Use of organic material provided by an automatic enrichment device by weaner pigs and its influence on tail lesions.

ABSTRACT: Providing pigs with organic enrichment material is important for satisfying pigs' natural explorative behavior to prevent injurious tail biting and thus increase animal welfare in general. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of automatically supplied enrichment material of three different types (alfalfa pellets, oat bran pellets, or a mixture of both) and different enrichment frequencies (2, 4, or 6 supplies/day) on the behavior, the occurrence of tail biting, and daily weight gains of weaner pigs. The results showed significant effects and interactions of enrichment material, frequency and the time of day on the exploratory behavior, the occurrence of tail biting, and daily weight gains. Higher probabilities for pigs using the enrichment material were observed for groups

SUBMITTER: Heseker P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11530003 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature