Abstract
This study investigated if straw racks, which enable larger straw rations, induced a more straw-directed behaviour in pigs, as a mean to facilitate the provision of manipulable material and natural behaviour. It was conducted on a commercial farm (459 pigs, 42 pens, 30–120 kg) where half of the pens received 25 L of straw on the floor (CONTROL) and the other half of the pens received straw in a rack holding 44 L of straw (RACK). The pig behaviour in five randomly assigned pens per treatment were recorded for 24 h, during three periods of production. Pig activity levels, exploratory behaviour, pen utilization and available clean straw were scan sampled. During period 1, no pigs were observed interacting with the straw racks. During this period, CONTROL pigs conducted more straw-directed behaviour and less pen-directed behaviour compared to pigs in the pens with a rack during period 1. The lack of rack interactions may imply an underdeveloped spatial cognition in the pigs. Apart from period 1, there were no significant difference in behaviour between RACK and CONTROL pigs. The racks did not disturb the use of the pen. The absent treatment effect in periods 2 and 3 may reflect that there was a too small difference in straw ration between the treatments. In order to design and implement straw racks that promote straw interaction, future studies should focus on understanding pigs’ spatial cognition.
Highlights
Pigs, as well as their ancestor the wild boar, are explorative animals spending most of their time conducting different types of exploratory behaviours such as sniffing, rooting, chewing and biting [1,2]
We investigated the effect of straw provision in straw racks compared to traditional floor provision and its impact on behaviour and activity levels
The provision of straw has previously been shown to promote exploratory behaviour and reduce tail biting, but has not replaced tail docking, as straw can be difficult to implement in current production systems
Summary
As well as their ancestor the wild boar, are explorative animals spending most of their time conducting different types of exploratory behaviours such as sniffing, rooting, chewing and biting [1,2]. Exploratory behaviour is considered a behavioural need and pigs in commercial production are presented with feed, resting places and secured from predators, the pigs still have the urge to perform exploratory behaviour [1,3]. In barren production systems where the possibilities to satisfy the explorative needs are limited or lacking, pigs may redirect their interest towards other pen mates, resulting in tail biting [1,4]. Pigs in barren environments have been found to rest more compared to pigs in more enriched environments [3]. The possibility for the pigs to conduct exploratory behaviour is commonly fully dependent on the provision of material to explore, as the pen itself mainly consists of fixed fittings which provides little or short-term exploratory options
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