Pasture consumption and grazing behaviour of European wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) under continuous and rotational grazing systems

Rivero, M. Jordana; López, Ignacio F.; Hodgkinson, Suzanne M.

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2013.03.006

Cited by 10 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Intake was higher compared with previous studies of feed restricted growing pigs in pasture systems with Kikuyo grass (Kanga et al, 2012) and lucerne, fescue, Cebadilla Criolla (Riart, 2002) and also higher compared with a study involving growing European wild boar foraging on grass-clover (Rivero et al, 2013). Compared to the present study, similar results of grass intake were recorded in Iberian finishers (Rodrígues-Estévez et al, 2009), modern hybrid finishers foraging on lucerne, fescue and Cebadilla Criolla (Riart, 2002) and European wild boar foraging on rye grass and ribwort plantain (Hodgkinson et al, 2009).…”

Section: Animal Behaviourcontrasting

confidence: 61%

Foraging behaviour, nutrient intake from pasture and performance of free-range growing pigs in relation to feed CP level in two organic cropping systems

Jakobsen

Kongsted

Hermansen

2015

Animal

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In organic pig production one of the major challenges is to be able to fulfil amino acid requirements based on organic and locally grown protein feed crops. The pig is an opportunistic omnivore with a unique capacity for foraging above and below the soil surface. It is hypothesized that direct foraging in the range area can pose an important contribution in terms of fulfilling nutrient requirements of growing pigs. Foraging activity, lucerne nutrient intake and pig performance were investigated in 36 growing pigs, foraging on lucerne or grass and fed either a standard organic pelleted feed mixture (HP: high protein) or a grain mixture containing 48% less CP (LP: low protein) compared with the high protein feed mixture, from an average live weight of 58 kg to 90 kg in a complete block design in three replicates. The pigs were fed 80% of energy recommendations and had access to 4 m 2 of pasture/pig per day during the 40 days experimental period from September to October 2013. Behavioural observations were carried out 12 times over the entire experimental period. For both crops, LP pigs rooted significantly more compared with HP pigs but the effect of CP level was more pronounced in grass (44% v. 19% of all observations) compared with lucerne (28% v. 16% of all observations). Feed protein level turned out not to have any significant effect on grazing behaviour but pigs foraging on lucerne grazed significantly more than pigs foraging on grass (10% v. 4% of all observations). Daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio were significantly affected by feed protein and forage crop interactions. Compared to HP pigs, LP treated pigs had 33% lower daily weight gain (589 v. 878 g) and 31% poorer feed conversion ratio (3.75 v. 2.59 kg feed/kg weight gain) in grass paddocks, whereas in lucerne paddocks LP pigs only had 18% lower daily weight gain (741 v. 900 g) and a 14% poorer feed conversion ratio (2.95 v. 2.54 kg feed/kg weight gain) compared with HP pigs. LP pigs foraging on lucerne used 169 g less concentrate CP/kg weight gain, compared with HP pigs, indicating the nitrogen efficiency of the system. The results indicate that direct foraging of lucerne may be a valuable strategy in terms of accommodating CP and lysine requirements of organic growing pigs.

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Section: Animal Behaviourcontrasting

confidence: 61%

Foraging behaviour, nutrient intake from pasture and performance of free-range growing pigs in relation to feed CP level in two organic cropping systems

Jakobsen

Kongsted

Hermansen

2015

Animal

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“…Regarding diurnal time effect, animals devoted more time to feeding during afternoon respect to midday and morning (p < .01); in other words, the feeding interest increased as the day progressed probably due to the feed integration distributed to the animals in the morning. Our result was different from the work on wild boars of Rivero et al (2013) who observed a percentage of grazing time greatest in the morning, a second peak in the afternoon and the lowest values in the midday. The interaction between day slot and genotype (Table 3) suggested that in the middle of the day LWxCS engaged more time to total feeding respect to CS (77.4 vs 64.7%, p < .05), while in the morning the purebreed spent significantly more time in rooting activity respect to LWxCS (16.5 vs 0%, p < .05).…”

Section: Resultscontrasting

confidence: 99%

Grazing behaviour of Cinta senese and its crossbreed pigs

Parrini

Acciaioli

Franci

et al. 2018

Italian Journal of Animal Science

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This study aimed to compare the grazing behaviour of two pig genetic types, Cinta Senese (CS) and its crossbreed with Large White (LW x CS), farmed in natural rearing system in Tuscany, as influenced by diurnal time slot and by the season of the year. In situ direct observations on two herds of grazing pigs were conducted during daylight hours for five consecutive days and repeated bimonthly for a period of one year. The observations were grouped into three diurnal time slots and the relative frequencies of the main activities were obtained. Data were subjected to ANOVA with genetic type, diurnal time slot and month as fixed effects. The results, valid for the genotypes and the specific rearing system considered, highlighted that pigs displayed species-specific foraging behaviours for a long time and showed very low levels of other behaviours as aggressive or stereotypes. Both genotypes spent about 72% of the daylight hours for feeding, mainly dedicated to grass feeding. Nevertheless, CS pigs devoted less time to grazing pasture respect to LWxCS. Throughout the months, grazing was preferred to rooting, especially when herbaceous resources were more available. The proportion of diurnal time dedicated to feeding by pigs was reduced with the hot season, but CS seems more affected compared to LWxCS. HIGHLIGHTS In extensive rearing systems, Cinta Senese pig and its crossbreeds employed most of the diurnal time in grass feeding. Cinta Senese pigs devoted less time to grazing pasture respect to LWxCS, especially during hot months and the central hours of the day.

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“…The stocking method most frequently used to keep pigs on pastures is the continuous stocking method [ 22 ], where pigs have continuous, unrestricted access to a grazing area, usually for the length of a production cycle. This method is often preferred by farmers because of its lower initial investment in water-supplying systems and fencing [ 23 ] and minimum labor needs. Some alternatives to continuous stocking such as rotational stocking methods, provide a rest period to forages that allow recovery and regrowth, potentially improving their productivity and persistence [ 24 , 25 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Stocking Methods for Pasture-Based Growing-Finishing Pig Production Systems

Pietrosemoli

Green

Villamide

2020

Animals

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Two alternative stocking methods (rotational and strip-grazing) were compared to continuous stocking at a stocking rate of 47 pigs ha−1 in tall fescue pastures. The research was conducted during two twelve-weeks grazing periods in North Carolina (USA). In total 144 (females and castrated males, 17.5 and 29.1 kg initial body weight) crossbred Yorkshire X Berkshire, Yorkshire/Landrace X Hampshire and Yorkshire/Landrace X Duroc pigs without nose rings were used. Greater soil bulk density and soil concentrations of NO3−, P, K, Mn, Zn and Cu were observed in paddocks managed continuously, while greater final ground cover (+22%) was recorded in paddocks managed with rotational and strip-grazing stocking methods. No differences were detected in botanical composition of the paddocks. Greater weight gains (+8.5%) were registered for rotationally managed pigs. Feed efficiency was better (+8%) for rotationally than for continuously stocked pigs, while strip-grazed pigs presented intermediate values. The results indicated the potential of both alternative stocking methods to be implemented in sustainable pasture-based pig production systems.

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Pasture consumption and grazing behaviour of European wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) under continuous and rotational grazing systems

Cited by 10 publications

References 23 publications

Foraging behaviour, nutrient intake from pasture and performance of free-range growing pigs in relation to feed CP level in two organic cropping systems

Foraging behaviour, nutrient intake from pasture and performance of free-range growing pigs in relation to feed CP level in two organic cropping systems

Grazing behaviour of Cinta senese and its crossbreed pigs

A Comparison of Stocking Methods for Pasture-Based Growing-Finishing Pig Production Systems

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