A note on the influence of starting position, time of testing and test order on the backtest in pigs

The backtest determines the coping behaviour of a piglet in a standardised stress situation, which might be a measure for the coping style of that ani mal. Backtest results are related to other parameters such as immune respon ses and production. In this study, the backtest was standardised and it was studied if time of testing or the order in which animals were tested influ enced backtest results. One hundred and eight-four piglets from 18 sows wer e tested at 3, 10 and 17 days of age. Before testing, the sow was disturbed to ensure that all piglets were awake. This standardisation of the startin g position before testing did not improve the correlations between backtest results in the successive tests. No relations were found between backtest results and time of testing or test order. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. A ll rights reserved.