Life Sciences Commons^™

Vocalizations Of Isolated Piglets. Ii. Some Environmental Factors, D. Fraser

Communication Skills Collection

The vocalizations of suckling piglets were studied during brief tests which involved social isolation, restriction of movement, and exposure to unfamiliar surroundings. Similar trends were shown in most cases by the three classes of call studied - closed mouth grunts, open mouth grunts, and squeals. The rate of calling was much lower when a piglet was in the home pen than when alone in an unfamiliar pen, and more calls were given in both situations when the animal’s movement was restricted by caging. The presence of the dam and four littermates in unfamiliar surroundings caused a large reduction in calling, …

Vocalizations Of Isolated Piglets. I. Sources Of Variation And Relationships Among Measures, D. Fraser

Communication Skills Collection

The vocalizations and activity of suckling piglets aged 4 to 25 days were studied during 5-min periods of social isolation in an unfamiliar enclosure. The animals became very active and vocalized repeatedly during the test, but the reaction was attenuated among older litters. Calls were predominantly closed mouth grunts at low rates of calling, and mainly squeals and open mouth grunts at high overall rates. Squealing correlated with open mouth grunting and with the activity measure both within and between litters. Even so, the measures appeared to be affected independently by the piglets’ behaviour in the home pen just before …

Special Report On Controlling America's Pet Population

Special Reports

HSUS estimates that public and private animal control programs cost the nation as much as $500 million a year. Much of this expense is required for the feeding and care of unwanted animals during the 5 to 10 days they are held for adoption, killing the 80% that are not adopted or redeemed, and disposing of the carcasses. The result is both an unconscionable waste of life and a needless drain on public and private money.

A large part of the blame for people undertaking pet ownership without having made a total commitment to the animal lies with the pet …

The Behaviour Of Swine, J. P. Signoret, B. A. Baldwin, D. Fraser, E. S. E. Hafez

Mammalogy Collection

The pig was a forest-dwelling animal from the beginning of its history. In some parts of the world it has been domesticated for at least 7000 years. The European breeds of domestic swine were derived from the local wild pig, Sus scrofa. Herds ranged in pastures and forests and kept indoors only for fattening. The breeds in the Far East were derived from another wild pig, Sus vittatus, a smaller animal with shorter legs and a higher reproductive ability (Mohr 1960; Zeuner 1963). The two types interbred readily. The modem breeds of pig evolved from different crossings between the two …

The Communication Of Play Intention: Are Play Signals Functional?, Marc Bekoff

Sentience Collection

No abstract provided.