It seems logical that a pig’s temperament would affect its stress levels during handling. But exactly which temperament traits play into this, and whether they’re heritable, are questions that still need to be answered. Researchers at the Prairie Swine Centre set out to do just that, and their study yielded some interesting results.
Several researchers designed a study to link temperament traits to stress responses in pigs. They wanted to find out if individual pigs displayed the same traits over time and if these traits are heritable. The two-part study involved over 500 pigs.