Piglet survival in farrowing pens in a hoop structure versus in farrowing crates in an environmentally controlled building
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
11-2009
Conference Title
Twelfth Biennial Conference of the Australasian Pig Science Association
Place of Publication
Cairns
ISBN
978-0-9806880-0-9
ISSN
1324 9177
Keywords
swine, pork, piglet, farrowing pens, farrowing crates, sows
Disciplines
Meat Science | Other Animal Sciences
Abstract
The use of the farrowing crate is being increasingly questioned, and has been banned or restricted to the first week of lactation in some countries. The Werribee Farrowing Pen has been developed as an alternative to the farrowing crate (Cronin et al., 2000). However, it requires twice the floor space of a crate. The use of a low-cost hoop structure to contain large farrowing pens may reduce the capital cost of additional floor space, but may also compromise piglet survival. The aim of this experiment was to compare piglet survival in farrowing pens in a hoop structure versus farrowing crates in an environmentally-controlled building to test the null hypothesis of no difference in piglet survival between the two housing systems.
Recommended Citation
Payne, H G,
Moore, K L,
Gardiner, A,
Gardiner, A J,
Gardiner, R,
Loudon, E,
and
Cronin, G M.
(2009), Piglet survival in farrowing pens in a hoop structure versus in farrowing crates in an environmentally controlled building, Twelfth Biennial Conference of the Australasian Pig Science Association, Cairns, pp.138-138.
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/conf_papers/239
