The hair from the pigs which are part of a larger research project into stress will be sent to the University of Saskatchewan for analysis and the results will go to Iowa State University.
The researchers will be measuring the amount of cortisol in the hair as a means to know how much stress they are experiencing.
The pigs are also being genotyped with the hope that there are differences in stress tolerance that can be used to inform breeding programs.
Jack Dekkers, a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences and principal investigator of the study, said stress causes the production of the stress hormone cortisol and its counterpart, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). These hormones are deposited in hair as it grows.
Dekkers said these deposits in hair can reveal the history of stress the hog has undergone and how the response to that stress.
The pigs in Quebec are being closely monitored as they are exposed to various stresses such as PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome), weaning, mingling with other litters, etc.
Dekkers’ lab will receive all the data collected from the hair samples and search for patterns that indicate which pigs respond to stress better than others. Dekkers said they’ll look for a low ratio of cortisol to DHEA.
The initial goal for the project is to help pork producers breed pigs that are able to better cope with diseases such as PRRS, but Dekkers said it’s possible their research could lead to pork producers taking hair samples from their own herds to gauge how individual pigs respond to stress.
Producers might use that information to group their pigs together in ways that minimize the potential for stress. It’ll require time to refine the practice before it reaches that point, but Dekkers said it’s an attractive option because clipping hair is a fast and noninvasive process.
