Location: Livestock Bio-Systems
Project Number: 3040-31000-095-014-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Feb 9, 2018
End Date: May 31, 2019
Objective:
Assess the contribution of gilt social structure on gilt development and sow lifetime productivity.
Approach:
Gilts will be video recorded and the recordings will be used to determine social hierarchy within group housing. Dominant and submissive hierarchies will be related to age at puberty and sow productivity to 3 parities. Blood samples will be collected from gilts and sows at each parity and initial social hierarchies as gilts will be related to blood cortisol, insulin and glucose concentrations.