Individual gestation housing of pregnant sows in stalls from four weeks after mating is banned in the EU. Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of two gestation management and housing systems (STALL: gilts housed in stalls and PEN: gilts loose-housed in pens with increased feed ratio)...

The study investigated the effect of farrowing environment on the weaning adaptability of sows and piglets. One farrowing crate (FC) and two farrowing pens with temporary crating (TC: SWAP and JLF15) were compared. Sixty-four sows and 663 piglets were followed until 5 days post-weaning. At weaning...

Context: Understanding the welfare indicators that affect animal performance can facilitate modifications that improve both animal welfare and profitability. Aims: A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of animal welfare indicators and quantify their possible...

The provision of good housing is one the most important principles of welfare of pigs reared in intensive conditions. Inside the commercial farms the pigs remain 80-90% of their life housed in nursery, growing and finishing phases. In these phases the animals are kept in groups with similar age and ...

The intense nature of pig production has increased the animals' exposure to stressful conditions, which may be detrimental to their welfare and productivity. Some of the most common sources of stress in pigs are extreme thermal conditions (thermal stress), density and mixing during housing (social ...

Weaning and other regrouping events as routine work in commercial farms cause stress to pigs and compromise their welfare. Several studies found positive outcomes to mitigate weaning stress when piglets were socialized (i.e. co-mingled) or raised with enrichment materials in research settings....

The objective of this paper is to analyse the effects of three different stocking densities on the production, stress and fear parameters of female broilers during a 46-day production period. Chickens were randomly distributed among nine floor pens in groups of 30 broilers with different space...

Convenience sampling in animal experiments may affect findings due to individual difference in temperament. The aim in this study was to assess the consistency of convenience sampling order (ORDER), and to study the association between potential factors (i.e., behaviors related to handling, and...

On-farm practices like premature weaning and frequent regrouping induce stress to pigs. Early socialization or environmental enrichment in piglets reduce weaning stress, as suggested in previous studies. Little research with both effects and in commercial settings was found. The aim was to...

The food intake and growth of pigs are affected by both physical and social constraints influencing feeding behaviour. Feeder design has received some empirical study, but only limited systematic scientific investigation despite its importance for both intake and feed wastage. Feeding space...