ELEMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT FOR PREGNANT SOWS

Guadalupe Espejo Beristain, Pedro Paredes Ramos, Concepción del Carmen Ahuja Aguirre, Apolo Adolfo Carrasco García, Fernando Naranjo Chacón, Joanna Victoria Díaz Morales

Abstract


Background: Animal welfare largely depends on their ability to cope with their environment. Absence has a negative impact on the health of animals and, consequently, on the profitability of a farm. In production pigs, the gestation stage is one of the most stressful periods, as the sow remains individually housed in a tight cage that limits their movement and behavior. One strategy that seems to improve the biological functioning of animals and reduce the negative effects of captivity is environmental enrichment (EE). This practice is rarely used on pig farms, and even less so during the gestation stage. Objective: To identify what type of items generate the most interest in pregnant sows, and the potential social and emotional advantages and disadvantages that their use could bring. Methodology: The study was carried out on a pig farm located in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Methodology: Twenty pregnant sows (Sus scrofa domestica) were selected, which were exposed to the following EE elements: homemade feeding device (HFD), rope, hose, straw, coconut, and frozen fruit. Each sow was exposed to the different elements for a period of 30 minutes between 10:00 and 12:00 hours of the day, with the order of presentation being random, and the session was video-recorded for later analysis. The latencies and frequencies of the manipulation of each object, the vocalizations, and aggression towards the sows located in the adjacent cage were recorded. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey HSD post hoc test were used, where the significance value for all comparisons was P<0.05. Results: Statistical differences were found in the manipulation of the elements, with the HFD followed by straw being the most frequently manipulated. Frozen fruit had a longer latency to the first manipulation compared to straw and HFD, which had shorter latencies compared to the other objects. Implications: This study demonstrates the benefits of EE in pregnant sows, highlighting its potential to improve animal welfare and reduce stress. Despite the limitation of the sample size, the results suggest that implementing these approaches on pig farms could optimize health and productivity, which justifies their adoption. Conclusions: Pregnant sows have preferences for certain materials and characteristics of the objects used as EE, so the selection of materials is a determining factor in the planning of a correct EE program for pregnant sows.

Keywords


welfare; behavior; stress; stimulation.

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References


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URN: http://www.revista.ccba.uady.mx/urn:ISSN:1870-0462-tsaes.v28i2.60721

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.56369/tsaes.6072

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