|
According to Dr. Harold W. Gonyou, a researcher
and animal behavior expert at the Prairie Swine Centre, Inc.,
Saskatoon, SK, pigs in large groups are more socially tolerant
than pigs in smaller, traditional pens such as those with
25 pigs. Dr. Gonyou says pigs raised in large pens are less
likely to fight or create social structures.
"You can take a pig from one large
group and move it to another group and see little conflict
and aggression," he says.
A large pen can also improve a pig’s
immediate environment. “They allow the pigs to do a
better job in picking where they want to eat or sleep. For
example, on a hot, breezy day, they may want to lay out on
the edge of the barn, near the curtains,” says Dr.
Gonyou. “The pigs can do a better job choosing their
microenvironment.”
One of the presumed drawbacks to large
pens without automatic sorting has been the difficulty of
handling pigs. Barns designed with minimal alleyways and
sorting scales make it easier to manage a large number of
pigs, according to Gonyou. “The key to easy handling
is a good facility design, and automatic sorting can be a
part of that,” says Gonyou. |
Return
