The effects of environmental enrichment on the physiology, behaviour, productivity and meat quality of pigs raised in a hot climate
Ver/Abrir
Autor/a
Fàbrega, Emma
Marcet-Rius, Míriam
Vidal, Roger
Escribano, Damián
Cerón, José Joaquín
Manteca, Xavier
Fecha de publicación
2019-05-13ISSN
2076-2615
Resumen
European Union (EU) legislation states that the routine tail docking of pigs should not be carried out and that manipulable materials should be made available to all pigs to prevent tail biting and allow them to behave naturally. However, between 90 and 95% of pigs within the EU still have their tails docked to avoid the risk of tail biting. Farmers say they require information tailored to their particular production systems before they abandon this practice. In this study, four types of enrichment materials used in Spanish pig fattening production systems are compared. Most of these systems have fully slatted floors and high external temperatures for considerable periods of the year. The effects of chains (the control group), wood, paper or straw in a rack on the behaviour, health/physiology, performance and meat and carcass quality are evaluated. Straw in a rack was found to be the best material to meet the behavioural needs of pigs, whereas paper met the criteria of being manipulable, but only for a short period. To avoid the risk of blockages in the slurry system, there are some practical issues to consider and improvements to be made to the design of the rack for providing straw used in this study.
Tipo de documento
Artículo
Versión del documento
Versión publicada
Lengua
English
Materias (CDU)
636 - Explotación y cría de animales. Cría del ganado y de animales domésticos
Páginas
21
Publicado por
MDPI
Publicado en
Animals
Citación
Fàbrega, Marcet-Rius, Vidal, Escribano, Cerón, Manteca, and Velarde. 2019. "The Effects Of Environmental Enrichment On The Physiology, Behaviour, Productivity And Meat Quality Of Pigs Raised In A Hot Climate". Animals 9 (5): 235. MDPI AG. doi:10.3390/ani9050235.
Número del acuerdo de la subvención
MINECO/Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad/AGL2015-68373-C2-2-R/ES/Bienestar animal y viabilidad económica en explotacions intensivas de porcino y bovino/Retowell
Program
Benestar Animal
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