Animal Welfare-friendly Pig Housing Systems

Welfare of pregnant sows

Which are the most important factors (or hazards) that compromise the needs of pregnant sows and might lead to poor welfare?

	a)	Aggression during mixing of sows
	b)	Confinement in crates
	c)	Insufficient space allowance
	d)	Poor thermal environment
	e)	Poor flooring conditions
	f)	Insufficient access to foraging/exploration material
Aggression can be observed between unfamiliar sows during mixing but pregnant sows in groups have normally already established a social relationship. In housing for pregnant sows low temperatures are uncommon and at high temperatures sows have cooling facilities. Thus, important factors for poor welfare of pregnant sows are (in descending order): Insufficient space allowance, poor flooring conditions, insufficient access to foraging/exploration material, lack of fibrous diet, and confinement in crates.

Group housing of farrowing sows

Why is it important for a sow to be able to isolate herself from her flockmates before farrowing?

(Check your answers individually)

	a)	To be able to establish a relationship between the sow and her young
	b)	To avoid aggression from her flockmates
	c)	To be able to communicate with her young without disturbances from other sows
	d)	To avoid other sows from urinating in her nest
Please select an answerYes. It is important that the piglets know their mother in order to avoid cross-suckling.No. Aggression in an established flock is unusual. Yes. All piglets need to be present and to suck when milk is let down. They gather when they hear their mother grunt and they start to suck when she increases the speed with which she grunts. Noise from other sows (and e.g. ventilation) can interfere with this subtle communication.No. Sows normally walk away to a specific area to urinate.

Welfare of piglets

Match the risk factors to the adverse effects that can develop into poor welfare. (The risk factors are listed in descending order of severity.)

a)	Forced weaning procedures (weaning before suckling motivation ceases)	Choose... Death Starvation Malaise due to respiratory or gastrointestinal disease Frustration and stress and undernutrition Frustration and lack of positive emotions
b)	Insufficient access to foraging/exploration material	Choose... Death Starvation Malaise due to respiratory or gastrointestinal disease Frustration and stress and undernutrition Frustration and lack of positive emotions
c)	Inadequate management procedures at large litter size	Choose... Death Starvation Malaise due to respiratory or gastrointestinal disease Frustration and stress and undernutrition Frustration and lack of positive emotions
d)	Inadequate access to colostrum	Choose... Death Starvation Malaise due to respiratory or gastrointestinal disease Frustration and stress and undernutrition Frustration and lack of positive emotions
e)	Poor thermal environment	Choose... Death Starvation Malaise due to respiratory or gastrointestinal disease Frustration and stress and undernutrition Frustration and lack of positive emotions
Early weaning is considered stressful to piglets mainly because their digestive system is not developed for solid feed. Piglets already have a strong motivation for rooting behaviour in their first week and get frustrated when straw is not provided. When a sow gives birth to more piglets than she has functional teats to feed, some of the piglets have to be moved to litters with less than 12 piglets to prevent starvation. If the newborn piglets do not get any colostrum because they are born late in large litters they will die because of e.g. gastrointestinal diseases. In the farrowing unit the piglets need extra heating to keep their body temperature high in order to survive.

The definition of animal welfare

Animal welfare includes the pleasant and unpleasant mental states of the animal although these cannot be measured.

	a)	True
	b)	False
Yes. The answer is correct because feelings are a part of many mechanisms involved in attempting to cope with the environment. Although feelings cannot be measured directly they may be deduced from measures of e.g. behaviour, physiology, and pathological conditions.No. The answer is incorrect because feelings are a part of many mechanisms that attempt to cope with the environment. Although feelings cannot be measured directly they may be deduced from measures of e.g. behaviour, physiology, and pathological conditions.Your answer has been saved.

Indicators of poor animal welfare

Increased heart rate of a sow in a crate indicates poor animal welfare.

	a)	True
	b)	False
Yes. Increased heart rate can simply be the result of high activity. To be able to measure the welfare of the sow several measures have to be integrated, e.g. physiological and behavioural measurements.No. The impact of an unfulfilled need (like nest building) on welfare depends on motivational mechanisms. A sow in a crate has high motivation for nest building and may be frustrated, but to be able to measure the welfare of the sow a range of measurements need to be taken and a rapid heart rate can simply be the result of high activity.Your answer has been saved.

Good welfare of pigs

Natural environments are needed for good animal welfare.

	a)	True
	b)	False
You are right - good animal welfare is certainly not limited to "natural" environments and there are many ways in which what happens to animals in the wild leads to poor welfare. Methods of assessing good animal welfare, e.g. the price an animal will pay for resources, are becoming more and more sophisticated.No. Good animal welfare is certainly not limited to "natural" environments. There are many ways in which what happens to animals in the wild leads to poor welfare. Methods of assessing good animal welfare, e.g. the price with which an animal will pay for resources, are becoming more and more sophisticated.Your answer has been saved.

Effects of confinement in crates on the physiology of sows

Which of the following problems are directly influenced by confinement in crates?

(Check your answers individually)

	a)	Lactation failure, known as mastitis-metritis-agalactia (MMA)
	b)	Higher heart rate
	c)	Injuries
	d)	Stereotypies
Please select an answerYes, lactation failure (MMA) is a disease with a complex aetiology and involves a great deal of suffering. It is more common in husbandry systems with farrowing crates than loose-house systems. Yes, sows kept in farrowing crates have higher stress levels, higher heart rates and elevated levels of plasma cortisol concentrations than loose-housed sows. Yes, sows confined in crates also have a higher incidence of injuries than loose-housed sows. Lack of straw and skin contact with floor and equipment are some of the causes.Yes, sows kept in crates show more stereotypies than loose-housed sows but there is debate as to whether the stereotypies are related to feeding regimes.

Tail-biting in slaughter pigs

What are the mechanisms behind tail-biting, which is the reason for docking the tail of pigs in most European countries? (Check your answers individually)

	a)	Aggression
	b)	Stress
	c)	Genetics
	d)	Boredom
Please select an answerNo, tail-biting is not related to aggression but has another motivational background related to stress in barren environments. Aggression can involve biting but the bites are most often directed to the front part of the pigYes, stress will develop in pigs that are kept in barren environments. Stress can in some pigs trigger the development of tail-biting - an abnormal behaviour that will normally stop if the environment is enriched with straw.No, genetic factors seems to have little influence on tail-biting. The behaviour is considered having its origin in pigs being active animals that when housed in barren environment can develop this abnormal behaviour.Yes, even though the origin of tail biting is not fully understood, tail biting is considered to be an abnormal, pathological behaviour as it occurs mainly (though not exclusively) in pigs kept in barren environments.

Space requirements for slaughter pigs

What are the welfare implications of restricted space for pigs? (Check your answers individually)

	a)	Aggression
	b)	Stress
	c)	Ability to rest and sleep
Please select an answerYes, insufficient space allowance results in an increased aggression level and stress. Although very low space allowances may inhibit aggression (due simply to lack of space to perform a threat or an attack) this will result in other welfare problems.Yes, pigs that can't behave naturally, e.g. lie down, groom, exercise and avoid fear, are stressed and have poor welfare. Yes, sleeping in groups simultaneously is usual in pigs and they may be recumbent in rest or sleep for as much as 19 hours per day.

Use of litter by pigs

What are the mechanisms related to animal welfare problems in systems without litter? (Check your answers individually)

	a)	Skin lesions
	b)	Stress
	c)	Claw disorders
	d)	Thermal discomfort
	e)	Aggression
Please select an answerYes, injuries can develop on sows housed in farrowing crates, associated with problems in lying down behaviour or when they lie for too long on concrete without straw. Yes, stress can develop in systems without litter when there is no other enrichment. If pigs are kept in an outdoor environment, litter is not necessary because the environment will allow pigs to perform their natural behaviour in other ways.Yes, indirectly because fully-slatted and partly-slatted floors permit to evacuation of slurry but prevent or restrict the use of straw. Inadequate flooring leads to claw injuries. Claw disorders are also more prevalent on bare concrete floors compared to concrete with litter.Yes, litter is positive for pigs in thermal neutrality because they prefer to lie on straw bedding as compared with bare floors. This choice can vary according to thermal conditions.Yes, without suitable rooting material, pigs are likely to direct tactile behaviour aggressively towards companions.