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THE PIG APPEASING PHEROMONE:
How chemical communication improve the welfare of pigs
H Barthélémy*, A Cozzi, D Saffray, J Leclercq, C Lafont-Lecuelle, P Pageat
Research Institute in Semiochemistry and Applied Ethology (IRSEA), Le Chêne, Quartier Salignan 84400 APT – FRANCE *Corresponding author : h.barthelemy@group-irsea.com
Stress-related problems are very common in pigs and lead to decrease their welfare, impaired
performances and increased vulnerability to infections at any stage of life of the animal.
Since the appeasing pheromone has been identified in pigs, different studies assumed the efficacy
of this semiochemical. Indeed, the use of pheromones is a very interesting strategy to improve pig
animal welfare.
The purpose here is to highlight the parameters which have shown the
effectiveness of the PAP in improving welfare. Data are focused on three
categories of indicators: behavioural, zootechnical and physiological.
What is the Pig Appeasing Pheromone?
After farrowing, during lactation, the sow
secretes a pheromone known as PAP. The
pheromone sends a reassuring message to
the young while they are adapting to the
completely new environment and helps to
establish a bond between the sow and the
piglets. The IRSEA has succeeded in
identifying the components and has
produced a copy of the native maternal
pheromone (SecurePig®, Semiokeys). This
analogue could help to decrease the
negative consequences of stress which
perturb the physiological functions, reduce
growth and induce behavioral disorders.
Zootechnical
The PAP allows to optimize the growth after weaning with an
improvement of the weight, the Average Daily Gain and the feed
gain ratio (Madec et al., 2002; Mc Glone & Anderson., 2002).
Moreover, a study showed a better homogeneity of pigs at
slaughtery in terms of weight range (IRSEA, unpublished).
Physiological
Average Daily Gain
Several studies have proved the effectiveness in
decreasing stress-related behaviours; the PAP is
especially effective during the weaning period in
reducing aggressions with a reduction of
instance of fighting and biting, a reduction of the
number of skin lesions (Madec et al., 2002; Guy et
al., 2009) and a shorter fight duration (Madec et
al., 2002; Mc Glone & Anderson., 2002, Guy et al.,
2009).
Mixing piglets after weaning
50
Control
OBSERVATIONS COUNT
PAP
40
35
30
- 55 %
- 31 %
25
20
15
10
5
0
Fighting
Skin lesions
OBSERVATIONS 24 HOURS AFTER MIXING
Guy et al., 2009
In group housed
sows, the duration
of aggression was
the higher in the
control
sows
relative to PAP
treated
sows
(Plush et al., 2013).
Yonezawa et al.,
2009 showed that
the latency time of
showing
aggressive
behaviour in adult
sows, like tail biting
during a physical
confrontation with a
congener,
was
significantly
extended in the
PAP treated pigs
than
in
the
controlled ones.
ADG (KG / DAY)
Behavioural
45
The study of Yonezawa et al.,
2009,
demonstrated
a
dramatically inhibited release of
salivary cortisol during a social
challenge between sows.
0,240
0,230
+ 19 %
0,220
0,210
0,200
0,190
0,180
0,170
Control
PAP
Mc Glone & Anderson., 2002
Concerning transportation, Wöhr
et al., 2003 showed the interest of
PAP in fattening pigs to the
slaughterhouse.
The course of the cortisol concentrations of the PAP treated pigs
indicate that those animals are less stressed than the controltreated animals
CONCLUSION
The Pig Appeasing Pheromone improves the welfare and allows to facilitate the adaptation to new
environment. In a new group of individuals, the PAP reduces the aggressions, fights and therefore
damages, injuries and mortality. The PAP facilitates to uphold the homeostasis of individual and helps to
prevent the negative consequences of stressful situations. It leads to maximize the productive
potential (growth, food consumption), resulting in economical gain.
GUY JH., BURNS SE., BARKER JM., EDWARDS SA., 2009. Reducing post-mixing aggression and skin lesions in weaned pigs by application of a synthetic maternal pheromone. Animal Welfare, 18:249-255.
MADEC I., GUIRAUDIE, G., PAGEAT, P., 2002. The pig appeasing pheromone (PAP): effects on behavior and performances. 17th Congress of the International Pig Veterinary Society Conference.
MCGLONE J., ANDERSON D., 2002. Synthetic maternal pheromone stimulates feeding behavior and weight gain in weaned pigs. Journal of Animal Science, 80:3179-3183.
PLUSH K.J., HERDE P., RAJAPAKSE U.A., HUGUES P.E., van WETTERE W.H.E.J., 2013. Pig appeasing pheromones reduce duration of aggression but not cortisol levels in newly-mixed gestating sows. Manipulating Pig Production XIV.
WOHR A-C., MEIER Ch., HOLLWICH, P., MERTENS P., UNSHELM J., ERHARD M., 2003. Porcine pheromones : a novel method to improve the well being of fattening pigs during transportation to the slaughterhouse ?. XI International Congress ISAH.
YONEZAWA T., KOORI, M., KIKUSUI T., MORI, Y., 2009. Appeasing pheromone inhibits cortisol augmentation and agonistic behaviors during social stress in adult miniature pigs. 2009. Zoological science, 26: 739-744.