Sow management and housing during gestation can generate stress which could influence piglet performance and survival during lactation. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of two group-housing systems for gestating sows on sow behaviour and litter performance. The conventional system...

The literature concerning the relationship between animal welfare and housing in dairy cattle is reviewed in this article. Dairy cow housing was originally conceived as a temporary shelter when required, depending on climatic conditions, for the more at-risk animals. The increase in productivity in ...

The EU directive from 1999 banned cage housing for laying hens. Therefore farmers changed their system to alternatives e.g. floor pens. But within a short time period severe misbehaviour like feather pecking up to cannibalism has been found to be a major problem of such kind of housing. This study...

A stressful environment for sows during gestation can increase piglet mortality. The present study aimed to investigate a strategy of environment and diet enrichment to reduce maternal stress and its consequences on piglet mortality. Three treatments during gestation were compared: a conventional...

Freedom of movement for sows in the farrowing building is an approach that improves animal welfare. Many types of housing pens exist for sows and their piglets, and differ according to the area required, the type of flooring and the presence of protective components for the piglets. The study and...

Housing systems allowing piglets to familiarise with non-litter mates pre-weaning can reduce stress and aggression after weaning, thereby improving performances. Socialising piglets during the lactation period may also be beneficial from a welfare perspective. This study evaluated how socialising...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of two contrasted systems (fully slatted floor: CI vs litter bedding: LP), each including two housing conditions with a specific feeding system (groups of 4 to 8 sows with individual feeding stalls: RC vs groups of 24 sows with electronic feeding ...

The aim of the study was to compare the incidence of floor type: partly slatted floor (PSF) vs. fully slatted floor (FSF), on several welfare criteria in two experiments. In the first experiment, the stocking density was the same for all treatments (0.97 m²/pig). The second experiment considered...

Our study assess effects of rubber mats on sow locomotor disorders, body condition and reproduction performances. The mats were placed on lying areas of gestating sow crates. The study was performed on three commercial farms located in Brittany, France, on ten batches of sows housed in large static ...