Prepartum behavior in swine: effects of pen size.

Abstract

Gravid Yorkshire sows assigned to one of three pen sizes on d 109 of gestation, were continuously observed for 72 h before parturition. Pens included a 2.1- x .7-m rectangular farrowing crate (n = 6), a small, square pen 2.1 x 2.1 m (n = 5), and a large, square pen 4.2 x 4.2 m (n = 5). Body positions were recorded at 30-s intervals. Other behaviors were recorded using the one-zero method of sampling at 1-min intervals. Sows became more active as they approached farrowing. They stood, sat, lay with legs under, changed positions, drank, urinated, defecated, rooted the floor and pipes, mouthed the waterer and pipes, and pawed the floor more (P < .05) during the 24 h before the birth of the first pig than during the previous 2 d. Position changes, rooting the floor, and pawing frequency peaked during the 6 h preceding parturition and show promise as predictors of parturition. During the 24 h preceding the birth of the first pig, farrowing crate sows stood, rooted the floor, and pawed less and sat, lay, and changed positions more than sows in either pen (P < .05). No differences (P > .05) among pens were noted for lying with legs under or out, eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, rooting the pipes, mouthing the pipes. or mouthing the waterer. Pipe biting and other behaviors commonly thought to be caused by confinement stress occurred in all three pen sizes and seem to be components of nest-building, expressed inappropriately, in a barren environment.

Survival and Risk Factors Associated with Claw Lesions of Female Pigs in Farrowing Crates on a Large Commercial Farm

“…Slat design features, such as the space between slats, roughness of the surface, and edge designs are also crucial factors for injury 2) . Furthermore, the pawing behavior of gestating pigs on the concrete fl oors, which is reportedly one form of the nesting behavior of late-gestating pigs 6) , might also increase the occurrence of claw lesions, although we did not observe such nesting behavior in our study.…”

Monitoring individual activity before, during and after parturition using sensors for sows with and without straw amendment

“…The quantity of straw provided (0.5 kg per day) may have limited any significant difference in terms of, for instance, duration of the pre-partum high activity. The peak of high activity observed for Group S at hÀ9 is comparable to results reported by Bohnenkamp et al (2013), who also reported an increase of activity (lying, standing and sitting) 9 h prior to parturition, and a bit earlier than the peak of activity reported by Hartsock and Barczewski (1997). It is also precisely in the 6-12 h range reported in Castren et al (1993).…”

Modeling of sows diurnal activity pattern and detection of parturition using acceleration measurements

“…For loose housed and outdoor sows, nest building occurs during the last 24 hours before the onset of parturition, and is most intensive during 12 to 6 h before farrowing (Algers and Uvnäs-Moberg, 2007). Even though crate-confined sows cannot build nest, they are seen to be highly active the day prior to parturition, performing activities considered as 're-directed' nest building behaviour (or nest building behaviour expressed inappropriately), such as pawing, rooting or mouthing the crate fixtures (Rushen et al, 2001;Hartsock and Barczewski, 1997;Harris and Gonyou, 1998).…”