Out of 28 days old piglets qualified for fattening there were selected 10 dominant and 10 subordinate animals in which the level of catecholamines and cortisole was tested in the blood of the animals after their joining and later after 3 and 7 days. The studies revealed the appearance of emotional and somatic stress: it was decreasing slowly within 7 days in the dominant group, while in the subordinate group the somatic stress was unchanged to the end of the experiment and the signs of emotional stress appeared at day 3 and 7. The findings indicate the possibility of early adaptation of dominant individuals in contrast to subordinate ones to permanent acting stressors.