Although many factors affect the welfare of hens housed in cage and non-cage systems, welfare issues in cage systems often involve behavioural restrictions, whereas many welfare issues in non-cage systems involve health and hygiene. This review considers and compares the welfare of laying hens in ...

The welfare of sows in gestation accommodation, and in particular the use of gestation stalls, is a major issue of concern among the animal-welfare community and pig producers. The objective of the present experiment was to investigate the effects of width (0.6 m v. 0.75 m) and length (2.0 m v. 2.2 ...

Some believe that farm animals need to be kept in conditions that provide 'natural' aspects in the animal's environment and, thus, provide the opportunity for the animals to perform their full 'behavioural repertoire'. Captivity may restrict either behaviours that animals have instinctive,...

The housing of sows during gestation, farrowing and lactation is one of the most controversial animal welfare issues in livestock production. From 2017, the Australian Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals - Pigs will limit the duration of housing of gestating sows in gestation stall to ...

Plasma free-corticosteroid concentrations, aggressive behaviour and levels of motivation to interact socially and explore a novel environment were observed to test the hypothesis that the chronic stress response previously observed in tether-housed pigs may have been due to unresolved aggression...

Factors that have been shown to impact the welfare of group-housed sows are discussed in this review. Floor space allowance markedly affects sow welfare. In addition to quantity of floor space, the quality of space is important: spatial separation between sows can be provided with visual or...

Pregnant Large White × Landrace gilts in groups of 4 were housed at 1.97 or 0.9 m²/pig, with or without partial stalls and fed within the partial stalls or on the floor of the pen. In the 90 min following grouping of the (unfamiliar) pigs, the presence of the partial stalls reduced the number of...

Conditions during rearing have a large influence on the development of behaviour of the laying hen. The early influence starts even before hatching and the first 2 weeks of life appear to be particularly sensitive for the development of future behaviour. It is recommended that birds are reared in...

Barn production systems in Australia are either an indoor-housing floor system or an aviary system with multilevel structures, equipped with nesting boxes, perches and feeding and watering systems. These systems offer hens the freedom of movement and an opportunity to display a repertoire of...

This project compared the effects of grouping sows after weaning or within 2 d after insemination on sexual behavior, aggression, injuries, stress, and mating success. At weaning (d 0), 360 sows were housed in groups of 10 sows at 4.4 m² per sow (group weaned [GpW]) or individual stalls (stall...