Comportamento de suínos ao longo do dia em ambiente enriquecido

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the behavior of pigs throughout the day, with and without the use of environmental enrichment, using 92 animals in the growth phase, distributed in a completely randomized experimental design in two treatments: 1) control without enrichment object; 2) with enrichment object. The objects were made of PVC tube coupled to four pieces of transparent plastic hose. The behavioral frequencies of the animals were evaluated over eight hours per day for six consecutive days, from 7:10 am to 3:10 p.m. in 10 minute intervals, with images obtained with video cameras. The observations were used for the frequency histogram composition, based on the behaviors listed in etogram: lying down / sleeping; interacting with the object (for enrichment treatment); eating or drinking; moving; digging the pen; sexual behavior; agonistic behavior. The data were submitted to the Tukey test at 5% of significance and analyzed at one hour intervals to evaluate behavioral variation throughout the period. There was an effect of environmental enrichment, for lying / sleeping behaviors, interacting with the object, eating or drinking and digging the pen. In general, regardless of treatment or time of day, the animals spent most of the time lying down / sleeping. However, at all times evaluated (except from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.), pigs kept in an environment without enrichment spent more time sleeping (67.7%) than those who had enriching objects in their pen (58.5%). The frequency of interaction with the objects was lower between 9:30 and 12:50, coinciding with the time when the animals spent more time resting. Pigs without enrichment in the pen had a higher frequency of the behavior digging the pen, in the first evaluation time (7:10 - 8:10 h). Pigs belonging to the enrichment treatment had a higher frequency of eating / drinking behavior (17.96% vs. 14.30%) only in the first hour evaluated, with no difference in the remaining period. It is concluded that the presence of environmental enrichment objects stimulates the natural investigative and exploratory behavior of the pigs, making them more active throughout the day, which can promote improvements in their physical and psychological welfare.