Effect of alternative farrowing pens with temporary crating on the performance of lactating sows and their litters

Si Nae Cheon; So Hee Jeong; Guem Zoo Yoo; Se Jin Lim; Chan Ho Kim; Gul Won Jang; Jung Hwan Jeon

doi:10.5187/jast.2022.e36

Effect of alternative farrowing pens with temporary crating on the performance of lactating sows and their litters

J Anim Sci Technol. 2022 May;64(3):574-587. doi: 10.5187/jast.2022.e36. Epub 2022 May 31.

Authors

Si Nae Cheon^{1

2}, So Hee Jeong¹, Guem Zoo Yoo^{1

3}, Se Jin Lim¹, Chan Ho Kim¹, Gul Won Jang¹, Jung Hwan Jeon¹

Affiliations

¹ Animal Welfare Research Team, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Agriculture, Wanju 55365, Korea.
² Department of Animal Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52828, Korea.
³ Department of Animal Science, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Korea.

Abstract

This study was performed to development the alternative farrowing pen (AFP) and to investigate performance and behavior of lactating sows and their litter. A total of 64 multiparous sows were randomly divided into two groups and were allocated to farrowing crates (FCs) and AFPs. The AFPs contained a crate and support bars that could be folded to provide the sows with extra space on day 5 postpartum. Behavior was recorded by charge-coupled device cameras and digital video recorders, and the data were scanned every 2 min to obtain an instantaneous behavioral sample. Farrowing systems did not affect feed intake, back-fat thickness, litter size and piglet weight at birth and weaning (p > 0.05). In addition, there were no differences in the number of crushed piglets between the two farrowing systems (p > 0.05). However, the weaning-to-estrus interval was shorter in the sows of the AFPs than in thous of the FCs (p < 0.05). The sows spent most of their time lying down during the lactating period, at about 80% lateral recumbency and 10%-15% ventral recumbency. The only significant differences were in the feeding and drinking behavior between sows in the two farrowing systems (p < 0.05). The FC sows displayed more feeding and drinking behavior than the AFP sows, especially in the late lactating period (p < 0.05). Piglets in the FCs tended to spend more time walking than piglets in the AFPs (p < 0.05), whereas there were no differences in suckling and lying behavior between piglets in the two farrowing systems (p > 0.05). It is concluded that the AFPs with temporary crating until day 4 postpartum did not negatively affect performance and crushed piglet compared with the FCs. It also may improve animal welfare by allowing sows to move and turn around during the lactating period. Further research is needed to find suitable housing designs to enhance productivity and animal welfare.

Keywords: Alternative farrowing pen; Animal welfare; Lactating sows; Piglets; Temporary crating.