that litters that grow less may try to compensate by consum- ing more creep feed. Piglets from these litters turned out to be eating 60 g/day more and grew 160 g/d faster in the first few days post-weaning compared to piglets reared by full-fed sows. Although these piglets seemed to have experienced lower levels of stress and/or food neophobia due to a more gradual weaning transition, maternal feed restriction is not recommended, because it is detrimental for piglet welfare (at least before weaning), sow welfare and sow future reproduc- tive performance.


Litters were ei- ther creep-fed in a conventional feeder (left) or in a foraging-stimu- lating ‘play-feed- er’ (middle and right) from day 4. The play-feeder was created by attaching can- vas clothes, cot- ton ropes and PVC spiral tubes to the conven- tional feeder.


Effects of the play-feeder The play-feeder was successful in eliciting and sustaining exploratory behaviour in suckling piglets. It showed greater, broader and longer-term beneficial post-weaning effects, as feed intake and growth of piglets provided with this play- feeder before weaning were significantly improved by 15% for (at least) two weeks post-weaning, resulting in a 5% higher body weight at day 15 post-weaning (end of trial). The play-feeder also reduced the prevalence (17 vs. 61%), duration (by 1.3 days) and severity of diarrhoea (by 50%) and decreased the number of body lesions and the number of piglets with tail or ear damage. It has been hypothesised that a higher feed intake and growth, an increase in faecal consistency and a decrease in maladaptive behaviour of weaner piglets are related to each other and may all result from lower levels of stress and/or food neophobia at weaning. • Firstly, piglets having met the play-feeder might have been better acquainted with the sight and smell of the nursery feed compared to piglets from the control group, as result of a higher feeder visiting time and more piglets visiting;


• Secondly, this group of piglets might have developed a positive association between solid feed and object play;


• Thirdly, the higher frequency of manipulating behaviours on the toys of the play-feeder, such as chewing, might


have facilitated the transition from exploratory to eating behaviour;


• Lastly, the provision of play-objects before weaning, there- by eliciting an early play experience for piglets, might also improve their ability to emotionally cope with weaning.


Reduction in weaning stress In conclusion, litters reared by restrictedly-fed sows grew less, had more eaters and ate more before weaning, suggesting that pre-weaning feed intake is at least partly homeostatical- ly driven. This pre-weaning acquaintance with feed improved feed intake and growth in the first days after weaning, result- ing in a ‘catch-up effect’ in post-weaning body weight. The play-feeder, which was only provided before weaning, encouraged piglets to explore and play with the feeder and sustained piglets’ interest up to weaning. The main finding of this study was that the play-feeder had no effect on creep feed intake in itself, but remarkably eased the weaning transi- tion, as reflected in improved post-weaning feed intake and growth and reduced diarrhoea and body damage. Possibly, providing a play-feeder after weaning would be even more beneficial for piglet welfare and performance. This trial implies that providing toys at the creep feeder can be considered as an easy applicable enrichment and feeding strategy to reduce weaning stress and improve the health, welfare and productivity of piglets around weaning. The mechanism(s) underlying this beneficial effect are not yet well understood and deserve further attention.


* This article is an approved and abridged version of a scientific article in Scientific Reports, a publication by Nature. The original article was written by Anouschka Middelkoop, Natasja Coster- mans, Bas Kemp and J. Elizabeth Bolhuis, attached to WUR.


The article is part of symposium ‘Early feed intake and welfare in pigs’ on October 9, 2020, in Wageningen, the Netherlands. The symposium is organised on behalf of the PhD defence of Anouschka Middelkoop and will be held in English.


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▶ WEANING | JUNE 2020


PHOTO: WUR


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