Abstract

All feces produced during 24 h were collected from five pigs and cortisol and immunoreactive cortisol metabolites (CICM), and IgA were quantified. Within pigs, the concentrations of CICM and IgA varied extensively between random samples obtained from a single fecal dropping, and deviated in most cases significantly from the true concentration measured in total fecal output (CV 6.7-130%). The CICM and IgA contents varied considerably (CV 8.1-114%) within and between individual fecal droppings from the same pig compared to the total fecal excretion. In conclusion, single random samples could not be used to reliably quantify the total fecal concentration or excretion of CICM or IgA in pigs. Analyses of all feces collected during shorter periods than 24 h did not provide an accurate estimate of the daily excretion of CICM. Thus, the concentration of stress sensitive molecules in random single fecal samples as an indicator of animal welfare should be interpreted with prudence. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

cortisol; immunoglobulin A; stress; pigs; feces; animal welfare

Published in

Research in Veterinary Science
2007, Volume: 82, number: 3, pages: 423-428
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD

UKÄ Subject classification

Other Basic Medicine


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2006.09.005

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/49991