PHOTO: VIVI AARESTRUP MOUSTSEN.
PHOTO: W.W. URSINUS
PHOTO: J-Y. CHOU
best type of enrichment. However, enrichment should be safe for the animals and not pose risks for food safety. Good enrichment materials for pigs are chewable, destructi- ble and edible and can be manipulated by multiple pigs at the same time. Loose materials such as straw, hay and saw- dust are most used by pigs, but if the housing limits the pro- vision of these, there are other alternatives. Examples are ropes, large feed pellets (beetroot pellets), soft rubber hoses and jute sacks (burlap sacks).
Using a step-wise protocol Straw is one of the best materials to occupy pigs. However, for several reasons straw may not be a suitable option or pos- sibility, especially on fully slatted floors. In Ireland about 80% of farms have fully slatted floors. A recent study conducted on a farm in Ireland showed that tail-biting outbreaks can still be effectively reduced using a set protocol. In this protocol three types of intervention were used in a random order: A. Putting three ropes in a pen of 12-14 pigs B. Removing the victim C. Removing the biter.
If after 72 hours blood was detected on one of the pigs in the pen, then the next step was taken. When an option was ap- plied but was not successful, then the next one was applied until all three options had been used. Victims or biters that had been removed were later introduced back in the group as described in the protocol in the box. This resulted in no overt aggression between the pigs when the removed pigs were reintroduced to the original group.
80% of outbreaks can be solved The study showed that 80% of severe tail-biting outbreaks could be stopped, even when removed pigs are reintroduced to their original groups. Adding ropes could shorten the du- ration of an outbreak, since it may take longer to remove and reintroduce pigs. Removing victims or biters was as ef- fective as adding ropes in stopping an outbreak. All pigs were reintroduced to their original groups, which saved the need to have extra space to permanently house removed pigs. Based on the outcomes, the following stepwise plan was recommended (see Figure 1).
The need to respond quickly The results also showed the importance of responding quick- ly to the occurrence of tail biting. The chance of successfully reducing a tail-biting outbreak depends on the number of af- fected pigs in the pen. Figure 2 shows that if more than 50% of the pigs are victims of tail biting, the chance of success in overcoming the outbreak can still be around 60%. But if 33% of pigs are biters, then the chance of stopping the outbreak is only 30%. Thus, the more biters in the pen, the smaller the chance that the outbreak can be stopped.
Ropes are chewable, destructible, somewhat edible.
Burlap sacks can be used by more pigs simultaneously.
Several tools to conquer tail biting. ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 35, No. 10, 2019 15
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