Lying down and rolling behaviour in sows in relation to piglet crushing

Damm, B.I; Forkman, Björn; Pedersen, Lene Juul

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2004.08.008

Cited by 98 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…They found that piglets with slow weight gain spent more time in risky areas underneath their sitting or standing mother. Crushing predominantly occurs as the sow makes a posture change from standing to lying or when rolling (Damm et al, 2005;Weary et al, 1998) and the risks associated with these posture changes are dependent on the environment in which the sow farrows and her maternal behaviour. In a study by Wechsler and Hegglin (1997), it was demonstrated that the quality of the sow's pre-lying behaviour influenced the risk of crushing.…”

Section: Parturition Early Lactation and Nest-occupationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, a recent survey by Weber et al (2009) showed no significant influence of the presence of piglet protection bars on piglet losses. The traction and comfort of the floor will also influence lying behaviour, thus protection for the piglets (Damm et al, 2005), as well as the health and welfare of both sow and piglets (Boyle et al, 2000). In the latter study, Boyle et al (2000) demonstrated when rubber mats were given instead of metal slats sow comfort was improved and slipping reduced (Table 1).…”

Section: Parturition Early Lactation and Nest-occupationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

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

Baxter

Lawrence

Edwards

2011

Animal

114

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Parturition Early Lactation and Nest-occupationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Therefore, research was started early to develop alternative farrowing systems (Baxter, 1991;Phillips and Fraser, 1993;Schmid, 1993). But especially in loose-housed sows, piglet mortality tends to be a great problem (Damm et al, 2005). However, the decrease in piglet losses is an important factor in improving economic success in pig production, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic aspects regarding piglet losses and the maternal behaviour of sows. Part 2. Genetic relationship between maternal behaviour in sows and piglet mortality

Hellbrügge

Tölle

Bennewitz

et al. 2008

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of the study was to analyse the genetic background of different traits to characterise the maternal behaviour of sows and to evaluate the relationship to different causes of piglet losses -increasing piglet survival due to higher maternal abilities of the sow. A total of 1538 purebred litters from 943 German Landrace sows in the year 2004 were available for data analysis. Around 13 971 individually earmarked piglets were included in the analyses. Maternal abilities were characterised through the sow's reaction to the separation from her litter during the first 24 h after farrowing, and on day 21 of lactation, the reaction towards the playback of a piglet's distress call and the reaction towards an unknown noise (music). In 1220 of these litters, the sows were also scored for aggressiveness in the group when regrouped before entering the farrowing crates. To describe fertility, the number of piglets born alive, stillborn piglets, number of piglets born in total and the individual birth weight were utilised. Different causes of piglet losses were evaluated as binary traits of the dam with survival rate, different definitions for crushing by the sow, being underweight and runts. The heritability for being aggressive in the group was h 2 5 0.32 and for the behaviour traits during lactation, the heritabilities ranged from h 2 5 0.06 to 0.14. The genetic correlations showed that more-reactive sows had fewer piglet losses.

show abstract

“…At nursing time, piglets must be aware of where the sow is preparing to lie down in order to quickly avoid a crushing death (Damm, Forkman, & Pedersen, 2005). Therefore, the physical and mental skills acquired through locomotor play may enhance a piglet"s survival.…”

Section: Solitary Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Horback¹

2014

ABC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-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.

show abstract

Lying down and rolling behaviour in sows in relation to piglet crushing

Cited by 98 publications

References 30 publications

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

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

Genetic aspects regarding piglet losses and the maternal behaviour of sows. Part 2. Genetic relationship between maternal behaviour in sows and piglet mortality

Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About