Vermeer, H. M. (2022) Farrowing pen size and maternal behaviour. Wageningen Livestock Research, www.wur.nl/livestock-research (under Wageningen Livestock Research publications).
PDF
- English
Limited to [Depositor and staff only] Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. 1MB |
Summary
Growing litter sizes with lower birth weights lead to more vulnerable newborn organic piglets. Combined with the free movement of the sow around parturition the risk of piglet mortality increases. A larger farrowing pen with more opportunities to perform nest building and maternal behaviour is a potential way for better care for the piglets. In this project we compared farrowing pens of 8 and 24 m² in order to improve natural behaviour (welfare) and survival of newborn piglets (welfare and economy).
Behaviour and performance of 60 sows and litters was studied on a commercial organic pig farm during 1.5 years. Video footage was recorded from 24 h before birth of the first piglet until 72 h after birth of the last piglet. Activity and postural changes of the sows, piglets and position of the nest were scored by scan sampling. Performance data was recorded by the pig farmer on a score sheet per sow.
As expected the sows showed and increased activity during the 12 h pre farrowing, but without any difference between the two pen sizes (see figure). However a qualitative assessment showed more sows with nest building behaviour (collecting straw) in the large pens. Risky body movements of the sow are a risk factor for piglet mortality (crushing). These postural changes did not differ between the two treatments. The piglet mortality was 7% lower in the larger pens (20 vs 13%; p=0.04), resulting in 10.1 vs 11.1 weaned piglets.
Figure. Proportion of activity per treatment per period around farrowing (no differences between treatments; differences between periods indicated by different superscripts)
EPrint Type: | Report |
---|---|
Keywords: | piglets, farrowing pen size, maternal behaviour |
Agrovoc keywords: | Language Value URI English animal welfare http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_443 English piglets http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_5872 English farrowing pens http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2812 English maternal behaviour http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_12428 |
Subjects: | Animal husbandry > Health and welfare Animal husbandry > Production systems > Pigs |
Research affiliation: | European Union > CORE Organic > CORE Organic Cofund > POWER Netherlands > Wageningen University & Research (WUR) > Animal Sciences Group ASG |
Horizon Europe or H2020 Grant Agreement Number: | 727495 |
DOI: | 10.18174/xxxxxx |
Deposited By: | Nielsen, Department Anne Sofie |
ID Code: | 43864 |
Deposited On: | 28 Jun 2022 12:29 |
Last Modified: | 01 Feb 2023 12:46 |
Document Language: | English |
Status: | Unpublished |
Refereed: | Not peer-reviewed |
Repository Staff Only: item control page