Social rank and feeding behaviour of group-housed sows fed competitively or ad libitum

Brouns, Francis; Edwards, Sandra A.

doi:10.1016/0168-1591(94)90158-9

Cited by 99 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The obtained results are consistent with the observations of Stewart et al (1993), Brouns and Edwards (1994), Sadler et al (1994), Brouns et al (1995), and Whittaker et al (2000) who fed sows ad libitum using diets with a 50%) or higher content of sugar beet pulp. The significantly lower feed intake observed during advanced pregnancy in group III and during lactation in groups II and III is unexpected.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Preliminary results of <i>ad libitum</i> feeding of diets containing a high amount of fibrous components on the reproductive performance of sows

Urbanczyk¹,

Świątkiewicz²,

Hańczakowska³

2001

J. Anim. Feed Sci.

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The experiment was carried out on 33 sows fed low energetic feeds ad libitum. Control sows (group I n = 3) were fed restricted with a standard mixture, while up to the 100 th day of pregnancy, the sows in groups II (n=10) and III (n=10) received ad libitum low energy diets containing a high amount of sugar beet pulp (50%), wheat bran (20%) and grass meal (10%). Animals in group III received the feed mixture for farrowed and nursing sows between days 28-56 of pregnancy.The reproductive parameters of groups II and III were similar to those of control animals, although daily feed intake during early pregnancy of these sows was higher by about 1 kg (40.6-42.2%, respectively for groups II and III), their energy intake in this period was higher by 15.8-27.9%, while during whole experimental period, only by 5.2-9.3% in comparison with control sows. The sow feeding system did not influence the number of piglets born and weaned or their rearing performance.The results of the experiment suggest that ad libitum feeding of sows using mixtures containing high amounts of dried sugar beet pulp, wheat bran and grass meal can be an alternative to the traditional system of feeding.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Preliminary results of <i>ad libitum</i> feeding of diets containing a high amount of fibrous components on the reproductive performance of sows

Urbanczyk¹,

Świątkiewicz²,

Hańczakowska³

2001

J. Anim. Feed Sci.

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“…However, dominance does relate to the levels of aggression. Typically, the dominant sows, which tend to be the older animals (Brouns and Edwards 1994), were more aggressive (Otten et al 1997). Therefore, it is likely that the older sows in the present study were the dominant ones within the group and that is why they were more aggressive at mixing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

The effect of management strategies and parity on the behaviour and physiology of gestating sows housed in an electronic sow feeding system

Strawford

Li²,

Gonyou

2008

Can. J. Anim. Sci.

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How group housed sows are managed can have an impact on their welfare during gestation. The present study examined the effects of housing management (static vs. dynamic), stage of gestation at introduction, familiarity within the group, and age of sow on some aspects of the behaviour and physiology of sows in an electronic sow feeding system. Eight groups were introduced into either a static or dynamic management system. Within an introduction group, 21 to 23 focal sows were selected based upon their stage of gestation (pre vs. post-implantation), familiarity with groupmates (familiar vs. unfamiliar) and parity [young (1st parity) vs. intermediate (2nd and 3rd parity) vs. old (4th parity and higher)]. The aggression at mixing, aggression at the feeder, injuries, feeder entry order, lying patterns, and salivary cortisol concentrations were recorded. There were no differences in the behaviour or physiology of sows housed in either housing management system, or based upon familiarity. Sows mixed post-implantation were less aggressive (P = 0.01), entered the feeding station later (P = 0.03) and were observed lying in the least preferred areas of the pen (P = 0.001), than sows grouped within a few days of breeding. Older sows were involved in more aggressive encounters (P = 0.04), spent more time fighting at mixing (P = 0.02), and lay against the wall more (P < 0.001) than did young sows, which tended to sustain more scratches (P = 0.07), and ate later in the feed cycle (P < 0.001). A dynamic management system is just as effective as a static management system when certain management criteria are met. Familiarity does not have an impact on the sows during gestation. Stage of gestation and parity should be considered along with the group dynamic as it can impact aggression and access to resources. Key words: Sows, gestation, electronic sow feeding system, behaviour

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“…Nevertheless, most aggression between floor-fed group-housed sows occurs at feeding (Csermely and Wood-Gush, 1987). Furthermore, Csermely and Wood-Gush (1990) and Brouns and Edwards (1994) found that sows with a high dominance index, calculated from observations of agonistic behavior during both feeding and nonfeeding periods, delivered more and received less aggression at feeding in a floorfeeding system than sows with a low dominance index.…”

Section: Aggression Classificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual variation in sow aggressive behavior and its relationship with sow welfare1

Verdon

Morrison²,

Rice

et al. 2016

Journal of Animal Science

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Social rank and feeding behaviour of group-housed sows fed competitively or ad libitum

Cited by 99 publications

References 13 publications

Preliminary results of <i>ad libitum</i> feeding of diets containing a high amount of fibrous components on the reproductive performance of sows

Preliminary results of <i>ad libitum</i> feeding of diets containing a high amount of fibrous components on the reproductive performance of sows

The effect of management strategies and parity on the behaviour and physiology of gestating sows housed in an electronic sow feeding system

Individual variation in sow aggressive behavior and its relationship with sow welfare1

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