EFFECTS OF SINGLE-SPACE FEEDER DESIGN ON FEEDING-BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE OF GROWING PIGS

Computerized food intake recording systems of various designs ave used by research centres and breeding companies to monitor the individual food intake of pigs kept in groups. In the present experiment, three f eeder designs are compared in order to estimate the effect on performa nce and feeding behaviour. Ninety entire male pigs (34 (s.e. 0.6) kg) were allocated in three replicates to pens of 10 pigs; each pen contai ning one of three different feeder entrance designs: low (head-guard), medium (full-length standard race), and high (enclosed pneumatic race ) protection against disturbance of the feeding pig. No significant di fferences were found between treatments in daily food intake, daily li ve-weight gain, food conversion ratio, number of visits per day and da ily feeder occupation. Pigs with access to an enclosed race had longer visits than pigs on the two other treatments, and they also are more per visit (4.8, 4.8 and 6.2 (s.e.d. = 0.37) min per visit; 172, 157, a nd 202 (s.e.d. = 11.1) g per visit; means of low, medium and high prot ection, respectively). The enclosed race was not only the most protect ive, if was also the most difficult to enter, and this decreased acces sibility of the food may have given vise to the changed feeding patter n displayed by pigs using this type of race. Access to a feeder with l ow protection resulted in a faster rate of eating (36.9, 33.2, and 32. 8 (s.e.d. = 0.82) g/min; means of low, medium and high protection, res pectively) indicative of a more forced feeding behaviour.