Grazing behaviour of Cinta senese and its crossbreed pigs

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the grazing behaviour of two pig genetic types, Cinta Senese (CS) and its crossbreed with Large White (LW x CS), farmed in natural rearing system in Tuscany, as influenced by diurnal time slot and by the season of the year. In situ direct observations on two herds of grazing pigs were conducted during daylight hours for five consecutive days and repeated bimonthly for a period of one year. The observations were grouped into three diurnal time slots and the relative frequencies of the main activities were obtained. Data were subjected to ANOVA with genetic type, diurnal time slot and month as fixed effects. The results, valid for the genotypes and the specific rearing system considered, highlighted that pigs displayed species-specific foraging behaviours for a long time and showed very low levels of other behaviours as aggressive or stereotypes. Both genotypes spent about 72% of the daylight hours for feeding, mainly dedicated to grass feeding. Nevertheless, CS pigs devoted less time to grazing pasture respect to LWxCS. Throughout the months, grazing was preferred to rooting, especially when herbaceous resources were more available. The proportion of diurnal time dedicated to feeding by pigs was reduced with the hot season, but CS seems more affected compared to LWxCS.

Highlights

• In extensive rearing systems, Cinta Senese pig and its crossbreeds employed most of the diurnal time in grass feeding.

• Cinta Senese pigs devoted less time to grazing pasture respect to LWxCS, especially during hot months and the central hours of the day.

Keywords:

• Local breed
• pig
• behaviour
• feeding
• pasture

Additional information

Funding

The research was funded by Tuscany Region (PSR 2014–2020) and was conducted as part of PIF Project ‘ValMonTI’.