Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs

Abstract The grower-finisher stage accounts for 64% of the total on-farm herd water use. Part of this is consumed by the pigs, but a part is also wasted. Drinking water usage and wastage is affected by different factors. We investigated how different group sizes and different levels of enrichment af...

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Autores principales:	Shilpi Misra, Eddie A. M. Bokkers, John Upton, Amy J. Quinn, Keelin O’Driscoll
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5056ed5c84ee465e804a99b029947726
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5056ed5c84ee465e804a99b0299477262021-12-02T18:50:53ZEffect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs10.1038/s41598-021-95880-02045-2322https://doaj.org/article/5056ed5c84ee465e804a99b0299477262021-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95880-0https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The grower-finisher stage accounts for 64% of the total on-farm herd water use. Part of this is consumed by the pigs, but a part is also wasted. Drinking water usage and wastage is affected by different factors. We investigated how different group sizes and different levels of enrichment affect water usage (ingested plus wasted), water wastage, behavior and performance in grower-finisher pigs. Pigs (n = 672), 11 weeks of age (77 ± 2 days) were used for the experiment. The effect of group size: SMALL (12 pigs), MEDIUM (24 pigs), and LARGE (48 pigs) was assessed across two levels of enrichment (LOW—wooden post, hanging rubber toy, HIGH—Same as LOW + fresh grass). There was no effect of group size on water use or wastage. Pigs with HIGH enrichment (10.4 ± 0.4 L/pig/day) used less water than LOW enrichment (11.0 ± 0.4 L/pig/day; p < 0.001). The water wastage/drinker/hour was lower in pens with HIGH enrichment than LOW (p = 0.003). The drinking bout number (p = 0.037) and total occupancy/hour (p = 0.048) was also higher for pens with LOW than HIGH enrichment. Aggressive and harmful behaviour were performed less in LARGE groups and pens with HIGH enrichment. Thus, HIGH enrichment allowance reduced water usage and wastage so may have benefits for the environment, as well as animal welfare.Shilpi MisraEddie A. M. BokkersJohn UptonAmy J. QuinnKeelin O’DriscollNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Shilpi Misra Eddie A. M. Bokkers John Upton Amy J. Quinn Keelin O’Driscoll Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs
description	Abstract The grower-finisher stage accounts for 64% of the total on-farm herd water use. Part of this is consumed by the pigs, but a part is also wasted. Drinking water usage and wastage is affected by different factors. We investigated how different group sizes and different levels of enrichment affect water usage (ingested plus wasted), water wastage, behavior and performance in grower-finisher pigs. Pigs (n = 672), 11 weeks of age (77 ± 2 days) were used for the experiment. The effect of group size: SMALL (12 pigs), MEDIUM (24 pigs), and LARGE (48 pigs) was assessed across two levels of enrichment (LOW—wooden post, hanging rubber toy, HIGH—Same as LOW + fresh grass). There was no effect of group size on water use or wastage. Pigs with HIGH enrichment (10.4 ± 0.4 L/pig/day) used less water than LOW enrichment (11.0 ± 0.4 L/pig/day; p < 0.001). The water wastage/drinker/hour was lower in pens with HIGH enrichment than LOW (p = 0.003). The drinking bout number (p = 0.037) and total occupancy/hour (p = 0.048) was also higher for pens with LOW than HIGH enrichment. Aggressive and harmful behaviour were performed less in LARGE groups and pens with HIGH enrichment. Thus, HIGH enrichment allowance reduced water usage and wastage so may have benefits for the environment, as well as animal welfare.
format	article
author	Shilpi Misra Eddie A. M. Bokkers John Upton Amy J. Quinn Keelin O’Driscoll
author_facet	Shilpi Misra Eddie A. M. Bokkers John Upton Amy J. Quinn Keelin O’Driscoll
author_sort	Shilpi Misra
title	Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs
title_short	Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs
title_full	Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs
title_fullStr	Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs
title_full_unstemmed	Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs
title_sort	effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/5056ed5c84ee465e804a99b029947726
work_keys_str_mv	AT shilpimisra effectofenvironmentalenrichmentandgroupsizeonthewateruseandwasteingrowerfinisherpigs AT eddieambokkers effectofenvironmentalenrichmentandgroupsizeonthewateruseandwasteingrowerfinisherpigs AT johnupton effectofenvironmentalenrichmentandgroupsizeonthewateruseandwasteingrowerfinisherpigs AT amyjquinn effectofenvironmentalenrichmentandgroupsizeonthewateruseandwasteingrowerfinisherpigs AT keelinodriscoll effectofenvironmentalenrichmentandgroupsizeonthewateruseandwasteingrowerfinisherpigs
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Effect of environmental enrichment and group size on the water use and waste in grower-finisher pigs

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