Browsing by Subject "Housing system"

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Bewertung praxisüblicher Mastschweinehaltungen in Nordrhein-Westfalen hinsichtlich der Tiergerechtheit
(2002) Zaludik, Katrina; Valle Zárate, Anne
The aim of this study was to assess animal welfare in conventional fattening pig systems. Development of means to improve animal welfare shall put the producer in a position to structure the production more in line with consumer requirements. To carry out this assessment the data of 100 fattening pig farms in North-Rhine Westphalia have been analysed. The study comprises of two parts, firstly the collection of operational data and data of housingsystems, and secondly behaviour investigations. In the analysis of the farm data it was found that, particularly in farms with slatted systems important points of the SVHO (1995) were not followed. Deficits were found in space allowance, dimensions of the slatted floors, drinking systems and objects for occupation. Problems apparent in all housing systems were mainly caused by climatic conditions and lighting. In the observational data the most frequent observation was the lying behaviour. This was significantly lower in deep litter systems. The values for the lying behaviour were in line with the figures quoted in the literature for intensively kept pigs. Animals on farms with straw systems, were significantly more active than animals on farms with fully slatted floors, due to the incentives given by the availability of straw. In slatted floor systems the manipulation of penmate and occupational objects were much higher represented in the total behaviour than in straw systems. Abnormal behaviour was found in all housing systems, however only in small amounts. At the end of this study suggestions for ways of improvement were made specific to the relevant husbandry systems, which included housing as well as management factors.
Untersuchungen zum Einfluss eines Auslaufes in einer strukturierten Bodenhaltung auf ethologische, klinische und leistungsbezogene Parameter bei Mastkaninchen
(2014) Woodrow, Julia; Reiter, Klaus
The aim of the study was to investigate and evaluate the effect of a covered outdoor run in a structured pen housing system, on both ethological and clinical parameters as well as productive performance of growing rabbits. During this study new insights were gained into the use of the outdoor runs as well as into the optimization of the slaughter age, taking the frequency and severity of sexual and aggression based injuries as well as the productive performance of the bucks into account. 960 hybrid rabbits were used for this study over four experiments. During the first and second experiments the type of housing was primary investigated in male and female groups. In the third and fourth experiment only bucks were housed and the slaughter date was varied between 11, 12 and 13 weeks of age. Each group consisted of 24 animals, with an available space of 1275 cm2 per animal in the structured pen housing system. Rabbits with access to an outdoor run had an available area of 2317 cm2. The animals were weaned at an age of 5 weeks and assigned into the housing systems, where they remained to a maximum age of 13 weeks. The pen housing system had fully perforated plastic flooring and was structured with raised platforms, gnawing sticks and racks for straw and hay. The runs were littered. The ethological parameters collected during this study included information of the use of the outside run with RFID technique as well as the observed behaviour monitored and recorded via video cameras. The clinical parameters captured the mortality and the aggression related injuries as well as the blood tests. Additionally the productive performance was measured and the carcass traits were analysed. The experiments showed that the rabbits spent on average two hours a day in the run. 95% of the rabbits visited the run at least once during the day. The use of the outdoor run was lower during the winter months when the temperatures were lower in comparison to the spring and summer. The penned housing system with access to an outdoor run had a positive impact, as higher levels of slow movement were observed during all four experiments in this type of system. In comparison fast movements were shown rarely and there was no difference in regards to behaviour between the housing systems. When using sawdust as a litter in the run there was no significant difference in the exploratory behaviour between the two housing systems. The use of straw however had a positive impact on the occurrences of exploratory behaviour in the groups held in the pen housing system with an outside run. The frequency of sexual and aggressive behaviour resulting in injuries was significantly higher in the male rabbits in contrast to the female. There was a continual increase in the sexual and aggressive behaviour of the bucks observed between the age of 8 and 13 weeks. The mortality varied between the different experiments as well as individual groups. Over the course of all the experiments the average mortality was 9.5% for the animals held in the pen housing system and 13.0% of the animals held in the system with additional outdoor run. Over all four experiments the housing system showed no significant effect on the mortality. The percentage of injured rabbits increased from the 10th to the 13th week of age for both the males as well as the females. However at an age of 12 weeks a significantly higher number of bucks were injured in comparison to female rabbits. The percentage of heavily injured bucks increased on average over all four experiments from 0.2% at 10 weeks of age to 6.2% at 13 weeks of age. However the pen housing system with an outdoor run showed significantly lower numbers of heavy injured bucks in comparison to the groups with no access to an outdoor run at an age of 13 weeks. The productive performance did not significantly differ across all four experiments when considering the structured pen housing systems with or without an outdoor run. The daily weight gain of the male rabbits increased and peaked at the age of eight weeks where it held till ten weeks and then began to decrease again. The weight gain was the lowest and the feed conversion at its worst between 12 and 13 weeks of age. The carcass traits of the bucks were not influenced by the housing system at all three slaughtering ages. The absolute weights of the back and the hind legs did not differ significantly between 12 and 13 weeks of age. The structured pen housing system with an outdoor run has a positive effect on the welfare of the animals and is an alternative to the housing in cages. A covered outdoor run in the structured pen housing system is positive in regards to animal welfare. With an earlier slaughtering age of bucks with 12 weeks, the frequency and severity of animal welfare specific injuries were reduced whilst maintaining the same carcass quality and reducing the economic effect of lower growth performance within the last fattening week.
Vergleich von zwei Haltungssystemen für Mastschweine mit unterschiedlichen Lüftungsprinzipien - Stallklima und Emissionen
(2003) Gallmann, Eva; Jungbluth, Thomas
The main goal of this work was to carry out a system comparison of two different housing systems for fattening pigs with regard to indoor climate and the gas emission and to derive a corresponding data basis in the frame of long-term measurements with a high temporal resolution. The housing systems to be compared were a conventional stable with fully slatted floor and a conversion solution designed as a kennel housing system with natural ventilation. The system comparison of the two different housing systems for fattening pigs was carried out in two spatially separated compartments of the experimental pig facility for fattening pigs in Hohenheim. During the investigations the conventional practical housing system served as reference system and featured fully slatted floor, six small groups with nine pigs each, forced ventilation with underfloor extraction. As comparison system a conversion solution for forced ventilated pig houses was developed and realized. It was designed as a kennel housing system with separate climatic areas and with natural ventilation. The kennel housing system consisted of two larger animal groups with 24 pigs each, it showed slatted floor at the activity area and a level concrete covered lying area for resting. The natural ventilation system in the kennel housing system was designed as a gravity shaft system with an additional, solar-powered fan in one chimney for optional supporting ventilation. No differences between the housing systems existed concerning feeding (sensor liquid feeding, four-phases nutrient adjusted feeding), occupation, demanuring, stocking management (all in - all out) and the animals origin. The relevant measuring parameters for evaluating the indoor climate and gas emissions as temperature, humidity, ventilation rate, gas concentrations (NH3, CO2, CH4), animal activity, wind speed and wind direction were registered with a high temporal resolution. In addition at regular intervals also manure samples were analysed, dust concentration measurements were carried out as well as data concerning the floor soiling, the animal weight, weight gain and feed conversion ratio were documented. Between the housing systems "fully slatted floor, forced ventilation (FSF)" and "kennel housing, natural ventilation (KN)" a clear difference existed concerning the indoor climate mainly due to the different ventilation systems. At both housing systems the indoor concentrations of NH3, CO2 and CH4 were acceptable, but at the same time lower at system KN than at system FSF, so it can be concluded, that the air exchange in the animals area was sufficient. Inside the kennels of the system KN the air quality was strongly dependent on the soiling with animals´ droppings, especially during warm days, when the pigs tend to switch the functional areas. Depending on the temperature and given the lower resting area requirements of the younger animals, some of the covered resting areas were heavily soiled. The indoor dust concentrations (PM 10; PM 2,5; PM 1,0) were during all measurements about two third lower at system KN than at system FSF. For all data sets a negative correlation between dust concentration and air flow rate per livestock unit LU (500 kg live weight) was determined. At both housing systems the dust concentrations during feeding were due to the increased animal activity two to six times higher than between the feeding times. Comparing the mean emission rates of NH3, CO2 und CH4, significant differences between the housing systems with entirely lower emission rates of the natural ventilated system KN were found during all four fattening periods under investigation. Due to manifold dynamic interrelations between the different influencing factors on the emissions at such complex systems as animal houses, also significant differences between the fattening periods within one housing systems were found. Therefore a seasonal effect on the emissions could not be proven on basis of the gained data sets. Considering both the daily mean values and typical daily courses of the gas emissions, different relationships between air flow rate, exhaust air concentration and emission were found between the two housing systems. At the forced ventilated housing system FSF as a result of increasing air flow rates the exhaust air concentrations were lowered (diluting effect) but the emissions raised up. At the natural ventilated housing system KN the relations were not always clear or opposite effects were observed. Increasing air flow rates resulted partly in just as increased exhaust air concentrations but following lower emissions. At both housing systems short emissions peaks of NH3 and CO2 can be explained by an increased animal activity during feeding.