Reaction of sows to warning signals of piglets

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the reaction of sows of different breeds and combinations to the cry of a crushed piglet. The work was performed at Tavriya Pigs LLC, Kherson Region. The object of the study were sows of the following breeds: Great White, Pietren, Ukrainian meat, as well as animals of the Duroc breed (intrabreed type of Ukrainian selection "Steppe") and two-breed sows "Great White" Landrace. Timing observations of sows were performed according to the method of VI The Great (1979). The index of motor activity was calculated on the basis of data on the time of movement of the animal and the total time of observation. Biometric processing of research results was performed according to the methods of VP Kovalenko. etc. (2010). It was found that sows of large white breed, Pietren breed, Ukrainian meat breed, intrabreed type of Duroc breed of Ukrainian selection "Steppe" and two-breed sows ♀VB × ♂L with a positive reaction to the cry of piglets in terms of safety at the time of weaning in at the age of 28 days were superior to peers with a negative reaction by 3.6% (p <0.05); 6.1% (p <0.01); 4.2% (p <0.05); 3.1% (p <0.05) and 3.7% (p <0.05), and the index of their motor activity was significantly higher than that of peers with a negative reaction by 0.11, respectively <(p <0.01 ); 0.12 (p <0.01); 0.10 (p <0.05); 0.11 (p <0.05) and 0.05 (p <0.05). Observations show that sows, regardless of the breed combination with a positive reaction to the piglets' cry, showed a more protective style of maternal behavior, which consisted in a quick response and instantaneous response to alarm (cry) piglets, previously initiated contact with the nose. , gave more time to piglets when changing their body position, showed anxiety when weaning piglets and were more socially plastic (more avoided conflicts) in the grouping situation after weaning piglets than sows who reacted negatively to the cry of newborns. Thus, when assessing sows for reproductive qualities should take into account their positive reaction to the cry of piglets, and the selection of repair pigs should be carried out from mothers who respond positively to the cry of piglets, showing a protective style of maternal behavior.