THE EFFECTS OF PROVIDING SAWDUST TO PRE-PARTURIENT SOWS IN FARROWING CRATES ON SOW BEHAVIOR, THE DURATION OF PARTURITION AND THE OCCURRENCEOF INTRA-PARTUM STILLBORN PIGLETS
Gm. Cronin et al., THE EFFECTS OF PROVIDING SAWDUST TO PRE-PARTURIENT SOWS IN FARROWING CRATES ON SOW BEHAVIOR, THE DURATION OF PARTURITION AND THE OCCURRENCEOF INTRA-PARTUM STILLBORN PIGLETS, Applied animal behaviour science, 36(4), 1993, pp. 301-315
The behaviour of 174 sows (parities 1-10) in commercial farrowing crat
es was recorded at 10-min intervals around parturition. Approximately
half of the sows received regular applications of sawdust on the floor
of their crate during the pre-partum period (SD treatment). Control t
reatment (Con) sows did not receive sawdust. Younger sows (parities 1-
3) in the SD treatment spent less (P < 0.01) time belly lying from 24
to 16 h pre-partum, were more (P < 0.05) active in the last 8 h pre-pa
rtum and less (P < 0.05) active during parturition than in the Con tre
atment. More root/nose/paw behaviour occurred during 24 to 16 h (P < 0
.01 ) and the last 8 h (P < 0.005) pre-partum, and more (P < 0.03) fee
der-directed behaviour occurred in the last 8 h pre-partum, in the SD
than Con treatment. Sows in the SD treatment compared with sows in the
Con treatment had a shorter (P < 0.05) mean duration of parturition (
159 and 201 min per sow) and a lower (P < 0.01) incidence of piglets t
hat were overlayed during parturition and the subsequent 6 h (2.4% and
21.1% of sows, respectively). While there were no differences in the
proportion of litters of younger sows that contained stillborn piglets
of the class intra-partum death (IPD: 26.1 and 31.6% of sows), there
was a difference (P < 0.02) in the ratio of litters containing 0, 1 or
multiple IPD per litter: (SD: 73%, 2 7% and 0% vs. Con: 68%, 16% and
16% of litters, respectively). As a consequence of the lower occurrenc
e of IPD, litter size born alive was greater (P < 0.03) in the SD than
Con treatment (10.5 and 10.0 piglets). Older sows (parities 4 and abo
ve) in the SD treatment spent less time sitting (P < 0.05) and more ti
me side lying (P < 0.06), and performed less (P < 0.01) bar biting dur
ing the last 8 h pre-partum than older sows in the Con treatment. In c
onclusion, the application of sawdust during the pre-partum period app
eared to stimulate prepartum activity in younger sows, including root/
nose/paw behaviour, which may, in turn, positively affect the process
of parturition and reduce overlaying of piglets, both of which are rel
evant to increasing piglet survival. The differing results for older s
ows suggest that experience with sawdust (for nesting material) is an
important determinant of subsequent responses of farrowing sows to thi
s material.