AND PIGLETS Jennifer Brown Research Scientist Prairie Swine Centre - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Pig Welfare and the Codes of Practice:

ENRICHMENT FOR SOWS AND PIGLETS

Jennifer Brown

Research Scientist Prairie Swine Centre

Why Enrichment?

Requirement in the current Code of Practice for the Care and Handling

• f Pigs!

Enrichment Requirements

“Pigs must be provided with multiple forms

• f enrichment that aim to improve the

welfare of the animals through the enhancement of their physical and social environments.” “A way of changing the environment of the pig to their benefit.”

Enrichment Goals

• Increase the number and range of normal

behaviours

• Prevent, or reduce the severity, or abnormal

behaviours

• Increase positive utilisation of the

environment (e.g. use of space)

• Increase the animal’s ability to cope with

behavioural and physiological challenges

All are proven effects- studied mostly in grow-finish

Social enrichment

Direct or indirect (visual, olfactory, auditory) contact

Nutritional Enrichment

Sensory: Visual, auditory, taste

Tactile

Occupational and Physical

Enrichment alters Pigs

• Chewable enrichment (rope/paper) provided

before weaning reduced tailbiting severity in the later growth stages: C: 32% vs Enr: 9% (P<0.0001) (Telkänranta et al. 2014)

• Post-weaning, oral-nasal manipulation of pen

mates significantly lower, and manipulation of

• bjects significantly increased (Telkänranta et al.

2014)

• Gilts with higher genotypic production

characteristics (higher litter size, growth, low backfat) show higher levels of mal-adaptive biting behaviour (Ursinus et al. 2014)

• Provision of jute sacks reduced mal-adaptive

biting behaviour in such gilts by 50% -profound effect (Ursinus et al. 2014)

• Reduces mixing stress – greater exploration of

environment rather than aggression (De Jong et al. 2000).

Enrichment alters Pigs

Benefits of enrichment

• Reducing fear & excitability (Grandin, 1989)
• More willing to walk down chutes, and to approach

unfamiliar humans

• Barren raised pigs show a stronger reaction to

novel stimuli than enriched pigs (De Jong et al.

2000).

• Reduced: manipulation of pen mates, fighting,

inactivity in piglets. Improved weight gain

(Vanheukelom et al. 2011).

• Barren raised pigs have been shown to have

blunted circadian rhythm of cortisol (de Groot et

• al. 2000)
• Pigs given enrichment performed better in

spatial learning tasks (Grimberg-Henrici et al. 2015)

Enrichment alters Development

Enrichment – much more than just

giving a pig a toy!

• Complex
• Malleable
• Chewable
• Ingestible
• Destructible
• Encourages foraging and exploratory

behaviour

• Straw bedding one of the most effective

Properties of effective enrichment

The Six Simple Criteria for Choosing Enrichment

SAFE! Sanitary Soft Site Simple Suspended

The Six S’s

Commercial Pig Enrichment

Increasing amount of pig enrichments on the market

Enrichment: How to do it well!

• Consider correct features of enrichment

Enrichment: How to get it right!

On ground = rootable

Enrichment: How to get it right!

Suspending enrichment improves cleanliness

But ensure pigs can comfortably reach it Secure it well and sensibly!

• Spatial access affects use by pen group

Enrichment: How to get it right!

Feeder

Feeder

• Spatial access will influence use
• Pigs synchronise exploration

Piglets

• Less destructive than growers or sows
• More diverse enrichments can be used

– Eg dog toys, peat moss, hay pellets

Enrichment in farrowing

• Stimulation and learning

– Creep pellets or liquid mash feeds – Peat moss or sterile earth- rooting – Encourage foraging- easier transition to feeding

• Pigs are precocial!

Social development

Puppies- 4- 8 wks ‘window’ for socialization Pigs- 0-3 wks?

Precocial Species Altricial Species

Enrichment in the nursery

• Manipulable objects

– Greater impact than in farrowing – Reduced aggression and improved growth

• Additional research is needed

– More effective creep feeds – Feeds providing supplemental iron – Improving farrowing and nursery environment

Stalled or crated sows

• Nesting material at farrowing

– Small quantity of straw – Hemp/jute bags

• Gestation stalls

– Occupational enrichment – Fibre and satiety

Gestating Sows

• Groups: reduced aggression at mixing

– Enrichments distract animals- gives them something to do!

• Higher fibre feeds- can be provided with

feed or in a separate hopper

– Beet pulp, chopped straw or hay

• Increase satiety, reduce stereotypies
• Other enrichments

– Chains, suspended wood, ropes,

Current Research at PSC & UMB

• Development and evaluation of successful

enrichments for sows in groups

Gilt development

• Enrichments reduce fear responses to

novelty, and improve cognitive abilities

• Especially important when developing

replacement animals

• Benefits for training sows to use ESF

feeders

Enrichment: Get the benefits!

• Rotate the enrichment! Rotation helps retain

novelty (Trickett et al. 2009)

• Delaying re-presentation (+ 5 days) of object

enrichment preserved novelty (Gifford et al. 2007)

• Remember: enrichment can also be sound

and positive human interaction

DIY Enrichments

Straw Racks

DIY Enrichment

DIY Enrichment

DIY Enrichment

Pure Cotton Rope Disc chain

DIY Enrichment: Mix it up!

Enrichment

• Give it a go! Experiment!

– See the responses for yourself

• Consider the Six S’s when choosing enrichment
• Resources available: CDPQ factsheet:

“Enriching the living space of pigs to comply with the Code”

• Lots of information available online-
• Eg see Youtube site: Activepigs

Thank you to Maitoba Pork

Thank you to sponsors