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Behavior of groups of gestating sows on electronic feeders under commercial conditions
Group-housing systems for gestating sows using electronic sow feeders (ESF) offer producers an alternative to gestation stalls. However, little is known about the behavior of sows fed using ESF under typical commercial conditions. Such information could facilitate improvements in design and management of ESF systems. This preliminary observational study evaluated the behavior of sows in mixed-parity (≥ parity 1) static groups fed using an ESF in a commercial gestation housing facility which consisted of 20 pens (capacity of 80 sows/pen) with 1 ESF/pen. This study involved 2 of the ESF pens (A and B) and used video cameras to continuously record behavior at the entrance to the ESF over 4 d. Group size and floor space for pens A and B were 74 and 75 sows, and 1.79 and 1.77 m2/sow, respectively; sows in both pens were in wk 12 of gestation. The ESF in Pen A was a modified design, with an additional gate at the entrance, in an attempt to reduce the number of multiple entries (i.e., when more than 1 sow enters the ESF at sow changeover), a potential cause of aggression. A changeover was defined as when a sow entered the ESF (either fully or partially), and included feeding and non-feeding visits. The feeding cycle started at 1500 h each day. The number of sows entering the ESF was recorded for each changeover over the 4-d period. Differences between pen means, based on feeder-related behavior for each 24-h period of the 4-d study period, were evaluated using a chi-square test. The total number of entries per day to the ESF averaged (mean ± standard deviation) 158.6 ± 23.9 and there was a trend (P = 0.10) for feeder entries to be less for Pen A than B (144.0 ± 8.8 and 173.3 ± 23.0/d, respectively). The number of feeding entries was similar (P > 0.05) for the 2 pens (76.5 ± 1.9 and 78.5 ± 4.7/d for A and B, respectively), however, the number of non-feeding entries was less (P < 0.05) for Pen A than B (67.5 ± 9.0 and 94.8 ± 24.7/d, respectively). The number of multiple entries to the feeder was less (P < 0.05) for Pen A than Pen B (11.3 ± 2.5 and 27.5 ± 10.8/d, respectively). The results of this preliminary observational study provide insights into the behavior of sows using ESF under commercial conditions and suggest that the ESF design may modify feeder related behavior, an area that warrants further research.
Keywords:
Sow housing system, electronic sow feeder, sow behavior