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The Pre-Farrowing Behaviour Of Sows With Access To Straw And Space For Locomotion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

M.J. Haskell  and
G.D. Hutson
M.J. Haskell
Affiliation:
Genetics and Behavioural Sciences Department, Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG
G.D. Hutson
Affiliation:
Animal Production Section, School of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
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Extract

The farrowing crate is one of the most confining forms of animal accommodation found in intensive animal rearing systems and so is subject to criticism from welfare lobby groups. To determine how the welfare of the sow might be affected by the crate, we need to gain an understanding of pre-farrowing behaviour, and the factors that affect its expression. Free-ranging domestic sows will leave the herd on the day before farrowing and walk up to 6.5 km, build a nest and farrow in it (Jensen, 1986). Crated sows are known to become very restless in the day or so before farrowing, and as farrowing approaches they bite at the crate and paw and root at the floor and fittings (e.g. Jones, 1966). It is possible that this behaviour is an expression of the motivation to perform locomotion and nest-building as shown by sows in the wild. To investigate this, three experiments were designed to investigate pre-farrowing behaviour in domestic sows and the influence of straw (a nest-building substrate) on its expression.

Type
Joint WPSA/BSAP Sessions
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1993: Winter meeting , March 1993 , pp. 67
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1993

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References

Jensen, P., 1986. Observations on the maternal behaviour of free-ranging domestic pigs. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 16: 131–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, J.E.T., 1966. Observations on parturition in the sow. Part I: The pre-partum phase. Br. vet. J., 122 :420–426 Google Scholar