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.
Using air-blow and floor vibration to trigger posture changes in gestating and lactating sows
Abstract Recent approaches to minimise piglet crushing are usually active interventions in the behaviour of the piglets or the sow. However, interfering pig behaviour with the help of actuators has rarely been studied with respect to suitability, effectiveness and impact on animal welfare. In this study floor vibration and air-blows as methods to trigger posture changes have been tested on 12 sows in their late gestation and early lactation period. The intention was to quantify the effectiveness and unwanted side effects such as panic reactions as well as effects on neighbouring sows when applied in regular farrowing pens. The observed variables were reactivity, with reaction defined as posture change from lying to sitting, reaction latency and recline latency. In most cases, a reaction was achieved within 25 s and the arousal ceased in less than two minutes. In 22% of all stimulations the reaction latency was lower than 3 s, which could suggest an alarm reaction. The reactions of neighbouring sows could not be distinguished from natural occurring spontaneous posture changes and no low latency reactions were observed here. The sows in the late gestation phase showed a high reactivity on both actuators of about 80%. After farrowing, the reactivity was reduced to about 50% and nearly no low latency reactions could be observed. Hence, actuators need to be scalable to the individual reactivity level of the specific sow. This level is a complex variable that not only depends on the sow’s age and individuality but also on its antecedent and current state. The examined actuators can be dynamically adapted to the individual reactivity level. Together with a posture tracking system and a piglet stress monitoring system, such as the stress monitoring and documentation system STREMODO, this would allow an active piglet crushing intervention. With further research on the effect on piglets this technology might be usable with farrowing crates as well as in loose-housing farrowing systems.
Stroking different body regions of dairy cows: effects on avoidance and approach behavior toward humans.
Understanding perception of dairy cows to common human contact such as stroking is important for improving the human-animal relationship, animal welfare, and production. We hypothesized that repeated stroking of body regions licked most during social grooming, especially the ventral neck, would reduce cows' avoidance of and increase their approach to humans. Sixty tethered dairy cows were randomly allocated to 4 treatment groups that received 5 min of daily human contact 5 d/wk during 3 consecutive weeks: 3 groups were stroked on different body regions. The first group was stroked on the ventral part of the neck (neck); the second group on the withers (both licked often in social grooming); the third group on the lateral side of the chest (chest, licked rarely); and the last group (control) was exposed to simple human presence. The reactions to the person who had provided the treatment were measured using 2 tests in the home tie-stall assessing avoidance from an approaching person who tried to touch the head (approaching person test) and avoidance/approach reactions to a stationary person (stationary person test). Approach behavior was recorded in a novel environment using a standard arena test. In the home tie-stall, cows stroked on the neck showed less avoidance (median avoidance score: 3.33) in the approaching person test compared with cows stroked on the chest and the controls (both: 4.00). That is, at least 75% of the animals stroked on the neck tolerated the touching of their heads (75th percentile <or= 3.75), whereas at least 50% of the cows in the other treatment groups did not accept it. The stationary person test did not reveal any differences between the treatment groups. In the arena test, the 3 stroked groups showed more approach behavior (median latencies to contact: from 145 to 240 s) compared with simple human presence (300 s), but stroking treatments did not differ from each other. Stroking, particularly the neck, reduced avoidance of and increased approach reactions to humans in both the home tie-stall and the arena. Increasing acceptance of being touched after being stroked on the neck suggests that this procedure should be adopted to improve routine handling of dairy cattle.