Effects of timing of burlap provision on piglet behaviour, welfare, and performance
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Date
2024-07-05
Authors
Penner, Amber
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Abstract
Many factors contribute to high stress at weaning in commercial pigs. Increased stress can lead to increased aggressive behaviours such as tail biting, displacements, and belly nosing. Enrichment, such as burlap, may provide an outlet for stress, providing a positive source of enrichment and allowing piglets to perform natural behaviours. The first objective of this study was to determine if providing burlap as enrichment can reduce the stress of weaning on piglets through reduced aggressive behaviours and fewer lesions. The second is to determine if there is a stage of life (pre- or post-weaning) when it would be most beneficial to introduce burlap to piglets. Piglet behaviour, lesion scores, mortality, and mass data were collected for three weeks pre-weaning and five weeks post-weaning. Four treatments were used to assess the timing of burlap provision: control (no burlap), post-weaning in the nursery room only (N), pre- and post-weaning in farrowing and
nursery rooms (FN), and finally to the sow as well as to piglets pre- and post-weaning (SFN). Results of this experiment suggest that burlap enrichment positively impacts piglets through increased socialization and reduced aggressive behaviours. Results showed that burlap may have the greatest positive impact on piglets when provided in both farrowing and nursery rooms through increased piglet interaction with the burlap and fewer displacement behaviours. In summary, burlap is a promising low-cost enrichment option to improve the welfare of commercial piglets.
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Keywords
piglets, pigs, enrichment, burlap