.18, P < 0.05) and vocalized more frequently in the 7 min test period (B 32.4, E 69.5, SEM 10.46, P(0.05) than gilts from barren environments while the latter gilts performed more locomotory behaviour in the open field test than their counterparts from enriched environments (B 10.6, E 8.9, SEM 0.44, P < 0.05). Gilts which experienced a change of environment at parturition exhibited more active behaviour than gilts which were moved to farrowing accommodation similar to the housing in which they were reared (BE 2%(a), BE 28(b), EE 7(a), EB 27(b), SEM 5.1, P < 0.01). The influence of the environment in determining pig behaviour is discussed with reference to the effects of past experience.