Review: Early life predisposing factors for biting in pigs

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Ethology
• Animal Welfare

Background:

• Biting behavior is a prevalent welfare issue in the pig industry, causing physical harm and stress.
• This behavior is categorized as aggressive or non-aggressive, with tail biting being a common non-aggressive form.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review predisposing factors in early life (prenatal to weaning) that influence aggressive and non-aggressive biting behaviors in pigs.
• To evaluate the impact of personality, coping styles, and environmental factors on biting.

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on studies examining early life influences on pig biting.
• Analysis of factors including prenatal conditions, postnatal environment, nutrition, socialization, cross-fostering, and stress.

Main Results:

• No clear influence of prenatal factors on biting behavior identified.
• Aggressive biting reduced by undernutrition, cross-fostering, and socialization.
• Non-aggressive biting increased by undernutrition, social stress, and cross-fostering, influenced by litter size.

Conclusions:

• The pre-weaning environment is critical for mitigating biting behaviors in pigs.
• Optimizing early life conditions, such as nutrition and socialization, can reduce the incidence of aggressive and non-aggressive biting.