20.500.12556/RUL-166015 Hair cortisol of pigs in mixed organic farms: the influence of season, breeding system and sex Introduction: Measurement of hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a useful tool for assessing the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and thus evaluating the long-term adrenocortical response in different animal species and breeds. Robust indigenous pig breeds are highly adapted to the local environment and are preferred for organic farming, compared to the commercial breeds. We investigated whether seasonality, breeding system (indoor or outdoor) and sex influence HCC of pigs reared on organic farms. Materials and methods: Fifty-three pigs of the indigenous Slovenian Krškopolje breed were divided into three groups. Group Ind (n = 15) was housed indoors, groups Out-1 (n = 18) and Out-2 (n = 20) were housed outdoors on two different farms for the duration of 9 months. Hair was sampled once per season in the withers area of each pig and HCC was determined using a previously validated ELISA. Results and discussion: The effect of seasonality was found to be significant and more pronounced in pigs reared outdoors. HCC were highest and varied most in winter for all groups, while they were lowest and varied less in summer and autumn. The highest HCC was measured in group Out-1 in winter, as it was the only group housed outdoors at that time. Group Ind had significantly higher HCC in summer compared to the groups Out-1 and Out-2, which could be due to hair cortisol degradation by the UV light exposure in outdoor groups. Sex had no effect on HCC. Our study suggests that seasonality and housing type influence the HCC of pigs. hair cortisol organic farming pigs Krškopolje breed animal welfare HPA axis true false true Angleški jezik Ni določen Članek v reviji 2024-12-17 16:11:49 2024-12-17 16:11:52 2025-11-25 15:06:43 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2024 0 0 11 str. Vol. 11, art. 1491785 2024 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 636.5.09:612 2297-1769 10.3389/fvets.2024.1491785 219550211 cortisol-marina.pdf cortisol-marina.pdf 1 3EA748CFBE8C5AD0374D581770D88191 4c35b76b8067b1bdcd314d1c46f007721bcc5d6bcf212c6714c76f7cb40daf3c 266b36c1-bc8a-11ef-b232-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=197381 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1491785/full 1 b6346a5b-bc88-11ef-b232-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=197380 Veterinarska fakulteta 0 0 0