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        Effect of cage enrichment on the stereotypic behaviour of commercially kept pregnant sows

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        Publication date
        2010
        Author
        Berg, K.C. van den
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        Summary
        In this study, the effect of cage enrichment on the welfare of commercially kept pregnant sows and the possibilities to improve welfare were investigated. Forty-eight sows were observed. Twenty-for got an enrichment (a chain); the other twenty-four sows formed the control group. The behaviour of the sows was observed for five weeks, in order to determine both acute and long-term changes. The behaviour was scored with a scanning method. Before the intervention, the sows were spending 31.05±2.63% (enrichment) and 33.65±3.10% (control) of the observation time with stereotypic behaviour. When the chain was hanging low the enrichment sows showed 5.75% less stereotypic behaviour (p<0.05), a decrease of 19% regardless on which moment the observations where done (acute versus long-term effects). When the chain was low, the sows spent 25.05±2.08% of their time manipulating the chain versus 9.71±2.68% less (p<0.05) when it was hanging high. The interest in the toy disappeared in course of time with 7.05±2.68% (p<0.05). The conclusion is that if a chain is used as a toy for individually kept pregnant sows, it might be a better solution to mount it near the floor of the cage; this because it comes closer to the natural foraging behavior of pig. It is difficult to state that a chain is useful as a toy to improve welfare of individually kept pregnant sows. However, considering the amount of time the sows spent with manipulating the chain, it is a cost–effective device. Furthermore, it was successful to reduce the amount of stereotypic behaviour of the sows for the period the observations were done.
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        https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/15879
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