Effects of detachable farrowing crate on movement and lying of sows

In order to study the effects of different farrowing crates on sows’ behavior, the detachable farrowing crate (DFC) was designed and compared to the conventional rectangular farrowing crate (RFC) with regard to its effect on sows’ behavior and productivity of sows and piglets. Four landrace sows farrowed in each system. Feed intake by a sow per day and the average daily gain of piglets were recorded. Behavior was videotaped on the 9th, 11th, 14th and 18th day of lactation. The results showed that compared to RFC sows, DFC sows spent more time on standing (22.74% vs. 6.73%) and less time on sitting(2.22% vs. 7.72%) and lying(72.50% vs. 84.55%), DFC sows also spent 1.13% time on walking, RFC sows couldn’t walk. During lactation DFC sows changed posture more often than RFC sows (99 vs. 53). Feed intake by a sow per day in the detachable farrowing crate was more than that in the rectangular farrowing crates, 5.92 kg and 5.24 kg, respectively. The average daily gain of piglets were 229.93 g/d and 224.85 g/d in the detachable farrowing crates and the rectangular farrowing crates respectively. The detachable farrowing crates made more space for sows movement, and sows could express their behavior randomly, thus welfare of sows was improved, feed take of sows and the average daily gain of piglets were increased consequently, production performance of sows were increased.