Erhualian and Pietrain pigs exhibit distinct behavioral, endocrine and biochemical responses during transport

This study describes the breed-specific coping characteristics of pigs in response to transport stress. The dynamic changes of behavior, the activities of creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as the plasma concentrations of stress and metabolic hormones in Erhualian (EHL) and Pietrain (PIE) pigs during 2 h transport were investigated. The majority of the behavior of EHL pigs consisted of oral/nasal/facial (ONF) and fit behaviors during the initial observations (first 15 min after start), and these behaviors were replaced by increased time sitting and lying in later observations (middle and last 15 min of transport). In contrast, PIE pigs showed high levels of ONF behaviors in initial observation, followed by high frequency and duration of standing during the middle and the last observation period. PIE pigs demonstrated significantly higher plasma CK (P < 0.01) and LDH activities (P < 0.05). There were significant effects of time and time × breed interaction (P < 0.05) on CK activities (P < 0.01) in both breeds. Plasma ACTH levels did not differ between breeds, yet a significant effect of time (P < 0.05) was shown during transport. EHL pigs exhibited consistently higher basal and stimulated plasma cortisol levels (P < 0.05). There were significant time effects on metabolic hormones (insulin, T3 and T4) (P < 0.01), whereas no significant breed effect for these hormones were found. These results indicate that different coping strategies apply in EHL pigs, as reflected by different behavioral, endocrine and biochemical responses during transport as compared with PIE pigs.