Lying characteristics as determinants for space requirements in pigs

Ekkel, E.D.; Spoolder, Hans; Hulsegge, Ina; Hopster, H.

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(02)00154-5

Cited by 124 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…If the stressor persists or intensifies, the coping strategy could ultimately lead to a redirection of biological resources and affect productivity (Moberg, 2000). Conversely, the use of a k-value equal to 0.047, derived from the area occupied by a pig lying in fully recumbent position (Petherick, 1983), would overestimate the spatial needs of pigs housed in a group, because it does not take into account the distribution of behaviour in time, the different lying postures and the dynamics within the group (Ekkel et al, 2003). All these results suggest the existence of an intermediate critical value, which meets both space needs of pigs on slatted floors, without affecting their behavioural responses, and their productive performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aforementioned housing factors can compromise the ability of pigs to perform this activity adequately. Data relative to the allometric space required to satisfy pigs' different lying postures already exists (Petherick, 1983;Ekkel et al, 2003), but the quantitative relationships between housing factors and the percentage of time spent lying remain largely unknown. The evaluation of these relationships could provide valuable information to determine the impact of alternative management of systems on the welfare of growing-finishing pigs, and how it might be improved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantitative assessment of the effects of space allowance, group size and floor characteristics on the lying behaviour of growing-finishing pigs

Averós

Brossard

Dourmad

et al. 2010

Animal

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To obtain quantitative information that can be later used in animal welfare modelling, the relationship between the lying behaviour of growing-finishing pigs (initial body weight (BW) between 19 and 87 kg) and different factors related to the housing conditions, with a potential negative effect on their welfare, was studied by means of a meta-analytical approach. Data from 22 experiments reported in 21 scientific publications were collected. The space allowance, expressed on an allometric basis by means of a k-value (m 2 /BW 0.667 ), the group size (n) and the floor characteristics (fully and partly slatted v. non-slatted floor), as well as their significant two-way interactions were used as fixed effects, and the experiment was used as a random factor to take into account the interexperiment effect. Further regression analyses were performed on the predicted values of observations in order to improve the adjustment of data. A significant quadratic relationship was established between space allowance ( k-value, P , 0.05; squared k-value, P , 0.01) and the percentage of time spent lying. A significant interaction between the k-value and the floor type was also found ( P , 0.05), showing that the relationship between space allowance and lying behaviour is affected by the presence or absence of slats. Threshold k-values were obtained using broken-line analyses, being about 0.039 for slatted floors and almost double for non-slatted floors. Compared to other studies, these values suggest that the ability to rest as space availability decreases may be compromised before a reduced performance becomes apparent. Group size did not show a significant effect. Additional information should be added to the model, as further data become available, to adjust the proposed parameters as well as to try to include the effect of other important aspects such as that of ambient temperature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative assessment of the effects of space allowance, group size and floor characteristics on the lying behaviour of growing-finishing pigs

Averós

Brossard

Dourmad

et al. 2010

Animal

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“…However, such minimum recommendations only allow resting in a ventral position. To allow full lateral recumbency, which is a position increasingly adopted as the piglet gets heavier and older (Ekkel et al, 2003), 0.166 m 2 / piglet would be needed (Table 2). It is possible that such lying areas do not have to be provided solely in the creep; protective space (e.g.…”

Section: Parturition Early Lactation and Nest-occupationmentioning

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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“…The increase in the prevalence of capped hock with age might be due to the increasing period of time spent on hard floors, to increasing time spent lying down (Ekkel et al, 2003) or because as pigs grow their limbs support more weight when lying per weight bearing surface area. A pattern of increasing prevalence of bursitis with age was also observed in these pigs (Gillman et al, submitted) and reported in previous studies (Mouttotou et al, 1999).…”

Section: Pathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

A cross-sectional study of the prevalence and associated risk factors for capped hock and the associations with bursitis in weaner, grower and finisher pigs from 93 commercial farms in England

Kilbride

Gillman

Ossent

et al. 2008

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

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Lying characteristics as determinants for space requirements in pigs

Cited by 124 publications

References 13 publications

Quantitative assessment of the effects of space allowance, group size and floor characteristics on the lying behaviour of growing-finishing pigs

Quantitative assessment of the effects of space allowance, group size and floor characteristics on the lying behaviour of growing-finishing pigs

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

A cross-sectional study of the prevalence and associated risk factors for capped hock and the associations with bursitis in weaner, grower and finisher pigs from 93 commercial farms in England

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