Alternatives to nose-ringing in outdoor sows: 1. The provision of a sacrificial rooting area

The nose-ringing of outdoor pigs ( Sus scrofa) is commonly practised in many countries as a means to inhibit rooting and reduce pasture damage and soil erosion. This practice has been questioned on ethical grounds and alternatives are being sought. Sixteen multiparous pregnant sows were housed in gr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied animal behaviour science 2003-10, Vol.83 (4), p.267-276
Main Authors: Bornett, H.L.I, Edge, H.L, Edwards, S.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal welfare
Nose-ringing
Pasture damage
Pig
Rooting behaviour
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The nose-ringing of outdoor pigs ( Sus scrofa) is commonly practised in many countries as a means to inhibit rooting and reduce pasture damage and soil erosion. This practice has been questioned on ethical grounds and alternatives are being sought. Sixteen multiparous pregnant sows were housed in groups of four and randomly allocated to one of the four treatments in a 4×4 Latin square design. Treatment A had no rooting area whilst Treatments B–D were provided with a rooting area consisting of a 15 m×2 m strip of ploughed land supplemented with 200 kg of spent mushroom compost. Sows on Treatments A and B received their entire daily feed ration on the ground at the front of the paddock, Treatment C received half of their ration on the ground and half buried in the rooting area, whilst Treatment D received all of their ration buried in the rooting area. Sows who received their entire daily ration buried in the rooting area (Treatment D) spent more time using the rooting area than those sows on Treatment C, who in turn spent more time using the rooting area than sows on Treatment B ( P
ISSN:0168-1591
1872-9045
DOI:10.1016/S0168-1591(03)00143-6