Behavioral Genetics in Pigs and Relations to Welfare - Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals - page 413

outdoors. Probably the high-survival gilts reacted more strongly to the new
indoor environment than the control gilts, and this reaction was expressed as
aggressiveness towards the piglets. Thus, when selecting animals for
improved maternal behavior, the production system should be taken into
account.
Piglet survival and growth depend both on the genotype of the piglets
and the genotype of the sow. Leenhouwers et al. (2001) compared newborn
piglets with high and low direct breeding values for survival. The difference
in breeding values was not reflected in early postnatal behavior. However,
sows with high maternal breeding values for piglet survival gave birth to pig-
lets that took shorter time to reach the udder and suckle for the first time, as
compared to sows with low maternal breeding values ( Knol et al., 2002 ). It
could be assumed that this difference reflects differences in sow behavior
and calmness during farrowing. Engelsma et al. (2011) estimated correlations
between the breeding value for mothering ability (based on percentage of
liveborn piglets that survived) and various behavioral traits. Around farrow-
ing, sows with high breeding values tended to perform less postural changes
and be less active, but these correlations were not significant. During lacta-
tion (week 1

2), sows with high breeding values spent more time lying lat-
erally and less time sitting, thus facilitating piglets' access to the udder.
They also performed less postural changes which may limit crushing.
Questionnaires in which the farmers summarize their observations of
sows' behavior during farrowing and lactation can be an alternative to time-
consuming behavior tests or video recordings under field conditions. Vangen
et al. (2005) used a questionnaire where farmers were asked to assess maternal
behavior of Norwegian and Finnish Landrace sows on a scale from 1 to 7.
Most of the results were very consistent across countries. The highest herit-
abilities were found for the sow's reaction to piglet screaming when handled
(h 2 0.1 0.2) and how often the sow showed fear during routine manage-

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ment (h 2

0.2).
There is variation in maternal behavior between breeds. At farrowing,
Meishan sows spend more time standing, manipulating straw, and exploring
the floor, and they have more nose contact with the piglets than Large White
sows ( Canario et al., 2007 ). Meishan piglets show higher vitality at birth
than Large White piglets. When crossbred F1-piglets of these breeds are
compared (i.e. similar piglet genotype for different maternal genotypes), pig-
lets born from Meishan sows spend more time sleeping in contact with the
sow's udder but are less eager to suckle than piglets born from Large White
sows ( Figure 11.4 ). This emphasizes the interaction between maternal and
offspring behavior.
A study design with both purebred and crossbred piglets in the same litter
further highlights the mechanisms of interactions between generations. For
this purpose, purebred animals were inseminated with a mixture of semen
from both breeds ( Dauberlieu et al., 2011 ). At birth, both purebred and

0.1

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