Transportation is an integral part of economic swine manufacturing in america. Stressors skilled through the technique of transportation, together with loading and unloading, may end up in poor welfare outcomes and financial losses.
Goal: The first goal of this examine was to find out whether or not publicity to a ramp construction through the nursery interval affected ease of loading and unloading at advertising and marketing. A secondary goal was to find out if nursery ramp provision affected nursery pig habits and pig development all through the nursery and grow-finish phases.
Strategies: 5 hundred forty weaned pigs (17 – 21 days of age) housed in 20 pens (every pen holding roughly 27 pigs) had been assigned to one in all two experimental remedies: 1) entry to a ramp with platform inside the pen through the nursery section (RAMP) or 2) a typical pen with no entry to a ramp with platform through the nursery section (CONT). After 6 weeks, ramps had been faraway from RAMP pens and all pigs had been raised beneath customary situations till advertising and marketing. Nursery habits (posture, consuming, consuming, aggression) and development efficiency through the nursery and grow-finish phases had been evaluated.
Outcomes: No variations in nursery habits or development efficiency had been noticed between remedies. At advertising and marketing, pigs had been loaded in teams of 4 pen mates onto a semi-trailer and unloaded in blended remedy teams upon arrival on the processing facility. Throughout loading, period to ascend the ramp to the trailer was quantified, together with the variety of journeys displayed by any animals and handler electrical prod utilization. Pigs within the RAMP remedy required a shorter period to ascend the ramp in comparison with the CONT pigs. An electrical prod was used extra steadily with CONT pigs in comparison with RAMP pigs. Throughout unloading, the full period it took for pigs to descend the ramp, in addition to the variety of turnarounds, journeys, and backward motion descending the ramp had been quantified. Rattle paddle utilization by the handler and lifeless on arrivals had been additionally recorded. Management pigs required a shorter period to descend the ramp in comparison with the RAMP pigs. Moreover, a better variety of RAMP pigs descended the ramp backwards in comparison with CONT pigs. No different remedy variations had been noticed.
Conclusion: Exposing pigs to a ramp through the nursery section improved ease of loading at advertising and marketing and had no impact on nursery habits and development efficiency all through the nursery and grow-finish phases.
Mary L. Kasakamu, Jennifer M. Younger, Ryan S. Samuel, Sarah A. Wagner, Christopher J. Byrd,
The impact of ramped nursery housing on pig habits throughout loading and unloading at advertising and marketing,
Utilized Animal Behaviour Science,
Quantity 279,
2024,
106397,
ISSN 0168-1591,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2024.106397
