Pre-lying behaviour patterns in confined sows and their effects on crushing of piglets

Wischner, Diane; Kemper, Nicole; Stamer, E.; Hellbrügge, Barbara; Presuhn, U.; Krieter, Joachim

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2009.11.010

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The farrowing crate was designed to reduce piglet mortality by restricting the movements of the sow and allowing the piglets a safe space to retreat [ 1 , 2 ]. However, farrowing crates can have a negative effect on welfare by physically restricting sows, thus compromising their behaviour and comfort [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freedom to Grow: Improving Sow Welfare also Benefits Piglets

Kinane

Butler

O’Driscoll

2021

Animals

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Piglet mortality, especially due to crushing, is a concern in pig production. While current systems use farrowing crates to reduce mortality, they present major animal welfare problems for the sow. This study investigated the effects of free lactation farrowing accommodation on the welfare of piglets born and reared in such accommodation when compared with conventional farrowing crates. Piglets were born to sows in one of two farrowing accommodation treatments and followed from birth to slaughter. Treatments were conventional farrowing crates (control, n = 24 litters) and free lactation pens, which were larger and allowed the sow freedom of movement both pre and post farrowing, (free, n = 22 litters) (675 total piglets). Individual weights were recorded from birth to slaughter. Hoof score was recorded at weaning. Behaviour was recorded during lactation and during the weaner stage. Pre-weaning percentage mortality was equal in treatments (free = 15.95 ± 2.31, control = 14.42 ± 2.15, p = 0.61). Final weight was influenced by treatment (p < 0.05) with pigs from free lactation pens significantly heavier at 114.73 kg compared to 110.82 kg for control pigs. Free pigs took fewer days than control pigs to reach the target weight of 105 kg (147.6 vs. 149.23 days). Throughout lactation, fewer instances of damaging behaviour (ear and tail biting) were observed in free pigs (p = 0.07). Improved growth rates and a decrease in damaging behaviours provide evidence to suggest that pigs from free lactation pens experience improved welfare when compared with control pigs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freedom to Grow: Improving Sow Welfare also Benefits Piglets

Kinane

Butler

O’Driscoll

2021

Animals

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“…Crushing has not been directly related to posture or posture changes, but is related to the maternal ability of the sow to lie carefully and respond to piglet screams (e.g. Andersen et al, 2005;Wischner et al, 2010Wischner et al, , 2009. Behavioural differences may have been seen in this study if more detailed maternal behaviour was measured.…”

Section: Farrowingmentioning

confidence: 83%

Behaviour of pre-pubertal gilts and its relationship to farrowing behaviour in conventional farrowing crates and loose-housed pens

Ison

Wood

Baxter

2015

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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“…Beyond being non-invasive, accurate and fast, the radar approach could be used to monitor sow carefulness when lying down (Pokorná et al, 2008). In the past, posture changes were rarely characterised by considering the passage through transient postures, i.e., kneeling and sitting (but see Pokorná et al, 2008; Wischner et al, 2010) and if so, have involved small groups of animals. Automated monitoring with radars in a farrowing crate enables such accurate recording of whether the sow lies down carefully.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated detection of sow posture changes with millimeter-wave radars and deep learning

Dore

Lihoreau

Baily

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Automated behavioural monitoring is increasingly required for animal welfare and precision agriculture. In pig farming, detailed analyses of sow activity are essential to identify and reduce the risks of piglets being crushed during postural changes of their mothers. Here we introduce a new, non-invasive, fast and accurate method for monitoring sow behaviour based on millimeter-wave radars and deep learning analysis. We used our method to predict postural changes in crated sows and distinguish the dangerous one that lie down abruptly from those that lie down carefully using transient postures. Two radars were placed on a metal backing above the head and the upper part of the back of each of ten sows to monitor their activity during 5 hours. We analysed the radar data with a convolutional neural network and identified five postures. The average sensitivity was 96.9% for standing, 90.8% for lying, 91.4% for nursing, 87.6% for sitting, but only 11.9% for kneeling. However, the average specificity and accuracy were greater than 92% for the five postures. Interestingly, two of the ten sows occasionally moved directly from standing to lying, without using the transient postures sitting and kneeling, thereby displaying risky behaviours for their piglets. Our radar-based classifier is more accurate, faster and require less memory than current computer vision approaches. Using more sows will improve the algorithm performance and facilitate future applications for large scale deployment in animal farming.

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Pre-lying behaviour patterns in confined sows and their effects on crushing of piglets

Cited by 21 publications

References 28 publications

Freedom to Grow: Improving Sow Welfare also Benefits Piglets

Freedom to Grow: Improving Sow Welfare also Benefits Piglets

Behaviour of pre-pubertal gilts and its relationship to farrowing behaviour in conventional farrowing crates and loose-housed pens

Automated detection of sow posture changes with millimeter-wave radars and deep learning

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