High fiber diet reduces stereotypic behavior of gilts but does not affect offspring performance

• Published in: Applied animal behaviour science 2021-10, Vol.243, p.105433, Article 105433
• Main Authors: Bernardino, Thiago, Tatemoto, Patricia, de Moraes, José Evandro, Morrone, Beatrice, Zanella, Adroaldo José
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: animal welfare; dietary fiber; feeding behavior; pregnant gilts; prenatal stress
• ISSN: 0168-1591; 1872-9045
• DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2021.105433

Pregnant sows are often subjected to food restriction, which can compromise their welfare and performance, as well as the performance of their offspring. High fiber diets (HFD) can mitigate the feeling of hunger and, consequently, improve welfare and performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of feeding pregnant gilts with high a fiber diet on performance measures of sows. Additionally, the behavior and welfare of the sows were assessed. Twenty-eight pregnant gilts were fed either HFD (N = 16) or low fiber diet (LFD; N = 12). We evaluated behavior, salivary cortisol concentration, performance, and feeding motivation. We found an interaction between treatment and feeding time for duration (P = 0.0041) and frequency (P = 0.0128) of sham-chewing stereotypy. Sows that received LFD performed the behavior for longer and more often before feeding than after feeding. These results indicate that HFD was beneficial in reducing stereotypic behavior in sows, prior to feeding time, but did not improve performance measures. •High fiber reduces stereotypic behavior.•Salivary cortisol was not affected by dietary fiber in pregnant gilts, despite behavioral change.•Performance outcomes measured was not compromised by the diet.•High fiber diets can increase the weight gain during gestation.