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Crate-free sow housing and electronic feeding systems – a value proposition for improved sow nutrition
The subject of conventional crated housing systems for sows during the gestation period has been a point of debate driven by societal concerns over animal welfare. To the extent, that several countries, including some states in the U.S., have been instituting legislature to limit the use of gestation stalls or crates within the next decade. Furthermore, major national and international food companies are establishing policies that would require their pork supply chain to be crate-free, prompting modern sow production operations to look at alternative housing systems, even though, there is no clear scientific evidence that crate-free systems are better, with the different systems presenting advantages and disadvantages. Nevertheless, one of the alternatives to the gestation stall is crate-free group housing with electronic sow feeding (ESF) systems. Variations in these type of systems exist, but most of them present opportunities to improve nutritional programs as compared to gestation stalls or other group housing systems. Individual feeding management of sows is possible with ESF, in which sows visit a feeding station and are fed after they have been recognized by a computer system. A limitation of conventional feeding systems is the inability to establish differentiated feeding program for sows based on either stage of gestation and or parity. This now becomes a practical option with ESF which allows for more precise delivery of feed to the individual sow with the potential to better match nutrient requirements as the sow progresses through the pregnancy period resulting in reduced feed wastage, cost efficiencies, and adequate body reserves to withstand successfully the upcoming lactation periods thus increasing longevity in the herd. Another advantage of ESF systems is the ability to collect data on all sows on a ‘real-time” basis which allows timely identification of sows needing special attention and provision of individual care. Moreover, ESF systems become effectively a data collection system that could allow for a continuous research setting overcoming some of the limitations of sow nutrition research. Additionally, targeted delivery of feed additives, micronutrients, hormone technologies, or auto-immunization material during specific time windows that would require manual labor in crated systems is now possible with minimal labor through the use of an ESF station. As the swine industry continues to adapt in regards to sow housing options, we need to continue to challenge practical feeding programs and evaluate the possibilities that ESF systems have opened for improved sow nutrition.
Keywords: Sow, Housing, Nutrition