ABSTRACT
This study aims to assess the correlation between surface temperature estimated by infrared thermography and core temperature measured with rectal thermometer in weaning and fattening pigs. A total of 108 pigs were used in this study. Thermal images of the eye of each animal were recorded with a thermal imaging camera, rectal temperatures were measured using a calibrated digital thermometer. The average rectal temperature was 38.9 ± 0.4 °C (MIN = 37.9 °C; MAX = 40.1 °C) and the average eye temperature was 36.7 ± 0.1 °C (MIN = 34.8 °C; MAX = 38.8 °C). Our results showed that the mean eye temperature estimated by infrared thermography was significantly correlated (r = .581, P < .01) with rectal temperature. The correlation was significant and strong for weaners (r = .739, P < .01), significant although weak for fatteners (r = .236 P < .05). Thermography could be a valid method to estimate the core temperature of pigs under farm condition.
Subject(s)
Body Temperature , Swine/physiology , Thermography/veterinary , Animals , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
Adopting proper animal management strategies, including training, might reduce to a substantial extent the adverse effects of transport-related stress in animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of habituation to transport on stress-related behaviors and physiological indicators during loading and unloading in donkeys. Fourteen donkeys were recruited and divided in two treatment groups: Habituation (H; M = 5, F = 2) and Control (C; M = 5, F = 2). H donkeys were gradually habituated to be transported, traveling together with their mothers and other adult donkeys well-accustomed to transport, while C donkeys had never been transported before. Loading and unloading phases were video recorded and behavior was analyzed. Saliva samples for cortisol concentration determination were collected at rest and after unloading. Latency time to load was significantly shorter for H donkeys than C donkeys (Mann-Whitney; p = 0.004). C donkeys also showed significantly more stress-related behaviors (Mann-Whitney; p = 0.026) and required a higher but not statistically significant number of human interventions to load. Cortisol concentration increased in both groups, but no differences were found between them (Mann-Whitney; p > 0.05). These results suggest that habituation to transport could mitigate stress during loading procedures in donkeys reducing loading time, frequency of stress-related behaviors and diminishing the need of human intervention.
ABSTRACT
Road transport is known to be a stressful animal husbandry procedure as it induces the activation of two main physiological stress-related pathways: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis and the sympathetic-adrenal medulla axis. This preliminary study aimed to investigate whether salivary chromogranin A (CgA) concentration, known as a biomarker of the sympathetic activity system during psychological stress, may represent a novel physiological index of transportation-induced stress in donkeys. Nineteen Romagnolo donkeys, raised in groups on paddocks, were subject to two transportations, following the farm's routine procedures, for a mean duration of 64 min each on two consecutive days. Salivary samples were gently collected 15 min before and 15 min after each transportation. Salivary CgA was measured by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Results showed that CgA salivary levels significantly decreased after both transportations. The physiological mechanisms underlying this result may be related to catestatin activity, a bioactive product of the proteolytic cleavage of CgA, that acts as an inhibitor of catecholamine release. This hypothesis requires further investigation, particularly considering the limited number of subjects involved in this preliminary study. The identification of a reliable and non-invasive stress-marker would represent a useful tool for improving farm animals' welfare in transport conditions.
