Constructing better piggery buildings by identifying factors contributing to improved thermal control under hot climatic conditions

External and internal air temperatures were measured continuously for one year (between January 1999 and December 1999) in 48 piggery buildings in South Australia using self contained data-loggers with built-in sensors. Data was consolidated to correspond with the four seasons. Regression values between the external and internal temperatures were calculated for individual buildings for each season. Data was also collected on major housing features, including configuration of the buildings and management factors employed in them. The information collected was then analysed to quantify the effects of housing and management factors on the resulting environmental control using a multi-factorial statistical model. The overall mean air temperatures in all buildings corresponding to the four seasons were; 24°C (summer), 20°C (autumn), 18°C (winter), 21°C (spring) across all buildings. The regression values between external and internal temperatures were affected by the season, type of insulation material used in the buildings, the availability of extra heating or cooling equipment, height of buildings, roof pitch (angle), type of ridge ventilation control employed, stocking density, age of buildings and number of pigs housed per building. The effects of housing and management factors on thermal control capacity of buildings were quantified. These findings should aid the construction of better designed livestock buildings resulting in improved welfare and production efficiency in piggery buildings

Livestock housing: modern management to ensure optimal health and welfare of farm animals

Appropriate housing that promotes excellent health and high welfare for different livestock species is an essential aspect of sustainable animal production. The appropriate design of livestock buildings is a fast changing and ever improving professional endeavour. This book is set out to review the 'current best practice management' in relation to all key design elements of livestock buildings. It is important to manage these buildings correctly to generate environmental conditions that will enhance the health and welfare of livestock, the health of farm workers and people living near farming operations. 'Livestock housing' is written for all those who are involved in managing the health and welfare conditions of housed livestock on commercial farms, including farm workers, animal scientists, veterinarians, agricultural engineers and of course students. Contributions have been solicited from highly respected specialists from around the world. All key areas of housing management are reviewed, including feeding, watering, ventilation and waste management systems. Furthermore, issues such as the control of emissions, role of bedding, maintenance of hygiene, the management of thermal and aerial environment as well as the use of modern technological tools in the service of livestock management are discussed. This book provides a unique forum for leading international experts to convey up-to-date information to professionals involved in modern animal production

BEHAVIOUR, WELFARE AND NUTRITION OF GROUP-HOUSED SOWS FED IN AN ELECTRONIC SOW FEEDING SYSTEM

A programme of study was undertaken to assess the welfare status of multiparous gestating sows housed in dynamic groups in a straw yard and fed by electronic sow feeders (ESF). Comparison of production figures from the Seale-Hayne herd with those nationally confirmed its status as a typical commercial unit. In an initial series of investigations, detailed ethograms were compiled to describe the animals' repertoire of activities and interactions. Lying and straw manipulation were found to be the predominant behaviours and attacks directed towards the head were the most commonly performed type of interaction. Although there was little evidence of aggressive behaviour, most interactions were found to occur in areas where there was an obvious source of competition, namely the feeding and lying areas. A recording scale was devised to assess the level of skin damage arising from aggressive interactions. Whilst data revealed a relationship between parity and the extent of injury, both the frequency and intensity of injury were found to be low for all animals and there was very little evidence of vulva biting, commonly cited as a major criticism of group-housing systems. Animals were observed to rest predominantly in the lying area. There was an association between parity and resting location, with older animals occupying those areas perceived to be more favourable. Recently introduced gilts and sows were observed to integrate gradually with the main group. An argument is put forward for the existence of sub-groups based upon parity within the main group, although it was concluded that it was difficult to prove such a theory. A series of voluntary feed intake (VFI) trials revealed that the animals' feeding motivation was not satisfied by the allowance fed in gestation. Results from a trial when animals were offered a high fibre, low energy diet in comparison with their conventional feed suggested that the animals had a requirement for a certain level of energy and were not motivated simply by a desire for gut-fill. However, a subsequent investigation into the animals feeding behaviour did not reveal any evidence of a frustrated feeding motivation; there was little evidence of non-feeding visits and few animals were recorded in the feed queue throughout the day. It is concluded that sows can be group-housed in a dynamic system on a restricted feed intake without detriment to their welfare or productivity status. A number of factors were found to be critical to the success of such a system including the freedom for animals to behave as individuals, the regular provision of fresh straw and adequate space for newly introduced animals to integrate gradually with the herd

Overall welfare assessment of pregnant sow housing systems based on interviews with experts

In interviews with 11 pig experts the main housing systems for pregnant sows were identified as tethering (T), individual housing in stalls (IS), group housing with stalls (GS), trickle feeding or biofix (B), electronic sow feeding (ESF), and outdoor housing with huts (O). The family pen system (Fam) was added as a reference system. The experts were asked to give a welfare score for each housing system. The 2 individual housing systems (mean scores: T=1.8; IS=2.3) scored significantly lower than more intensive indoor group housing systems (GS=5.4; B=5.3; ESF=6.2), and these scored lower than the more extensive systems (O=8.0; Fam=9.1; ANOVA, PP=0.008). The most important aspects for welfare assessment were space, substrate, feeding-related agonism and social parameters such as group size and group stability. Three different models were constructed to calculate welfare scores from the arguments given by the experts. When represented graphically the results seem comparable to the expert scores, although 2 of the 3 models differed significantly from the expert scores using analysis of variance. These results indicate that pig experts are able to perform overall welfare assessment in a rational way that allows modelling and that there is a consensus underlying welfare assessment. These outcomes provide support for the further development of a decision support system to assess farm animal welfare on a scientific basis

Factors affecting foraging motivation in the domestic pig

The welfare of farm animals is currently a topic of both scientific investigation and public concern. The aim of this thesis was to investigate motivational factors affecting the expression of foraging behaviour in domestic pigs. This topic was chosen because a number of recent scientific investigations have implicated commercial feeding regimes as being causal in reducing pig welfare.Most of the experiments reported in this thesis used operant methodology in which pigs had to learn to perform a behavioural response to receive food reinforcement. The main aspects investigated were: the effects of social constraints on feeding behaviour; the effect of information associated with reinforcer delivery on contrafreeloading (where the same food is simultaneously offered free and contingent on an operant response); the effect of operant design on food intake and on operant choice; the effect of food level and a foraging device (The Edinburgh Foodball’) on pigs’ time budget; and the effect of reinforcement rate from the Foodball on the time budget.The results showed that: pigs are highly adaptable and flexible foragers able to overcome social constraints associated with feeding by altering the expression and temporal patterning of feeding variables (e.g., feeding rate); that information associated with reinforcer delivery had little effect on contrafreeloading and that pigs at least under these experimental conditions preferred free food over operant contingent food; that the design of an operant device can significantly influence the level of operant responding and the level of food intake; that given the opportunity food motivated pigs express their feeding motivation as complex and variable foraging behaviour; and that pigs respond to a decrease in the rate of food reinforcement by increasing both the proportion of time they forage for, and the frequency of their foraging responses.This thesis has shown the effects of a number of factors on the expression of foraging and feeding behaviour in domestic pigs. Although it remains unclear whether or not being able to forage affects the welfare of pigs, the species-specific operant methodology developed in this thesis I believe will allow the welfare requirements of pigs to be more accurately assessed

Effect of an automatic feeding system on growth performance and feeding behaviour of pigs reared outdoors

Nine Mora Romagnola and 10 Large White x Mora Romagnola growing pigs were reared outdoors. In both groups ad libitum feed was provided. Conventional pigs received it twice a day, distributed in two long troughs. Inside the corral of the second group, an automatic station was set up for: feed distribution, pigs weighing, and control by an analog camera. Thus the self-feeders received feed ad libitum individually by the automatic system, divided into small quantities at meal times. During the experiment the analog camera was used over 24 hours each day, to collect pictures of pigs in order to investigate their behaviours. For each picture the day and hour, the number of visible pigs and their behaviours were recorded and a statistical analysis of data, which was expressed as hourly frequencies of behavioural elements, was performed. Moreover to highlight "active" and "passive" behaviours between the groups, two categories "Move" and "Rest" were created grouping some behavioural elements. With regard to performance, conventional pigs reached a higher total weight gain (56.1±2.42 kg vs 46.7±2.42 kg; P=0.0117). But the feed conversion index (FCI) of both groups was similar. The self-feeders had consumed less feed than conventional animals. The feeding system seems to influence behaviours. The percentage of time spent in Eating activity differs (P<0.0001) between the self-fed (median 24.6%) and conventional pigs (median 10.9%). The resulting more regular eating trend of self-feeders influenced the daily activities distribution. The behavioural category Rest (median: self-feeders 55.0% vs 71.4% conventional pigs) was dominant, with conventional pigs becoming more restless, particularly at meal times. This type of feeding competition and aggressive behaviour did not happen in the self-feeders due to the feed distribution system. The self-feeder results showed that pigs eat at the automatic station both day and night. The animals perform on average 3 visits per hour at night and 10 during the day, with an average duration of some minutes (from 3 to 5 approximately)

Governing farm animal welfare, governing stockmanship: a sociological analysis of the formulation and on-farm implementation of the EU group sow housing legislation

EU pig welfare legislation required European pig farmers to shift from individual to group housing of pregnant sows by 1 January 2013. This requirement was principally designed to meet the sows’ needs for locomotion and interaction with conspecifics. This paper explored how the legislation affected everyday sow-farmer interaction, which influences farm animal welfare to an important degree. We started by analysing conceptualisations of sow welfare and sow-farmer relations as implicated in the EU Directive and the scientific advice that informed it. Contending that these conceptualisations largely overlooked co-developments in sow housing systems and sow-farmer relations, we subsequently introduced an alternative analytical framework that builds on sociological, practice-oriented theories. We then applied this framework to analyse 19 qualitative interviews with pig farmers from Belgium on the on-farm introduction of group sow housing, and observations in these farmers’ group housing systems. We found that farmers’ practical, experience-based understandings of good animal-stockperson relations informed farmers’ choices for particular group housing systems to an important degree. Furthermore, we discerned that the effect of these choices on everyday sow-farmer relations differed, in the longer run, in at least three analytically distinct (negative, neutral to moderately positive, and positive) ways – according to if and to what degree the novel infrastructure allowed and motivated sows to portray, and farmers to perceive and act upon subjective and individual sow behaviour and needs. When failing to anticipate on this dynamic integration of legislation in on-farm contexts, opportunities are being missed to work towards preventing negative and promoting positive animal-farmer relations and concomitant animal welfare impacts when designing animal welfare policy. Most fundamentally, then, our study underlines a need to rethink the current focus in animal welfare science and policy on infrastructural criteria without attending to emergent co-developments in barn infrastructures, animal-farmer relations, and the well-being of animals and farmers

Housing, stress and productivity : studies in growing and reproducing pigs

Commercial pig production presents the animals with a multitude of potentially stressful challenges. Distress is a threat to animal welfare and may impair productivity. This research aimed to investigate productivity of pigs in relation to some common practices of pig production known to be stressful, to estimate the amount of stress or the level of welfare of the animals, and to establish relationships between stress or animal welfare measures and productivity. To address these issues, four studies were carried out. Studies I and II investigated effects of moderate enrichment on behaviour, basal cortisol secretion, health and daily gain in growing pigs (0-21 weeks of age). Effects of both current and early environmental enrichment were investigated. Small groups with siblings were accommodated in pens either barren or enriched with a moderate amount of chopped straw and wood shavings. Six enrichment regimes were used involving a stable environment or changes in enrichment status at 5 and/or 9 weeks of age. Enriched as compared to barren housing increased average daily gain and decreased post-weaning diarrhoea in the nursery. Current housing, as well as the early environment (0-4 or 0-9 weeks of age), affected stress physiology as measured by behaviour and basal cortisol secretion. Barren housing or experience thereof caused signs suggestive of chronic stress. Stress indicators were not associated with productivity. These results support the use of enrichment for pigs in early life, especially if bedding is scarce later in life. Study III compared the fertility of sows housed either individually or in groups on deep litter from weaning to four weeks of pregnancy. Stall housing decreased the odds for early disruption of pregnancy and increased the odds for pregnancy at day 28 post-service. The causes remained undisclosed, but social stress during short periods of time around oestrus and early pregnancy was proposed. Behavioural indicators showed clear signs of stress in stalls, but behaviour was not associated with fertility. The level or type of stress in stalls may have been insufficient to affect reproduction. These results emphasize the need for a better understanding of factors impairing fertility in sow groups. In Study IV the welfare status of pigs on commercial farms was assessed using an environment-based index comprising several subscales. Welfare scores were regressed on fertility measures. Good-quality floors and stockmanship were the most influential predictors of good fertility, providing some evidence of an association between higher levels of animal welfare (i.e. low levels of distress) and good reproductive performance.Nykyaikaiseen eläintuotantoon liittyy lukuisia tekijöitä, jotka saattavat olla eläimille stressaavia. Stressi uhkaa eläinten hyvinvointia ja heikentää myös niiden tuotosta. Tutkimuskokonaisuuden tavoitteina oli selvittää tiettyjen ympäristötekijöiden vaikutuksia sikojen tuotokseen, arvioida sikojen kokeman stressin määrää tai hyvinvoinnin tasoa sekä tutkia stressin tai hyvinvoinnin tason roolia havaittujen tuotosvaikutusten välittäjinä. Kuivikkeen puutteen tiedetään stressaavan sikoja. Osaritiläkarsinoihin ja lietelannanpoistoon sopivan, niukan kutteri silputtu olki kuivituksen tehoa stressin vähentäjänä tukittiin eri kasvatusvaiheissa annettuna. Kuivitus paransi kasvua välikasvattamossa ja vähensi vieroitusripulia. Kuivikkeen käyttäminen vähensi stressin oireita kuten hännänpurentaa. Varhainen ympäristö vaikutti myöhempään stressifysiologiaan. Kuivittaminen porsituskarsinassa vähensi häiriökäyttäytymistä lihasikalassa. Tulosten perusteella voidaan suositella porsituskarsinoiden kuivittamista myöhemmän häiriköinnin vähentämiseksi. Kuivitetuista karuihin karsinoihin siirtäminen saattaa toisaalta lisätä hännänpurentaa. Varhaistiineyden pito-olosuhteidan vaikutuksia emakoiden hedelmällisyyteen tutkittiin vieroittamalla joko joutilashäkkeihin tai 20 emakon väljiin, runsaasti olkikuivitettuihin ryhmiin ruokintahäkeillä. Tiineyden mahdollisuus 28. päivänä siemennyksestä oli häkeissä 2,3 kertaa suurempi kuin ryhmissä, ja alkaneen tiineyden keskeytymisen riski ryhmissä 4,6 kertaa suurempi kuin häkeissä. Tulokset viittaavat voimakkaan stressin ja/ tai huomattavien energiansaantierojen lyhytaikaiseen esiintymiseen ryhmissä kiiman ja/ tai alkutiineyden aikana. Stressin mittaamiseksi tehdyt käyttäytymishavainnot kokeen loppuvaiheessa osoittivat häkkiemakoiden olevan selvästi stressaantuneita, mutta oireilla ja hedelmällisyydellä ei ollut yhteyksiä. Emakoiden hyvinvoinnin yhteyksiä hedelmällisyyteen tutkittiin toimivilla tiloilla. Hyvinvointia mitattiin olosuhteita painottavalla indeksillä. Emakoiden rotu huomioiden kokonaispistemäärä ei assosioitunut hedelmällisyyteen. Hyvänlaatuiset lattiat ja korkea eläinten hoidon taso kuitenkin nopeuttivat tuotantokiertoa. Emakoiden hedelmällisyyttä koskeneet tutkimukset osoittivat alkutiineyden ryhmäkasvatukseen liittyvän riskejä sekä tuottavuuden että hyvinvoinnin osalta. Toimiva tiloja tarkasteltaessa erot kasvatusmuotojen välillä olivat kuitenkin pienet, todennäköisesti pitkäjänteisen tuotannon kehittämisen seurauksena. Häkeissä pitoon liittyneet stressin oireet kertovat heikentyneestä hyvinvoinnista ja muistuttavat osaltaan tarpeesta löytää toimivia ratkaisuja alkutiineiden emakoiden ryhmäkasvatukseen

The effects of social organisation on feeding behaviour in growing pigs

Group housed pigs make less frequent feeder visits o f a longer duration, and eat at faster rate than pigs housed individually. They also have lower growth rates which may be due to elevated stress associated with aggression and social stress. The aim o f this thesis is to investigate the stability o f feeding patterns in individual pigs, the effect o f grouping and group composition on feeding patterns and to assess the consequences o f this shift in feeding behaviour for the welfare and performance of grouped pigs.The flexibility o f feeding behaviour was assessed by restricting the time o f access to food o f previously ad libitum fed pigs to 2 hours per day and then returning them to 24 hr access. When pigs had restricted access to food they made fewer daily feeder visits, o f a longer duration, with a higher food intake per visit than the control pigs that had 24 hour access to food throughout. Flexibility was assessed by comparing feeding behaviour before and after restriction. The pigs that experienced a period of restricted feeding either resumed their previous behaviour or showed the same trend as the controls. It was concluded that feeding behaviour was flexible.A second experiment investigated the effect o f grouping on feeding behaviour. Pigs were housed individually for 3 weeks after which they were combined into groups o f 4 for 3 weeks, before being returned to individual housing for a further 3 weeks. When grouped, pigs made fewer visits to the feeder o f a longer duration than when they were housed individually. Possible explanations for the changes in feeding behaviour are competition, group cohesion, or that the high frequency o f feeder visits when the pigs are housed individually is a consequence o f a lack o f social stimulation. The results suggest that group cohesion is most likely to have been causal in the observed changes in feeding behaviour.A final experiment investigated the effect o f group composition in terms o f latent aggressiveness on feeding behaviour. Pigs were kept in litter-groups for 3 weeks from weaning and categorised as ‘High’ (H) or ‘Low ’ (L) aggressive using an attack latency test. They were then transferred to individual housing for 2 weeks and their feeding behaviour was recorded. In a final 3 week period the pigs were combined into groups o f 8 pigs o f either all H or all L aggressiveness. Pigs in H groups had higher aggression levels on the day o f mixing than pigs in L groups and salivary cortisol concentrations suggest that stress levels may have been elevated when the pigs were grouped. Feeding behaviour changed between individual and group housing in accordance with Experiment 2. There were no differences in feeding behaviour, defined in terms o f visits, between pigs in H groups and pigs in L groups. However, when visits were organised into meals it was found that H pigs had more meals per day with longer within meal intervals both when individually and group housed. This suggests that there may be a link between aggressiveness o f individuals and meal patterns.In conclusion, pigs have flexible feeding patterns in terms o f a change in time of access to food. Pigs alter their feeding behaviour when group housed in the direction o f fewer feeder visits o f a longer duration, probably due to the effects o f group cohesion. The aggressiveness o f individuals within a group had no effect on feeding behaviour. There is potential to categorise the aggressiveness o f pigs using feeding behaviour such that aggressiveness could be manipulated in breeding programmes

The Effects of Dry Sow Housing Conditions on Welfare at Farrowing

Measures of production, physiology, behaviour and pathology were used to assess the effects of confined and loose dry sow and farrowing housing systems on the welfare of the sow and her litter. Litter size decreased and piglet mortality increased greatly after the sixth parity, regardless of housing system, resulting in a sharp decline in the number of piglets weaned per litter. Stall-housed sows gave birth to the most piglets per sow per year, but also had the highest piglet mortality. Overall, piglet mortality was higher in farrowing pens than in crates. Sows from the large group had a significantly larger number of returns to service after farrowing in crates. Behaviourally, all sows adapted well to the farrowing house. All sows showed an increase in the number of posture changes, reaching a maximum during the 24 hours immediately prior to parturition. However, this increase was greatest in those sows in farrowing crates, which had previously been housed in an open environment. Heart rate was influenced by stage of gestation, posture and behaviour. Stall-housed sows had a higher basal heart rate and heart rate response to feeding than group-housed sows, perhaps indicating decreased cardiovascular fitness and an increased sympathetic nervous response to stimuli such as food. When farrowing in crates, group-housed sows had a higher heart rate response to the suckling event than stall-housed sows. This may be due to general unresponsiveness in stalled sows or to high reactivity to the suckling event in group sows caused by frustration of mother-infant interaction. When involved in agonistic interactions, the change in heart rate was greatest for sows which lost a physical interaction. Stall-housed sows had weaker bones than group-housed sows, and different muscular conformation, probably due to lack of exercise. Bone and muscle weakness may increase the susceptibility of stall-housed sows to lameness. When lying down, stall-housed sows had greater difficulty and took longer than group-housed sows. The times taken for stall sows to lie down and to stand up quickly were positively correlated with body length. For group-housed sows lying down in the open, the time taken was positively correlated with proportional locomotory muscle weight. Spatial restriction when lying resulted in the loss of muscular control. There was a positive correlation between body length and the number of piglets crushed for stallhoused sows and group-housed sows farrowing in crates. There was also a positive correlation between body length and crushing mortality for group-housed sows farrowing in pens. This indicates that sows can have problems controlling movements, even in the presence of piglets. The results presented reveal several welfare problems resulting from stall housing during pregnancy. It would appear unreasonable to confine sows during farrowing, if they have previously been housed in an open environment. However, not enough is known about the causes of piglet mortality and any decision concerning the continued use of farrowing crates must take account of the trade-off between sow welfare and piglet welfare.Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foo