Social Interaction between Grow Finish Pigs In Competition for Facilities in an Innovative Husbandry System
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2009
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This experience was conducted to test and analyse the pig behaviour and welfare in their competition for the facilities (feeders, drinkers and rooting machines), analysing as much as possible the drinking, feeding and rooting behaviours in two different pen sizes (single/double) and animal densities. Video observations during 3 months (January, February and March of 2007) were made in twelve pens with different number of animals to study behaviour measures in the different densities of 1.2, 1.8 and 2.4 m2 per animal. The observations follow the fattening period until the days before the slaughter. The results reached help to conclude that agonistic, interactive, inactive and sexual behaviours between pigs are generally higher in single pens, in the feeders and in the 1.2 density group. The drinkers were the facility where less behaviour was detected. The feeders are the facility where pigs are generally more aggressive and the total number of aggressive interactions in the feeders is also affected by group size and number of hoppers. The rooting machine beside some significant agonistic behaviour observed, promotes the socialization between pigs, and consequently is a good device to decrease or avoid behaviours of frustration and stress. The results reached in this trial are similar to other studies made before with growing pigs.
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interactions , pigs , behaviour , welfare , competition , facilities , drinking , feeding , rooting , density