Page 13 of articles about behaviour-welfare in Abstracts

The experiment aimed to investigate the effect of type of rooting material and space allowance on explorative and abnormal behaviour in growing pigs. Thirty-six pens with partly slatted concrete floor were allocated to one of four treatments: (1) low space allowance and maize silage as rooting material, (2) high space allowance and maize silage as rooting material, (3) low space allowance and straw as rooting material, and (4) high space allowance and straw as rooting material.

Allowing the sow to move freely before farrowing, reducing the constipation state and avoid excessive fattening during late pregnancy all appear to be key factors in shortening farrowing time and reducing perinatal mortality.

The provision of alternative comfort flooring may provide welfare benefits to breeding sows, though environmental temperature needs to be considered when providing rubber mats.

The effects of feeding level (treatment 1 vs. 2) and access to wood chip (treatment 2 vs. 3) were investigated in a normal situation, a competitive situation (reduced feeder space) and a conflict situation (delayed feeding).

Intermittent suckling (IS) has proven to stimulate creep feed intake in suckling piglets. This paper describes the development of feeding behaviour in three litters with high (H) and three litters with low (L) feed intake during lactation in both control (C) and IS treatment.

Provision of enhanced TRP diet reduced behavioural activity and aggressiveness of grower gilts, and these results are likely mediated by activation of brain serotonergic system. Short-term high-TRP dietary supplementation may be used to reduce aggression at mixing in young pigs.

Reducing the dietary crude protein content may stimulate feed intake in high temperature and humidity conditions

Multiparous sows enter easily to the electronic feeders than primiparous without effects on feeder aggressions

The use of salbutamol in finishing diets does not affect pig behaviour and physiology

Feeding space availability at weaning may affect feed conversion ratio and diarrhoea scorings in piglets

Feeding Mg supplemented diets at the end of the pig finishing phase may reduce stress response from handling and transport prior to slaughter