A note on the influence of starting position, time of testing and test order on the backtest in pigs.
The backtest determines the coping behaviour of a piglet in a standardised stress situation, which might be a measure for the coping style of that animal. Backtest results are related to other parameters such as immune responses and production. In this study, the backtest was standardised and it was studied if time of testing or the order in which animals were tested influenced backtest results. One hundred and eight-four piglets from 18 sows were tested at 3, 10 and 17 days of age. Before testing, the sow was disturbed to ensure that all piglets were awake. This standardisation of the starting position before testing did not improve the correlations between backtest results in the successive tests. No relations were found between backtest results and time of testing or test order.
van Erp-van der Kooij
E
E
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Pig Unit of the Department of Farm Animal Health, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 7, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Kuijpers
A H.
AH
van Eerdenburg
F J.C.M.
FJ
Tielen
M J.M.
MJ