Is it possible to rear undocked pigs on a fully-slatted floor with multiple slatcompatible enrichment and does enrichment variety matter? Jen-Yun
1,2,3* Chou ,
Constance M. V.
1,4 Drique ,
Dale A.
2 Sandercock ,
Rick B.
2 D’Eath ,
and Keelin
1 O’Driscoll
1Teagasc,
Pig Development Department, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland, 2SRUC, Animal and Veterinary Science Research Group, Easter Bush, UK, 3University of Edinburgh, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush, UK, 4L’ingénieur Agronome, Agrocampus Ouest, Rennes, France *
[email protected]
Objectives: a) To successfully rear pigs with undocked tails in a fully slatted system, by using appropriate enrichment b) To investigate whether varying the enrichment provided over time will help to reduce tail biting and damage Background • Council Directive 2008/120/EC: routine tail docking banned as measure to control tail biting • In Ireland majority of pig rearing facilities are fully slatted
Materials and methods
Scan to see the pigs in action!
Animals & treatments • 4 combinations of 8 enrichment items with different properties were created (Table 1) “Same” : pigs given the same combination across weaner / finisher stage Category “Vary” : pigs provided with a combination which change every 2 weeks 1. Easyfix /PIglyx • 12 pigs / pen, with 4 pens / treatment (n = 8 pens in total) 2. Root toy – floor Measurements 3. Wood – floor(F) Physical indicators (fortnightly): tail & ear lesions/tail posture/tear staining 4. Wood – hang(H) Direct behaviour observations: harmful behaviours, interaction with enrichment 5. Rack 6. Fabric Video behaviour scan sampling: interaction with enrichment 7. Chewtoy Enrichment: replacement rate, weight of loose materials 8. Bucket/canister ®
Table 1. Enrichment categories Rootable Durable
®
Edible
Presentation
Texture
Location
Y
Deform
Chew
Move
Soft
Floor
Y
Deform
Chew
Move
Soft
Floor
Y
Destruct
Ingest
Attach
Hard
Floor
N
Destruct
Ingest
Suspend
Hard
Eye
N
Renew
Ingest
Attach
Loose
Eye
N
Destruct
Chew
Suspend
Soft
Eye
N
Deform
Chew
Suspend
Soft
Eye
N
Renew
Ingest
Suspend
Loose
Eye
Results
Interaction with enrichment
General Behaviour • No effect of treatment on harmful behaviours • Effect of age: pigs were most active 4-10 weeks post weaning • Biting behaviours: Female > Male; Aggression: Male > Female
Interaction with enrichment categories (direct) P
