Behaviour of 3-week weaned pigs in Straw-Flow®, deep straw and flatdeck housing systems

Kelly, Hilary R. C.; Bruce, J. M.; English, P. R.; Fowler, V. R.; Edwards, Sandra A.

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(00)00109-x

Cited by 78 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Common stereotypic behavioral patterns in domestic swine are often based on oral-nasal activity, such as bar-biting, sham-chewing, drinker-pressing, head-weaving, nose-rubbing, and tongue-rolling (Broom, 1986;Robert, Rushen, & Farmer, 1997;Stolba, Baker, & Wood-Gush, 1983;Vieuille-Thomas, Le Pape, & Signoret, 1995). The addition of substrates such as straw, peat and mushroom compost to swine housing has been shown to decrease common stereotypic behaviors and aggression toward pen mates (Arey, 1993;Beattie et al, 1995;Fraser, Phillips, Thompson, & Tennessen, 1991;Kelly, Bruce, English, Fowler, & Edwards, 2000;Sneddon, Beattie, Walker, & Weatherup, 2001;Wood-Gush & Beilharz, 1983). Furthermore, the provision of enrichment objects, like plastic dog toys or hanging rope, can increase both social and solitary play, which can be an indicator of physical and psychological well-being (Barnes, Levitsky, Pond, & Moore, 1976;Blackshaw, Thomas, & Lee, 1997;Špinka, Newberry, & Bekoff, 2001;Worsaae & Schmidt, 1980).…”

Section: Swine Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Horback¹

2014

ABC

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-The predominant method of measuring welfare in swine focuses on overt physical ailments, such as skin lesions, lameness, and body condition. An alternative metric for assessing welfare in swine can be to measure the frequency and duration of positive behavioral states, such as play. Given that play occurs only when an animal's primary needs (food, comfort, safety, etc.) have been satisfied, it has been suggested that play may be a sensitive indicator for assessing the welfare of non-human animals. Play has primarily been described in young piglets and is assessed via the occurrence of specific play markers. These play markers include overt bursts of energy like scamper, or more subtle social behaviors like nose-to-body contact. This review describes four areas of play for swine: locomotor, object, sow-piglet, and, peer play. From sporadic leaping to combative wrestling, play behavior allows for the fine-tuning of reflexive behavior which can enhance physical development, enrich cognitive abilities, and facilitate the maintenance of social bonds.

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Section: Swine Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Horback¹

2014

ABC

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“…These piglets were provided with either 1 or 2.5 kg of fresh straw twice daily in two experimental groups, with activity levels not significantly different. Research in older pigs also suggests that relatively small quantities of straw, if presented daily, appear to be almost as effective at generating greater straw-directed behaviour and less pig-directed and pendirected behaviour as large amounts (Kelly et al, 2000). However, Day et al (2002) found that an increasing provision of straw resulted in an increase in the proportional frequency of rooting and ploughing behaviours and an associated decrease in potentially damaging pig-behaviours, such as tail-biting.…”

Section: Nest Departure and Social Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative farrowing systems: design criteria for farrowing systems based on the biological needs of sows and piglets

Baxter

Lawrence

Edwards

2011

Animal

114

112

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The construction of a suitable farrowing environment is a continuing dilemma: the piglet's needs must be matched with those of the sow and the farmer during the main phases that constitute farrowing: nest building, parturition and lactation. Difficulties exist in resolving the various conflicts of interest between and within these three parties (e.g. sow v. farmer: space needed for nest building v. space needed to maximise the amount of farrowing accommodation, or sow v. sow: ensuring the survival of the current litter v. maintaining condition for future litters). Thus, the challenge is to resolve these conflicts and design a system that maximises sow and piglet welfare while maintaining an economically efficient and sustainable enterprise. In order to successfully design a farrowing and lactation environment, it is necessary to consider the biological needs of both the sow and her litter. The natural behaviour of the sow has been well documented and very little variation exists between reports of peri-parturient behaviour observed in extensively kept domestic sows and their wild counterparts. The failure for domestication to significantly alter these behavioural patterns provides evidence that they are biologically significant and that the commercial farrowing environment should attempt to accommodate this behavioural repertoire. In addition, the behavioural needs of the piglets, as well as the physiological needs of both sows and their offspring should be considered. This article aims to review the considerable body of literature detailing the behavioural repertoire of sows and their offspring during the different phases of farrowing, and the accompanying physiological processes. The focus is on identifying biological needs of the animals involved in order to synthesise the appropriate design criteria for farrowing and lactation systems, which should optimise both welfare and animal production.

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“…Increased activity has been suggested to be indicative of a higher level of stress (Bøe 1993;Metz and Gonyou 1990;Gonyou et al 1998;Worobec et al 1999). However, increased play behaviour has been suggested to be an indication of reduced levels of stress and, therefore, an indication of increased welfare (Lawrence and Appleby 1996;Kelly et al 2000;Donaldson et al 2002). Since these measures of welfare are contradictory, and because higher temperatures are known to reduce activity, it is most likely that these observed changes in behaviour were the result of seasonal temperature differences rather than transport stress.…”

Section: Transport Typementioning

confidence: 99%

The behaviour of early-weaned piglets following transport: Effect of season and weaning weight

Wamnes¹,

Lewis²,

Berry³

2008

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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Wamnes, S., Lewis, N. J. and Berry, R. J. 2008. The behaviour of early-weaned piglets following transport: Effect of season and weaning weight. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 88: 357Á367. Two groups of 48 Cotswold piglets were weaned at 1791 d of age and assigned to road or simulated transport during summer or winter. Following transport (0, 6, 12 or 24 h), piglets were grouped by weaning weight (light, medium and heavy) in pens of four. Piglet behaviour was recorded on days 1Á4, 7 and 14 after weaning and transport. As transport duration increased, drinking behaviour increased (PB0.05). Control (0 h) piglets fed less (1.5%) than transported piglets (3.1%) during the first 3 d in housing. Significant differences were observed on days 2 and 3 only (PB0.02). Across season and transport treatment, heavy piglets spent more time fighting (PB0.005) during the first day in housing, and less time feeding (PB0.05) during the first 3 d in housing compared with light and medium piglets. During the first 3 d in weanling pens, piglets spent less time feeding following road transport (2.4%) than following simulated transport (2.9%, PB0.05). Piglets transported by road also spent more time engaged in oral/nasal behaviour during the first 3 d in housing compared with simulated transport groups, although this reached significance on day 3 only (PB0.05). These results suggest that transport of early-weaned piglets may exacerbate the stress of weaning through additional stress related to factors associated with truck movement, such as noise and vibration, and by imposing an increased risk of dehydration following long journeys (12 h).Key words: Early weaning, transport, pigs, behaviour, season Wamnes, S., Lewis, N. J. et Berry, R. J. 2008. Comportement des porcelets sevre´s haˆtivement apre`s le transport : incidence de la saison et du poids au sevrage. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 88: 357Á367. Deux groupes de 48 porcelets Cotswold ont e´te´sevre´s a1 791 jours et transporte´s par camion en e´te´ou en hiver, ou ont subi une telle simulation. Apre`s le transport (0, 6, 12 ou 24 h), les sujets ont e´te´place´s dans des enclos par groupe de quatre, selon leur poids (le´ger, moyen ou lourd). Les auteurs ont ensuite note´leur comportement 1Á4, 7 et 14 jours apre`s le sevrage et le transport. Les animaux boivent plus quand le transport se prolonge (PB0,05). Au cours des trois premiers jours dans l'enclos, les te´moins (0 h de transport) mangent moins (1,5 %) que les porcelets qui ont e´te´transporte´s (3,1 %). On ne note de variation importante que les deuxie`me et troisie`me jours (PB0,02). Peu importe la saison et la dure´e du transport, les porcelets lourds passent plus de temps a`se battre (PB0,005) la premie`re journe´e et moins de temps a`se nourrir (PB0,05) les trois premiers jours, comparativement aux animaux de poids le´ger ou moyen. Durant les trois premiers jours dans l'enclos, les porcelets passent moins de temps as e nourrir apre`s le transport routier (2,4 %) qu'apre`s une simulation de ce dernier (2,9 %, PB0,05). Les animaux transporte´s re´el...

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Behaviour of 3-week weaned pigs in Straw-Flow®, deep straw and flatdeck housing systems

Cited by 78 publications

References 7 publications

Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Alternative farrowing systems: design criteria for farrowing systems based on the biological needs of sows and piglets

The behaviour of early-weaned piglets following transport: Effect of season and weaning weight

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