Productivity of Sows and Gilts in Various Management Programs with ESF
Numerous consumer groups are advocating for group housing for sows due to the restriction of movement in gestation stalls. Ensuring appropriate feed levels and minimizing aggression can be challenging in group housing. Electronic sow feeders are an option for group housing as it allows one...
Large Group Auto-Sort: Potential and Problems
Large Group Auto Sort (LGAS) applies electronic technology to manage grow-finish pigs and is relatively new. It can be cost effective to assemble many animals into a pen by using similar weights derived from electronic sorting scales and sorting gates. Due to mixed reviews, more...
Space Allowance for Finishing Pigs Affects Productivity, Health and Behaviour
Animal care and economic implications are very involved in space allowance for finishing pig production. Space allowance and group size was investigated along with productivity measurements. For both large and small groups, average daily gain was reduced when space allowance decreased at around the same...
Belly Nosing, Belly Suckling, and Tail Biting in Early Weaned Pigs
A problem associated with early weaning of piglets is a higher incidence of behavioural issues including belly directed behaviour. Two forms of belly directed behaviour are belly nosing and belly sucking. These two forms were observed in relation to tail biting and other oral-nasal behaviours...
Feeding and Social Behaviour of Finishing Pigs in Fully Slatted Large Groups
Smaller group sizes have been studied much more than larger ones which are now more common in North America. Pigs may adapt differently in large social groups which could alter their behaviours and feeding activity. Changes in behaviour could lead to lower productivity and welfare...
Effects of Housing Finishing Pigs in Varying Group Sizes and Space Allocations
Crowding has been shown to have a negative impact on welfare and productivity of pigs in small groups. Large groups of pigs may be better at using space more efficiently. Space requirements were assessed in large and small groups to see how the pigs were...
Crowding Reduces Performance of Weanling Pigs
Floor space in a swine operation needs to be used efficiently in the aspects of space and pig performance. Many floor space experiments examine different group sizes on the same floor space which leads to confounding results due to groups size being a large variable....
Social Factors Affecting Injury Levels and Behaviour of Sows in a ESF System
Stress after regrouping may alter behaviours and decrease the farrowing rate in sows. Resting locations, eating order and injuries reflect the severity of stress experienced. Behaviour was studied too see the impact stage of implantation, parity and familiarity with penmates had. Post-implantation, unfamiliar and younger...
Effects of Stall Width and Sow Size on Behaviour of Gestating Sows
In North America, gestation stalls are usually the same size within a farm even though body weights in gestating sows vary (150 kg to 350 kg). Different sizes of stalls are recommended by the Code of Practice to accommodate the different sized sows but proper...
Crowding Effects on Performance on Fully and Partially Slatted Floors
A major issue for animal welfare is floor space allowance. Space requirements may vary with housing conditions for maximum growth. More total floor area is needed for pigs on partially slatted floors compared to fully slatted floors according to the Code of Practice though research...