Strategic use of straw increases nest building in loose housed farrowing sows

Westin, Rebecka; Hultgren, Jan; Algers, Bo

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2015.02.010

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In a study of sow behaviour and farrowing duration, conducted on about one third of the farrowings studied in the present study, a strong association was found between the sum of time spent on nest-building pre-partum and the duration of farrowing regardless of treatment. Farrowing duration decreased with an increase of nest-building activity (Westin et al, 2015). It was also demonstrated that strategic use of straw increases the nest-building behaviour pre-partum.…”

Section: Stillbirthsmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Post-mortem findings and piglet mortality in relation to strategic use of straw at farrowing

Westin

Holmgren²,

Hultgren

et al. 2015

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

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Section: Stillbirthsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…A second goal is to provide a suitable environment for the piglets at birth. The method is proven to be technically feasible (Westin et al, 2013), to prevent bruising on claws and limbs and increase weight gain in piglets (Westin et al, 2014) and to increase the amount of nest-building performed pre-partum (Westin et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-mortem findings and piglet mortality in relation to strategic use of straw at farrowing

Westin

Holmgren²,

Hultgren

et al. 2015

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

Self Cite

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“…Wischner et al, 2009), and previous studies have found that providing nest-building material, such as straw, has a positive effect on nestbuilding behaviour (e.g. Thodberg et al, 1999;Westin et al, 2015b;Rosvold et al, 2018). When the sows are allowed to go through a process of nest building, stress is reduced (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Straw vs. peat as nest-building material – The impact on farrowing duration and piglet mortality in loose-housed sows

Rosvold

Andersen

2019

Livestock Science

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Provision of nest-building material pre-partum is required by farm animal legislation in Norway, but as some farmers have problems with straw in the slurry system, alternative and finer-grained substrates could be of interest. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of providing different nestbuilding materials before farrowing (peat and long-stemmed straw) on farrowing duration and piglet mortality. Sows of Norsvin Landrace x Swedish Yorkshire were loose-housed in individual farrowing pens with their litter throughout the entire lactation period, and provided with peat (n=18), longstemmed straw (n=17), or controls (n=18), from two days before expected farrowing until farrowing.Parity ranged from 1 to 9 (mean ± SE: 2.9 ± 2.0), of which 16 were gilts. The farrowing was video recorded, and the farrowing duration registered from first to last piglet born. Dead piglets were subjected to a post mortem.Sows provided with long-stemmed straw pre-partum had shorter farrowing duration compared to sows provided with peat or controls (P < 0.001). The percentage of stillborn piglets was also lowest among sows in the straw group compared to the other two groups (P < 0.001). Sows of parity ≥4 had longer farrowing duration than gilts and sows of parity 2-3 (P < 0.001). Farrowing duration (P < 0.001) and the percentage of stillborn piglets increased (P < 0.001) with an increasing number of total born piglets.Moreover, increased litter size resulted in a higher pre-weaning mortality (P = 0.016).The present study shows that provision of nest-building material before farrowing is important for the birth process of the sow as it reduces farrowing duration and percentage of stillborn piglets compared to controls without relevant substrate. Although peat gave better results than the control treatment, our results suggest that long-stemmed straw is a more appropriate nest-building material.

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“…Furthermore, litter material (in Sweden most often straw) for nest-building behaviour by sows has to be provided (Swedish National Board of Agriculture, 2017). Westin et al (2015b) found decreased farrowing duration with increased nest-building activity, and Fraser et al (1997) concluded that the possibility for a sow to move around is an important factor in achieving easy and normal farrowing without farrowing problems. Negative effects of confinement on farrowing duration, stress and plasma oxytocin concentrations have been reported by Thodberg et al (2002) and Oliviero et al (2008Oliviero et al ( , 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Piglet mortality – A parallel comparison between loose-housed and temporarily confined farrowing sows in the same herd

Olsson

Botermans

Englund

2018

Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section A — Animal Science

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In literature, piglet mortality is described as a multifactorial complex influenced by factors as litter size, age and health of the sow, farrowing system, management etc. In this study, a parallel comparison was made between two farrowing systems; a temporarily confined (TC) (farrowing-3 days after) versus a loose sow (L). On average, 0.4 more pigs per litter survived until weaning if the sow was temporarily confined (TC) compared with being loose (L). Cause of death was recorded according to a strict template. Underweight and crushing was the most common causes. For crushing, during 1-3 days after birth, an interaction between sow age and farrowing system was observed, with differences between farrowing systems only for intermediate-aged and older sows (>parity 2). There were no significant differences between systems regarding farrowing duration or number of stillborn pigs, but a significant increase in farrowing problems was recorded for TC-sows.

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Strategic use of straw increases nest building in loose housed farrowing sows

Cited by 21 publications

References 29 publications

Post-mortem findings and piglet mortality in relation to strategic use of straw at farrowing

Post-mortem findings and piglet mortality in relation to strategic use of straw at farrowing

Straw vs. peat as nest-building material – The impact on farrowing duration and piglet mortality in loose-housed sows

Piglet mortality – A parallel comparison between loose-housed and temporarily confined farrowing sows in the same herd

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