Desempenho, comportamento e respostas fisiológicas de suínos em terminação submetidos a diferentes programas de luz

Abstract

Technologies that improve productivity are essentials for competitiveness in the pork market. The consumer market is always requiring information about the technologies applied in swine production, mainly from the perspective of animal welfare. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of lighting on performance, behavioral and physiological characteristics in finishing pigs. Thirty-six pigs were distributed in a completely randomized design with three treatments and six replications. The animals were subjected to three light programs: natural light (NL), 16 hours of light and eight hours of dark (16L:8D) and 23 hours of light and one hour of dark (23L:1D) for 28 days. Daily feed intake (DFI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion (FC) were evaluated. The physiological parameters evaluated were rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and surface temperature (ST). The behavioral standards observed were: standing, lying, eating, drinking, sniffing, interacting, sitting, urinating and defecating. The lighting programs did not affect animal performance. However, pigs that received 23L:1D, showed, in the afternoon, ST upper than others treatments. Providing supplemental light promoted the elevation of RR, also in the afternoon. The RT was not influenced by treatments. The extended light program altered the behavior of the animals, which animals were most active, especially at night. Anyway, there was no improvement or reduction of the performance with the use of different lighting programs for finishing pigs.