Abstract
One of the difficulties in complying with the prohibition of routine tail docking is a lack of effective alternative solutions to prevent tail biting, especially in fully slatted systems. This study compared three slat-compatible enrichment replenishment strategies for pigs. Forty-eight mixed-sex pens (six males and six females/pen) of undocked pigs were followed from birth to slaughter. Pre-weaning, half the pigs were provided with enrichment materials (a cardboard cup, rubber toy, hessian cloth and bamboo), in addition to a rope for the sows, in all farrowing crates. Post-weaning, all pens were enriched with eight identical items, including an elevated rack supplied with fresh-cut grass, and objects of wooden, bamboo, rubber, and fabric materials presented in various ways. However, three different replenishment frequencies were applied: “Low” (replenished on Monday/Wednesday/Friday), “Medium” (replenished once daily), and “High” (replenished ad libitum). Individual pigs were weighed on days 0, 49, 91, and 113 post-weaning. Direct behavior observations were conducted twice weekly at pen level (10 min/day/pen), and tail and ear lesion scores of individual pigs were also recorded every other week. These measurements were taken during the post-weaning period. The cost of all enrichment materials used was calculated. Pre-weaning enrichment only contributed to a lower ear lesion score (P = 0.04). No difference in lesion scores was found between post-weaning treatments. “Low” replenishment rate pigs performed more damaging behaviors (tail/ear biting, belly-nosing, mounting, other biting, and aggressive behaviors combined) than “High” and “Medium” pigs (P < 0.01). The average daily gain in the finishing stage was higher in “High” than “Low” pigs (P < 0.05). Although sporadic tail biting occurred, only 0.69% of the pigs had their tails bitten severely enough that they became shorter than half of a normal undocked tail. The average enrichment cost for the post-weaning period was <€2 per pig. In conclusion, the high enrichment replenishment rate increased growth and reduced damaging behaviors compared to the low replenishment rate pigs. Overall, these findings show that the provision and regular replenishment of multiple, slat-compatible, enrichment sources can reduce tail damage to manageable levels without the need for tail docking.
Highlights
It has been more than a decade since the ban on routine tail docking to control tail biting was codified into Council Directive 2008/120/EC [1], the search for solutions to manage tail biting and to implement the non-docking policy is still on-going
Providing loose materials in a fixed location for pigs to interact with has not been as effective in reducing tail biting in undocked pigs as provision of material on the pen floor [14, 18]; what is more effective when managing tail biting in undocked pigs, is combining the provision of loose materials in a smaller quantity with other point-source enrichment items [13, 19]
If calculated by the time taken for the pigs to use up the grass provided, “High” pigs used up the grass the most quickly, but there was no difference between “Medium” and “Low” pigs (“High” 1.62 ± 0.09 vs. “Medium” 2.32 ± 0.09 and “Low” 2.41 ± 0.08 day/kg; F(37.9, 2) = 33.39, both at P < 0.001) as “Low” pigs tended to use up all grass within a day
Summary
It has been more than a decade since the ban on routine tail docking to control tail biting was codified into Council Directive 2008/120/EC [1], the search for solutions to manage tail biting and to implement the non-docking policy is still on-going. The reason why this policy was not readily implemented is due to a multitude of factors, including the unpredictability of tail biting, its multifactorial nature, difficulty in its management, reluctance to change current rearing practices, and increased production costs associated with rearing undocked pigs [2]. Providing loose materials in a fixed location for pigs to interact with has not been as effective in reducing tail biting in undocked pigs as provision of material on the pen floor [14, 18]; what is more effective when managing tail biting in undocked pigs, is combining the provision of loose materials in a smaller quantity with other point-source enrichment items [13, 19]
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