Research: Piglet tail behaviour encourages tailbiting

Sunday 10 January 2010

IN case piglets carry their tails between their legs, they often become the victims of tailbiting, Dutch research has revealed. Hence, pig farmers can take preventive action.

The findings, a study by Johan Zonderland, Wageningen University and Research Centre, the Netherlands, were published last month in the magazine Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

No tail docking
Zonderland observed nearly 1,000 weaner pigs – of four to 10 weeks old. Pig tails had not been docked and he recorded their positions.

Zonderland noticed that the tails were curled, pointed straight backwards, were wagging or were stuck between the hind legs. "In our previous study we had already noticed that pigs with curly tails virtually never had any damage. But there was always something with pigs with their tails between their legs."

Read the full report at Pig Progress.net