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17/01/2024

What are the advantages of freewheeling in the Abverkelbucht?

Tierhaltung

Source: landwirt.com

In a practical trial, the Pro Dromi 2 was compared to a conventional calving pen. Crushing losses were higher. However, stable climate and flooring can reduce these losses. By Patrick SCHALE, Heiko JANSSEN, and Ralf WASSMUTH

Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture investigated two free-range farrowing pens in the Chamber's own pig barn in Wehnen. Two Pro Dromi 2 farrowing pens (7.07 m²) were compared with two pens with piglet protection cages (3.97 m²) in a diagonal housing arrangement. The sows in the Pro Dromi 2 pens were not restrained, even during the piglets' birth. The suckling period was four weeks in both configurations. In addition to the sows' performance data, the behavior of the sows and piglets was also observed.

Eleven sows per treatment were evaluated for biological performance. No significant differences were found between the treatments. Crushing losses were significantly higher in the Pro Dromi 2 pens than in the pens with piglet protection cages (Table 1). However, it should also be noted that crushing losses in the piglet protection cage were extremely low at 3.6%. At the same time, other losses in the Pro Dromi 2 pens were lower than other losses in the pens with piglet protection cages.

This phenomenon has also been partially described in the literature. In free-range farrowing pens, weaker piglets tend to be crushed, whereas in piglet protection crates, they are more likely to die due to other causes.

Stable climate is crucial

To minimize piglet losses, optimal ventilation of the pen is essential. The sow area must be as cool as possible to encourage the piglets to enter the piglet den and only leave to nurse. Since only two experimental pens were installed in an existing pen in Wehnen, the ventilation was not modified and was therefore not optimally adapted to the Pro Dromi 2 pens. To prevent the piglets from overcooling on their way to the piglet den in the larger pens, the temperature in the pen was raised at birth and then lowered again afterwards.

Jute sack well received

The behavior of the sows and piglets was observed using video technology. The last 48 hours before birth, the day of birth, the first 48 hours after birth, and then the Monday until weaning were evaluated. During the weaning week, Thursday was also evaluated as the weaning day. The video was paused every ten minutes, and the animals' behavior was recorded.
48 hours before the expected due date, a jute sack was hung in the pen in both cases. The sack was secured with straw twine. Care was taken to ensure that the sows could not place the jute sack in the trough, as a damp jute sack would not be accepted by either the sow or the piglets. The jute sack was a good tool for determining the time of birth. About a day before birth, the sows occupied themselves very intensively with the jute sack. Before that, no interest had been observed. The jute sack was very well received by the sows. Some sows even worked on the jute sack so hard that only shreds remained.
Immediately after birth, the jute sack was hung in the piglet nest. The piglets liked to retreat to the jute sack and rest on it. Therefore, the jute sack must not be left in the sow area, as this would greatly increase the risk of crushing losses.
At the end of the first week of suckling, or during the second week, the jute sack was frequently removed from the piglet nest because the piglets began to chew holes in the sack. This is generally not a problem, but there is a risk that the piglets' ear tags could get caught in the holes when lying on the sack. The average labor duration was the same in both treatments, at 6.2 hours. No positive effects of the sows' additional freedom of movement on the labor duration in the Pro Dromi 2 pens could be observed.

Positive effects on behavior

The sows in the Pro Dromi 2 pens lay in the prone position significantly less than the sows in the pens with piglet protection baskets (Table 2). At the same time, the sows in the free-range pens nursed their piglets more frequently. This also corresponds to the results of the back fat thickness (RFD) measurements. In the Pro Dromi 2 pens, the sows lost significantly more back fat, although the difference was not significant. The piglets were identified with individual ear tags at birth and weighed simultaneously. An intermediate weighing was performed halfway through the nursing period, and the weaning weight was determined at weaning. No significant differences were found here.
The fact that the piglets did not have higher weaning weights can perhaps be explained by their higher activity levels. The characteristic "activity/playing" recorded the piglets' running around in the pen and their fighting among themselves. Because the piglets moved more often, they probably had a higher maintenance need and therefore consumed more milk with potentially less supplementary feed. In addition to the sow's freedom of movement, the Pro Dromi 2 pen has the advantage that there are no bars in the piglet protection crate to hinder suckling. It could not be determined whether the piglets learned to eat supplementary feed more quickly in the Pro Dromi 2 pens than in the control pens, because different people were constantly doing the feeding due to the inter-farm training.
The significantly higher standing frequency of the sows in the Pro Dromi 2 pens could be attributed to the increased welfare of the sows. At the same time, the sows in the exercise pens sat significantly less. Prolonged sitting is an unnatural posture for pigs. Sitting is only normal if the pigs stand up immediately afterward. Aggressive behavior from the sows toward the staff during piglet catching or handling was not observed. There were also no problems during weaning when the piglets were still in the pens.
The slippery pen floor caused major problems, especially at the beginning of the trial. It was noticeable that the sows were reluctant to get up in the last few days before farrowing. This problem only occurred during the first three farrowing sessions. The manufacturer has since responded and developed a new pen floor.
To ensure the proper functioning of free-range farrowing pens, this trial has shown that a non-slip floor and optimal climate control are particularly important. If these requirements are met, even low piglet losses in free-range farrowing pens are possible.

Conclusion

The higher piglet losses in the Pro Dromi 2 pens could not be statistically verified. At the same time, the behavior of the sows and piglets indicates higher levels of well-being in the Pro Dromi 2 pens. Overall, the study shows that further research is needed in connection with the Pro Dromi 2 pens due to the small sample size of the current trial. An expanded practical study with farrowing pens will soon be conducted as part of a collaboration between the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture and Rural Development (LWK Niedersachsen) and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences.

You can find all products related to the pig program here: Pigs!