The Prairie Swine Centre is identifying object enrichments for sows and comparing the types of presentation methods
A healthy pig is a happy pig.
Studies have shown that animals that have enrichment and stimulation do better and produce better.
“So you’re looking at healthier and happier pigs,” said Murray Pettitt, chief executive officer of the Prairie Swine Centre, who presented its latest research findings during the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium in Saskatoon Nov. 14-15.
A key project involves sow enrichment with the focus of helping producers meet code requirements.
The Prairie Swine Centre and the University of Manitoba are collaborating with three studies comparing different kinds of enrichment.
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It looked at identifying object enrichments for sows on slatted floors and compared types of enrichment and presentation methods. It also compared the effects on dominant and subordinate sows.
Several treatments were given, rotated on a two-week schedule:
- control — no enrichment provided
- constant — wood on chain
- rotate — wood on chain, rope, straw
- stimulus — same as rotate with bell/whistle
“What we found is that by changing that enrichment every few days, there’s a novelty factor that seems to stimulate their interest. That’s a good thing,” Pettitt said.
“Those submissive sows are actually the ones who interacted with those enrichments more than the aggressive ones. It may be that the aggressive ones are protecting the feeder more because to them that’s a more valuable resource than the enrichment.”
The swine centre also conducted an audit of best management practices using a cross-section of 24 farms of varying size and different stages of production.
“What we found is sometimes things are done to the best that we know how to do them and sometimes they’re not,” he said.
“So it’s about training and reminding people and the little things — taking the time to do it and taking the time to make it a priority. These little things can add up to a fairly substantial economic impact.”
One glaring example they found during their on-farm audit was the amount of water that can be wasted because of improperly set nozzles.
“Nipple drinkers tend to waste water because when a pig drinks, not all the water goes down the pig’s throat. Some bypasses, but if they’re not adjusted properly, when they trigger that drinker, more water can flow then you’d want and so it ends up going to waste,” he said.
“That can also have a pretty large economic cost.”
