The preparturient behaviour of sows in enriched pens and the effect of pre-formed nests

Arey, D.S.; Petchey, A. M.; Fowler, V. R.

doi:10.1016/0168-1591(91)90153-o

Cited by 73 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…If physical comfort is a key aspect, then quantity of substrate on the floor or area of 'comfortable' flooring should accommodate a sow lying laterally for parturition. Arey et al (1991), in their preformed nest experiments already described, noted that 100% of sows farrowed in the sandy depression, potentially because of similar, 'comfortable' qualities. Thodberg et al (1999) suggested that the sand provided in their experiments gave important feedback, in addition to that provided by the substrate available.…”

Section: Substratementioning

confidence: 98%

“…Hutson (1988) tested a limited number of sows and gilts in an operant conditioning experiment and, based on a low motivation for sows to lift a lever 10 times to obtain 1 kg of straw, it was concluded that straw is unimportant to prepartal sows. However, this claim is unsupported by the majority of other research in this area (Arey et al, 1991 and1992;Arey, 1992;. Arrangement of nestbuilding material provides feedback to the expectant sow and, without suitable feedback from this activity to signal that nesting is complete, some sows may continue to be motivated to nest build even during farrowing (Thodberg et al, 1999;.…”

Section: Substratementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The complexity of nesting substrates can influence behaviour; demonstrated that gilts given branches and straw were better able to construct a 'complete' nest than gilts only provided with straw. Arey et al (1991) gave two groups of sows sandy depressions with straw available from a dispenser and absence or presence of pre-formed nests with 23 kg of straw on the floor. The first group removed 23 kg of straw and used it for nest building, while the latter group removed 9.5 kg in addition to the 23 kg already preformed.…”

Section: Substratementioning

confidence: 99%

“…There must be a 'switch-off' mechanism because performance of nest building is no longer functional during parturition. Baxter (1983) suggested that udder comfort switches off nesting behaviour, although provision of a comfortable substratum does not abolish the behaviour (Arey et al, 1991). In general, nest-building behaviour abates approximately 4 h before parturition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, we can hypothesise that it is not just the nest that contributes to reproductive success by protecting the offspring, but also the motivation to build and the performance of building that nest. Feedback from building and completing a nest can affect neuro-endocrine regulation of maternal behaviour (Castrén et al, 1993a;Damm et al, 2003;Pedersen et al, 2003;Algers and Uvnä s-Moberg, 2007) during farrowing, with evidence that positive parturient maternal behaviour is influenced by the satisfaction of the nest-building phase (Arey et al, 1991;Jensen, 1993;Damm et al, 2003;Pedersen et al, 2003). For example, several authors have proposed a link between high nest-building activity and reduced risk of crushing (Andersen et al, 2005;Pedersen et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alternative farrowing systems: design criteria for farrowing systems based on the biological needs of sows and piglets

Baxter

Lawrence

Edwards

2011

Animal

114

112

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The construction of a suitable farrowing environment is a continuing dilemma: the piglet's needs must be matched with those of the sow and the farmer during the main phases that constitute farrowing: nest building, parturition and lactation. Difficulties exist in resolving the various conflicts of interest between and within these three parties (e.g. sow v. farmer: space needed for nest building v. space needed to maximise the amount of farrowing accommodation, or sow v. sow: ensuring the survival of the current litter v. maintaining condition for future litters). Thus, the challenge is to resolve these conflicts and design a system that maximises sow and piglet welfare while maintaining an economically efficient and sustainable enterprise. In order to successfully design a farrowing and lactation environment, it is necessary to consider the biological needs of both the sow and her litter. The natural behaviour of the sow has been well documented and very little variation exists between reports of peri-parturient behaviour observed in extensively kept domestic sows and their wild counterparts. The failure for domestication to significantly alter these behavioural patterns provides evidence that they are biologically significant and that the commercial farrowing environment should attempt to accommodate this behavioural repertoire. In addition, the behavioural needs of the piglets, as well as the physiological needs of both sows and their offspring should be considered. This article aims to review the considerable body of literature detailing the behavioural repertoire of sows and their offspring during the different phases of farrowing, and the accompanying physiological processes. The focus is on identifying biological needs of the animals involved in order to synthesise the appropriate design criteria for farrowing and lactation systems, which should optimise both welfare and animal production.

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Section: Substratementioning

confidence: 98%