4313: MOBILE AND STATIONARY SYSTEMS FOR ORGANIC PIGS – ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR IN OUTDOOR PENS

Benfalk, Christel; Lindgren, Kristina; Lindahl, Cecilia and Rundgren, Margareta (2005) MOBILE AND STATIONARY SYSTEMS FOR ORGANIC PIGS – ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR IN OUTDOOR PENS . Paper presented at Researching Sustainable Systems - International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture, Adelaide, Australia, September 21-23, 2005.

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Summary

The production of organic pork in Sweden has increased. For several years, however, demand has been greater than production. An important factor contributing to the limited production is a lack of knowledge and experience of outdoor pig systems, since they are uncommon in Sweden. This study compared the behaviour of fattening pigs in two different organic produc¬tion systems, with the main focus on excretory behaviour. In both the mobile and the stationary system there was an uneven distribution of manure and urine in the pens. In the mobile system, the hotspots were in the hut area and in part of the drinking area, while in the stationary system, the concrete pad as well as the wallowing area and the first section of the transporta¬tion area seemed to be the hotspots. Furthermore, the pigs avoided defecating around the feeding troughs and lying area in the mobile system. A more uniform distri¬bution of nutrients can possibly be obtained by manipulating the excretory behaviour of the pigs, e.g. by regularly shifting the positions of the feeders and huts.

Document Language:	English
Keywords:	Fattening pigs, Defecating behaviour, Urinating behaviour, Excretion hotspots
Subject Areas:	Animal husbandry > Production systems > Pigs
Research affiliation:	International Conferences > ISOFAR conferences > Researching Sustainable Systems 2005
Total budget (Euro):	0
Orgprints ID Number:	4313
Contact:	ISOFAR,
Deposited On:	23 October 2006
EPrint Type:	Conference paper
Published?:	Unpublished
Peer Review Status:	Not peer-reviewed
Additional Publishing Information:	The paper archived here is the final paper submitted by the authors to the conference Researching Sustainable Systems. The final and edited papers are available at the following publication: Köpke, Ulrich; Niggli, Urs; Neuhoff, Daniel; Cornish, Peter; Lockeretz, Willie und Willer, Helga, (Hrsg.) (2005) Researching Sustainable Systems. Proceedings of the First Scientific Conference of the International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR) Held in Cooperation with the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA), 21 - 23 September 2005, Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, South Australia. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, CH-Frick, and International Society of Organic Agriculture Research (ISOFAR), c/o Institute of Organic Agriculture (IOL), DE-University of Bonn. http://orgprints.org/4013/ Distribution: Paper copies may be ordered from FiBL at a cost of 28 Euros plus mailing costs (see FiBL shop at http://www.fibl.org/shop); FiBL order number 1394. A PDF version of the proceedings is available free of charge for ISOFAR members via the member area of www.isofar.org. The final papers submitted by the authors are available at http://orgprints.org/view/projects/int-conf-isofar-2005.html.

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