Abstract
This study examined if 2 weeks of individual handling of weanling pigs affected their responses to humans. Sixteen 4-week-old crossbred weanling pigs from four litters were allotted at random within litters to one of two treatments: handling (n=8) and no-handling (n= 8). The pigs in the handling treatment received individual handling from the same person (handler) for 10min day-1, 5 days per week for 2 weeks. The pigs in the no-handling treatment had no contact with humans apart from that received during routine husbandry. After the 2 week handling period, several tests were conducted and results were compared between the two treatment. groups. With the progression of the handling treatment, the mean elapsed time until pigs initiated physical contact with the handler significantly (P<0.05) decreased and the total contact time significantly (P<0.05) increased. The handled pigs had a tendency to have more interaction and show less aversion to the handler than to the stranger in the 'human test' and the 'catching test', but significant differences were not found. In the 'preference test' between the handler and a stranger, all the handled pigs approached the handler. In the 'walking human test', non-handled pigs showed significantly (P<0.05) greater aversion to a non-familiar human than did the handled pigs. Flight distance of the non-handled pigs was significantly (P<0.01) longer than that of the handled pigs. In conclusion, voluntary contact of pigs with their handler increased over the two weeks duration of the handling treatment. However, more than 2 weeks of handling probably are required to establish a firm bond between pigs and humans.
