Influence of gestation housing on sow behavior and fertility

By Jarno Jansen, R. N. Kirkwood, A. Zanella, R. Tempelman. Journal of swine health and production, 2007

95 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Objective: To examine the effect of group housing sows on their behavior and fertility. Materials and methods: In Experiment One, at 65 to 70 days of gestation, 96 sows were assigned by parity to individual or group housing and observed for aggressive encounters during three 1.5-hour time blocks immediately after relocation and 1 day later. On the third day, feeding-time aggression was observed during two 30-minute feeding periods, starting when feed was dropped. Saliva samples obtained from unrestrained sows 1 day before and after relocation were assayed for cortisol concentrations. In Experiment Two, 937 mixed-parity sows in 10 weekly breeding groups were either housed in groups of approximately 50 (n = 462) or individually housed in gestation stalls (n = 475). For 140 individually-housed and 330 group-housed sows, backfat depths at the P2 position were determined using A-mode ultrasonography at gestation days 55 to 60, at farrowing, and at weaning. Results: Group-housed sows were involved in more aggressive encounters than stall-housed animals (P < .05). Aggressive encounters per hour were more numerous in grouped sows during feeding on day 3 than during the day of grouping (P < .001). Salivary cortisol concentrations were higher in grouped sows, but differences between pre-and post-relocation concentrations were not correlated with levels of aggression. There was no effect of housing on backfat depths or sow fertility. Implication: If sows are grouped during gestation, particular attention should be directed toward feeding management to avoid excessive aggression and possible adverse effects on welfare.

Subfields: Animal Science and Zoology, Genetics, Small Animals

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a7d9bb5af102fb38e8df74625a0675623b68f667