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An Assessment of an electronic feeding system and “dynamic” grouping in loose-housed sows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2017

R.J. Lambert ,
M. Ellis  and
P. Rowlinson
R.J. Lambert
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The Univeristy, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
M. Ellis
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The Univeristy, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
P. Rowlinson
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The Univeristy, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
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Extract

Recently, sow-activated electronic concentrate dispensers allowing dry sows to be group-housed and individually fed have been seriously considered as an alternative to the close confinement of pregnant sows. For the system to be economic, each feeding unit needs to be used to its maximum potential, while at the same time considering the well-being of the animals.

Previous work has established that levels of aggression may be minimised within a set group size and the maximum number of sows per feeder may be increased to over 30 by feeding only once per day on this system (Lambert et al., 1985). With groups of this size, the practical aspects of large group management need to be considered.

Type
Pig Production
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1986 , March 1986 , pp. 120
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1986

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References

Lambert, R.J., Ellis, M. and Rowlinson, P. 1985. The effect of feeding frequency on levels of aggression and 24 hour behaviour patterns of large groups of loose-housed dry sows. Anim.Prod. 40: 546 (Abstr).Google Scholar