Publication Date: August 9, 2011
Reference: Annual Report 2010
Country: Canada
Summary:
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This project studied the behaviour and productivity of pigs in large group auto-sort (LGAS) systems using two diff erent food-court designs. Compared to conventional pens we found that pigs in LGAS modified their feeding behaviour by having fewer (5 vs 10-15) and longer meals. Pigs made use of all of the available feeder spaces within the food courts, visiting several each day, however some had difficulty learning to enter and leave the food court. For successful management of LGAS systems, producers should ensure an adequate number of feeder spaces, sufficient room to move in the food court and training methods to facilitate use of the auto-sort scale.