Agonistic Behavior and the Nursing Order in Suckling Piglets: Relationships with Survival, Growth and Body Composition

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Abstract
Behavioral data on piglets from 49 litters were related to viability, growth, and body composition. The more successful fighters among piglets of a litter were heavier at birth, gained more weight and weighed more at 3 weeks, and claimed, defended and consistently suckled a specific teat (usually a more anterior teat) earlier than did less successful fighters. The distribution of numbers of piglets suckling from each teat position indicated that piglets tended to prefer the more anterior teats. Sex, post-weaning weight gain and neonatal fighting success were related to ham composition. Three pathways were proposed to explain the relationships of higher birth weight and greater fighting success to greater early weight gain: (1) heavier, more successful fighters stimulate the udder section more vigorously and thereby enhance milk production, (2) the more successful fighters are able to suckle more frequently prior to the establishment of the nursing order, and (3) the more successful fighters are able to claim more productive tests. Copyright © 1977. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1977 by American Society of Animal Science