Svenja Opderbeck

The rearing of piglets is a demanding phase of pig production partly because of the changing temperature requirements of the piglets during rearing. Piglets need high temperatures in the resting area, especially at the beginning, while the optimal temperature is lower toward the end of rearing. To meet the changing temperature demands of the piglets and also to optimize the pen structure, one floor cooling and two heating systems were examined in this study. In two rearing compartments, four pens with 48 piglets each were equipped with a heated cover above a heated/cooled lying area. The lying behavior and performance of 1152 piglets, in addition to the pen fouling, were recorded over six rearing periods. There was no difference between the two heating systems in the lying behavior. However, the acceptance of the lying area was very high in all pens and periods with heating. The cooling had a significant influence on the lying behavior depending on the rearing week. Significantly more piglets lay on the cooled lying area compared with the control pen during the last weeks. The fouling of the pens was not affected by the cooling or heating systems; however, the fouling in all pens was very low. The tested pen structure in combination with a heating and cooling system is a well-functioning way of integrating a solid lying area.

Increasing demands on animal welfare and the higher temperatures in summer due to climate change make it necessary to adapt conventional pig husbandry systems. A cooled, solid lying area has the potential to increase lying comfort and reduce the heat stress, which improves animal welfare. In the present study, the effect of a cooled, solid lying area on lying and elimination behavior was investigated. In two fattening compartments, eight pens with 28 pigs each were rebuilt. Two pen designs, different in feeder place and type, were tested. The floor was cooled from 24.5 to 20 °C by cool water in half of the pens. A total of 672 fattening pigs were tested over three fattening periods. The lying behavior was recorded by video analysis three times per week and three times per day. In the pens with a cooled lying area, 14% (SED 2.9; p = 0.002), respectively 12% (SED 0.9; p = 0.0382) more pigs were lying on the solid lying area. Additionally, the fouling of the animals was reduced by the cooling in one pen design; the results were derived from weekly scores (0.42 vs. 0.67; SED 0.058 p = 0.0006). The fouling of the pen was not affected by the floor cooling, however, the fouling in all pens was very low.

Animal welfare labels have been introduced to improve housing conditions in conventional pig systems. Animal welfare should be increased by, e.g. offering a well-accepted and comfortable solid lying area. This study investigates the effect of bright light from an LED spotlight in the slatted area on lying and elimination behavior of fattening pigs. It was tested for two pen designs different in feeder and arrangement of the slatted area with 18 pigs per pen. The study took place in two different compartments (spatial repetition) with two pens of each pen design. The light intensity in the slatted area was increased by two spotlights within one pen of each design as case-control approach. A total of 648 fattening pigs were tested over four and five fattening periods respectively. The lying behavior was assessed by video scan sampling at three different weekdays at three times (morning, noon, evening) on each observation day. On average, the lying area was used by 60–63% of the pigs in the control pens and 67–69% in the spotlight pens. Additionally, a tendential effect of the deviation of the room temperature from the set temperature existed. The fouling of the animals and pen was not affected by the light intensity.