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A note on the space use for excretory behaviour of suckling piglets
Animal Ethology, 9 (1982/83) 361-311 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands
Applied
361
Short Communication A NOTE ON THE SPACE USE FOR EXCRETORY BEHAVIOUR OF SUCKLING PIGLETS
J. CAROL PETHERICK The Scottish Farm Buildings Scotland (Gt. Britain)
(Accepted for publication
Investigation
Unit, Craibstone,
Bucksburn,
Aberdeen,
31 March 1982)
ABSTRACT Petherick, AppJ.
J.C., 1982. A note on the space use for excretory Anim.
EthoJ.,
behaviour of suckling piglets.
9: 367-371.
Observations were carried out on 8 Large White x Landrace sows and their litters housed in either large straw-bedded pens, or conventional farrowing pens with the sows restrained in crates. The animals were observed for periods during the 8 days following parturition. Piglets in both housing conditions used well-defined areas for excretion. Those housed in farrowing pens excreted standing close to a pen wall, and in particular in corners. Piglets in farrowing pens occasionally excreted in the creep area, but only in the first 2 days of life. Piglets housed in straw-bedded pens were never seen to excrete within the nest.
INTRODUCTION
The pig appears to be discriminating in its excretory behaviour if the environment allows its normal expression (Signoret et al., 1975). There are good economic and farm management reasons to exploit this tendency. Studying the young piglet may help us gain a better understanding of pig excretory behaviour, enabling us to exploit fully the pig’s apparent fastidiousness . The use of an area for excretion may be expected to influence, or be influenced by, the piglet’s use of space for resting. The young piglet is very susceptible to chilling (Mount, 1968,1979), and Ingram (1965) has shown that wallowing greatly increases the evaporative heat loss of pigs. In normal climatic conditions it would, therefore, be important to the young piglet to avoid resting and excreting in the same place. METHOD
Subjects 1983).
and housing were as described
0304~3762/83/0000-
0000/$03.00
o 1983
in a previous note (Petherick,
Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company
368
Observations The position noted on layout ence to excrete to a wall in the
in which urine and faeces were deposited by the piglets was plans of the pens. To determine if piglets showed a preferby a pen wall, a distance of 0.6 m was defined as being near straw-bedded pens and 0.1 m in the farrowing pens.
RESULTS
All piglets used certain areas of the pens for excretion more often than others (Figs. 1 and 2). The piglets housed in straw-bedded pens were never observed to excrete in the central part of the nest. Even when less than 24 h of age they would move out of the nest centre to the piled straw at the edge to excrete. In farrowing pens, most excretions occurred at the rear of the pens. The piglets usually excreted in corners, including the creep area on Days 1 and 2. I
15
27
0
22
18
10
4’ ‘0 --.
!
1 4
1y12
, L__.
_
16;
__-_E 2
5
6i17
5
6
:14/
2
11
._._-1 6
10
7
6
3
3
2
3
I 11
,‘12 I
2
I ‘\\ .,’
‘\
The broken
line indicates
The figures
indicate
the approximate
the number
Fig. 1. Areas used for excretion
I x,: boundary
of excretions in straw-bedded
that
of the nest site. occurred
in each plan section.
pens.
In the straw-bedded pens, the area within 0.6 m of a wall accounted for 42.2% of the pen area, and in the farrowing pens the area within 0.1 m of a wall was 19.0% of the total area. Thus, if the piglets were to excrete evenly throughout the pens one would expect 42.2% and 19.0% of the excretions to be near a pen wall in the straw-bedded pens and farrowing pens, respeetively. The average figures obtained were 43.0% in the straw-bedded pens and 96.1% in the farrowing pens. This indicates that the piglets in farrowing pens preferentially excreted near to a pen wall. DISCUSSION
The present study shows that piglets use well-defined areas for excretion. This has also been found for pigs by numerous other workers, for example
369
-<’ 0
0
6
r”
59
13
% excretions
6
8
% excretions
16
% excretions
in corners = 88.6
% excretions
in corners = 67.2
in corners = 71.5
.-_
I ‘316
’
5
11
16
24
in corners = 77.3
Average excretions
in corners for all groups =
The figures indicate the number of excretions
76.2% that occurred
in each plan section.
Fig. 2. Areas used for excretion in farrowing-pens.
(1975), Signoret et al. (1975), Wittmann and Papp (1976), Fraser (1980).and Baxter (1981). In farrowing pens, the piglets usually excreted near to a wall and parti#arly in the pen corners. This latter finding is in agreement with Pflug (1976) and Whatson (1978). A previous study by Baxter (1981) has shown that fattening pigs also tend to excrete near to a pen wall and orientate parallel to, or with their hindquarters towards: the wall. Baxter suggests that during excretion a pig feels vulnerable to being knocked over or attacked by other pigs and will consequently select a secure site in which to excrete. Whatson (1978), however,, says that proximity of other piglets does not affect the choice of excretory site. The data from piglets in farrowing pens in the present study supports the theory of Baxter, but that from the strawbedded pens does not. It is suggested that the reason for the difference Fritschen
370
between the 2 housing conditions was due to differences in area available to the piglets. Those in far-rowing pens had approximately one sixth of the area for approximately the same number of individuals. Therefore, to find a secure site away from other pigs, they would have to go to the limit of their area, i.e. against a wall, which would also afford some physical protection. For piglets in the straw-bedded pens to reach a wall would mean they may have had to walk further, and it is possible that there would be no necessity for them to go to a wall to find a secure site. The present study also showed that piglets usually avoided excreting in their resting area. Piglets in straw-bedded pens were never seen to excrete in the nest hollow, whereas those in farrowing pens excreted in the creep area for the first 2 days of life. Whatson (1978), however, found that piglets of less than 3 days of age did not appear to_ prefer or avoid any particular site in the pen, but later avoided their sleeping area. Pflug (1976) also found that piglets housed in farrowing pens did not start to leave the creep area to excrete until the end of Day 2. This suggests that piglets of less than 2 days of age have not formed an association between the creep area and its use as a resting site. In the present study, the creep area was in a pen corner and to some piglets it appeared to be another secure site in which to excrete. SUMMARY
AND CONCLUSIONS
Piglets housed in straw-bedded and farrowing pens used well-defined areas for excretion and generally avoided excreting in the area used for resting. Those housed in farrowing pens excreted near to pen walls, particularly in corners. This behaviour could be exploited to keep farrowing pens clean by having perforated floors around the pen perimeter. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This Council burgh) animals
research was supported by a grant from the Agricultural Research (U.K.). I thank Mr. E.A. Hunter (A.R.C. Unit of Statistics, Edinfor his advice on data analysis, Mr. E.H. Auton for supplying the and the staff of S.F.B.I.U. for their assistance and encouragement.
REFERENCES Baxter, M.R., 1982. Environmental determinants of excretory and lying areas in domestic pigs (abstract). Appl. Anim. Ethol., 9: 195. Fraser, A.F., 1980. Farm Animal Behaviour. 2nd ed. Bailliere Tindall, London, 291 pp. Fritschen, R., 1975. Toilet training pigs on partially slotted floors. Neb Guide G 74-140, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Ingram, D.L., 1965. Evaporative cooling in the pig. Nature (London), 207: 415-416. Mount, L.E., 1968. The Climatic Physiology of the Pig. Edward Arnold, London, 271 pp. Mount, L.E., 1979. Adaptation to Thermal Environment. Edward Arnold, London, 333 PP.
371 Petherick, J.C., 1983. A note on nursing termination and resting behaviour of suckling pigs. Appl. Anim. Ethol., in press. Pflug, R., 1967. Geburtsverhalten von Sauen und Verhaltensweisen ihrer Ferkel in Abhiingigkeit haltungs- und Klimatechnischer Bedingungen neuzeitlicher Abferkelstalle Kuratorium fur Technikund Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft. Paper 208. MiinsterHiltrup KTBL - Schriften - Vertrieb. Signoret, J.P., Baldwin, B.A., Fraser, D. and Hafez, E.S.E., 1975. The behaviour of swine. In: E.S.E. Hafez (Editor), The Behaviour of Domestic Animals. Bailliere Tindall, London, 532 pp. Whatson, T.S., 1978. The development of dunging preferences in piglets. Appl. Anim. Ethol., 4: 293 (abstract). Witmann, M. and Papp, J., 1967. Role of the installation of swine pens on formation of dunging area. 27th Annu. Meet., Eur. Assoc. Anim. Prod., Zurich, 23-26 August.
Applied
361
Short Communication A NOTE ON THE SPACE USE FOR EXCRETORY BEHAVIOUR OF SUCKLING PIGLETS
J. CAROL PETHERICK The Scottish Farm Buildings Scotland (Gt. Britain)
(Accepted for publication
Investigation
Unit, Craibstone,
Bucksburn,
Aberdeen,
31 March 1982)
ABSTRACT Petherick, AppJ.
J.C., 1982. A note on the space use for excretory Anim.
EthoJ.,
behaviour of suckling piglets.
9: 367-371.
Observations were carried out on 8 Large White x Landrace sows and their litters housed in either large straw-bedded pens, or conventional farrowing pens with the sows restrained in crates. The animals were observed for periods during the 8 days following parturition. Piglets in both housing conditions used well-defined areas for excretion. Those housed in farrowing pens excreted standing close to a pen wall, and in particular in corners. Piglets in farrowing pens occasionally excreted in the creep area, but only in the first 2 days of life. Piglets housed in straw-bedded pens were never seen to excrete within the nest.
INTRODUCTION
The pig appears to be discriminating in its excretory behaviour if the environment allows its normal expression (Signoret et al., 1975). There are good economic and farm management reasons to exploit this tendency. Studying the young piglet may help us gain a better understanding of pig excretory behaviour, enabling us to exploit fully the pig’s apparent fastidiousness . The use of an area for excretion may be expected to influence, or be influenced by, the piglet’s use of space for resting. The young piglet is very susceptible to chilling (Mount, 1968,1979), and Ingram (1965) has shown that wallowing greatly increases the evaporative heat loss of pigs. In normal climatic conditions it would, therefore, be important to the young piglet to avoid resting and excreting in the same place. METHOD
Subjects 1983).
and housing were as described
0304~3762/83/0000-
0000/$03.00
o 1983
in a previous note (Petherick,
Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company
368
Observations The position noted on layout ence to excrete to a wall in the
in which urine and faeces were deposited by the piglets was plans of the pens. To determine if piglets showed a preferby a pen wall, a distance of 0.6 m was defined as being near straw-bedded pens and 0.1 m in the farrowing pens.
RESULTS
All piglets used certain areas of the pens for excretion more often than others (Figs. 1 and 2). The piglets housed in straw-bedded pens were never observed to excrete in the central part of the nest. Even when less than 24 h of age they would move out of the nest centre to the piled straw at the edge to excrete. In farrowing pens, most excretions occurred at the rear of the pens. The piglets usually excreted in corners, including the creep area on Days 1 and 2. I
15
27
0
22
18
10
4’ ‘0 --.
!
1 4
1y12
, L__.
_
16;
__-_E 2
5
6i17
5
6
:14/
2
11
._._-1 6
10
7
6
3
3
2
3
I 11
,‘12 I
2
I ‘\\ .,’
‘\
The broken
line indicates
The figures
indicate
the approximate
the number
Fig. 1. Areas used for excretion
I x,: boundary
of excretions in straw-bedded
that
of the nest site. occurred
in each plan section.
pens.
In the straw-bedded pens, the area within 0.6 m of a wall accounted for 42.2% of the pen area, and in the farrowing pens the area within 0.1 m of a wall was 19.0% of the total area. Thus, if the piglets were to excrete evenly throughout the pens one would expect 42.2% and 19.0% of the excretions to be near a pen wall in the straw-bedded pens and farrowing pens, respeetively. The average figures obtained were 43.0% in the straw-bedded pens and 96.1% in the farrowing pens. This indicates that the piglets in farrowing pens preferentially excreted near to a pen wall. DISCUSSION
The present study shows that piglets use well-defined areas for excretion. This has also been found for pigs by numerous other workers, for example
369
-<’ 0
0
6
r”
59
13
% excretions
6
8
% excretions
16
% excretions
in corners = 88.6
% excretions
in corners = 67.2
in corners = 71.5
.-_
I ‘316
’
5
11
16
24
in corners = 77.3
Average excretions
in corners for all groups =
The figures indicate the number of excretions
76.2% that occurred
in each plan section.
Fig. 2. Areas used for excretion in farrowing-pens.
(1975), Signoret et al. (1975), Wittmann and Papp (1976), Fraser (1980).and Baxter (1981). In farrowing pens, the piglets usually excreted near to a wall and parti#arly in the pen corners. This latter finding is in agreement with Pflug (1976) and Whatson (1978). A previous study by Baxter (1981) has shown that fattening pigs also tend to excrete near to a pen wall and orientate parallel to, or with their hindquarters towards: the wall. Baxter suggests that during excretion a pig feels vulnerable to being knocked over or attacked by other pigs and will consequently select a secure site in which to excrete. Whatson (1978), however,, says that proximity of other piglets does not affect the choice of excretory site. The data from piglets in farrowing pens in the present study supports the theory of Baxter, but that from the strawbedded pens does not. It is suggested that the reason for the difference Fritschen
370
between the 2 housing conditions was due to differences in area available to the piglets. Those in far-rowing pens had approximately one sixth of the area for approximately the same number of individuals. Therefore, to find a secure site away from other pigs, they would have to go to the limit of their area, i.e. against a wall, which would also afford some physical protection. For piglets in the straw-bedded pens to reach a wall would mean they may have had to walk further, and it is possible that there would be no necessity for them to go to a wall to find a secure site. The present study also showed that piglets usually avoided excreting in their resting area. Piglets in straw-bedded pens were never seen to excrete in the nest hollow, whereas those in farrowing pens excreted in the creep area for the first 2 days of life. Whatson (1978), however, found that piglets of less than 3 days of age did not appear to_ prefer or avoid any particular site in the pen, but later avoided their sleeping area. Pflug (1976) also found that piglets housed in farrowing pens did not start to leave the creep area to excrete until the end of Day 2. This suggests that piglets of less than 2 days of age have not formed an association between the creep area and its use as a resting site. In the present study, the creep area was in a pen corner and to some piglets it appeared to be another secure site in which to excrete. SUMMARY
AND CONCLUSIONS
Piglets housed in straw-bedded and farrowing pens used well-defined areas for excretion and generally avoided excreting in the area used for resting. Those housed in farrowing pens excreted near to pen walls, particularly in corners. This behaviour could be exploited to keep farrowing pens clean by having perforated floors around the pen perimeter. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This Council burgh) animals
research was supported by a grant from the Agricultural Research (U.K.). I thank Mr. E.A. Hunter (A.R.C. Unit of Statistics, Edinfor his advice on data analysis, Mr. E.H. Auton for supplying the and the staff of S.F.B.I.U. for their assistance and encouragement.
REFERENCES Baxter, M.R., 1982. Environmental determinants of excretory and lying areas in domestic pigs (abstract). Appl. Anim. Ethol., 9: 195. Fraser, A.F., 1980. Farm Animal Behaviour. 2nd ed. Bailliere Tindall, London, 291 pp. Fritschen, R., 1975. Toilet training pigs on partially slotted floors. Neb Guide G 74-140, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Ingram, D.L., 1965. Evaporative cooling in the pig. Nature (London), 207: 415-416. Mount, L.E., 1968. The Climatic Physiology of the Pig. Edward Arnold, London, 271 pp. Mount, L.E., 1979. Adaptation to Thermal Environment. Edward Arnold, London, 333 PP.
371 Petherick, J.C., 1983. A note on nursing termination and resting behaviour of suckling pigs. Appl. Anim. Ethol., in press. Pflug, R., 1967. Geburtsverhalten von Sauen und Verhaltensweisen ihrer Ferkel in Abhiingigkeit haltungs- und Klimatechnischer Bedingungen neuzeitlicher Abferkelstalle Kuratorium fur Technikund Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft. Paper 208. MiinsterHiltrup KTBL - Schriften - Vertrieb. Signoret, J.P., Baldwin, B.A., Fraser, D. and Hafez, E.S.E., 1975. The behaviour of swine. In: E.S.E. Hafez (Editor), The Behaviour of Domestic Animals. Bailliere Tindall, London, 532 pp. Whatson, T.S., 1978. The development of dunging preferences in piglets. Appl. Anim. Ethol., 4: 293 (abstract). Witmann, M. and Papp, J., 1967. Role of the installation of swine pens on formation of dunging area. 27th Annu. Meet., Eur. Assoc. Anim. Prod., Zurich, 23-26 August.