Use of a crush-reducing device to decrease crushing of suckling piglets by sows.
Weanling pigs tend to avoid wind, and suckling piglets are thought to be more sensitive to wind than weanlings, owing to their thinner s.c. fat layer. We developed a crush-reducing device based on the anticipated behavior of suckling piglets toward wind and evaluated the performance of the device through field testing. The crush-reducing device consisted of six photo sensors, a controller, six solenoid valves, and an air compressor. In this study, 206 sows and their suckling piglets (Landrace xYorkshire) were investigated to ascertain the individual effects of several factors. Some of the newborn piglets were cross-fostered before the crush-reducing device was implemented. Litter weights were measured on d 0 and 4 to determine the influence of the crush-reducing device on the weights of suckling piglets. The crushing of suckling piglets by sows was affected by season (P < 0.01) and litter size (P < 0.05), but not by the parity of the sows; however, the number of crushed piglets per litter was less (P < 0.01) in the crush-reducing device group (0.05 +/- 0.02 crushed piglets/litter) than in the control group (0.23 +/- 0.04 crushed piglets/litter), regardless of litter size or season. The BW gain of suckling piglets did not differ between the control and the crush-reducing device groups. Based on these results, the crush-reducing device is expected to decrease the number of crushed piglets per litter without influencing the BW gain of suckling piglets, thereby greatly contributing to the productivity of pig breeders.
Non-infectious causes of piglet mortality before weaning. Part 2: Factors related to the sow and the environment.
Piglet mortality before weaning is an important cause of economic loss in the pig production. Most piglet mortality occurs during the first four days after birth, and the major part is caused by non-infectious conditions. The causes can be found in the sow, the piglets as well as in the environment. This article gives a review of the most important causes related to the sow or the environment. Regarding sow factors, emphasis is placed on lactation problems, aggression, parity of the sow and litter size. Concerning the environment, the effect of temperature, trauma and poor herd health management are discussed.
Effects of accommodation type and straw bedding around parturition and during lactation on the behaviour of primiparous sows and survival and growth of piglets to weaning
The behaviour of 64 primiparous sows and the survival and growth of their piglets to weaning were recorded in an experiment with 16 replicates to investigate the effects of accommodation type (crate vs. pen) and substrate (straw absent or present) around farrowing and during lactation. Litters of sows that farrowed without straw had more (P < 0.01) live-born piglets than sows with straw (9.4 vs. 9.1 piglets), while litters in crates tended to have lower (P < 0.06) pre-weaning mortality levels than litters in pens (10.5% vs. 16.5% of liveborn). A high proportion of piglet deaths was because of savaging by the sow and overlying (4.1% and 3.1% of live-born, respectively), and the occurrence of overlying was higher in the pen than crate treatments. Mean piglet liveweight at weaning and weight gain from birth to weaning were less in the no-straw than straw-added treatments because of a strong (P < 0.001) factor interaction: litters of sows in the pen/straw-added treatment were heavier at weaning and grew faster from birth to weaning than litters in the other treatments. There were no differences in the levels of total activity of sows during lactation, but there were effects of factors and treatments on some classes of behaviour. On Day 1 of lactation, the presence of straw increased (P < 0.01) the duration of rapid suckling grunts. In the first week of lactation, there was a significant interaction effect on time spent side-lying and belly-lying: sows in the crate/no-straw treatment spent less (P < 0.05) time side-lying and more (P < 0.05) time belly-lying than sows in most of the other treatments. Also, sows in the straw-added treatments tended (P < 0.07) to perform more piglet-oriented vocalisations and investigation than sows in the no-straw treatments. It is concluded that the increased performance of maternal behaviour by sows does not appear to contribute to piglet survival, especially in the intensive farrowing crate environment.