Effects of cooled floor pads combined with chilled drinking water on behavior and performance of lactating sows under heat stress (original) (raw)
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Influence of thermal environment on sows around farrowing and during the lactation period
Journal of Animal Science, 2012
Our objective was to investigate the effects of fl oor heating duration (HEAT: 35°C for 12 or 48 h) after birth of fi rst piglet (BFP) under different room temperatures (ROOM: 15°C, 20°C, 25°C) on sows during farrowing and lactation. The study included 8 to 11 repetitions for each combination of ROOM and HEAT. There were no treatment effects on indicators of birth problems (duration of parturition, interbirth intervals, umbilical cord lactate concentration), BW changes of the sow, and litter size and weight until weaning. Sows at 15°C compared with 20°C and 25°C spent more time nest building (P = 0.015). The feed intake was reduced the fi rst 7 d after farrowing in sows at 25°C (P = 0.014); however, both daily feed intake (P = 0.018) and water consumption (P < 0.001) of these warm sows exceeded that at lower temperatures during the last part of the lactation. Sows at 15°C received more medical treatments until weaning at HEAT = 48 h only (ROOM and HEAT interaction, P = 0.005). Room temperature infl uenced prefarrowing water consumption (25°C > 20°C and 15°C; P < 0.017), sow surface temperature (15°C < 20°C < 25°C; P < 0.001), respiration rate (25°C > 20°C > 15°C; P < 0.001), and rectal temperature during the fi rst 12 h after BFP (15°C < 25°C; P = 0.009); additionally, long fl oor heating duration (HEAT = 48 h) increased the respiration rate by 50% d 1 and 2 after BFP (P < 0.001). The proportion of lying time on the unheated slatted fl oor increased with room temperature (P < 0.001) and, transiently, also for the HEAT = 48 h treatment 13 to 48 h after BFP (P < 0.001). The majority of piglets (82% to 95%) were born on the heated solid fl oor, regardless of room temperature (P = 0.46). Sows spent approximately twice as much time standing and walking at 15°C during 13 to 48 h after BFP at HEAT = 12 h only (ROOM and HEAT interaction; P = 0.002). In conclusion, long-term indicators of reduced sow performance were unaffected by room temperature, probably because the farrowing and lactating sows in the current pen design were able to perform thermoregulatory behavior and successfully adapt to room temperatures between 15°C and 25°C.
Effect of floor cooling on performance of lactating sows during summer
Livestock Science, 2006
Forty Landrace × Large White lactating sows were used to evaluate the effects of cooling of the floor when maintained under high temperature conditions during summer on their productive and reproductive performance. The sows were allocated in a completely randomized design with two treatments with 20 replicates according to parity number and body weight, with each animal being considered an experimental unit. The treatments consisted of cooling of the floor under the sow with water circulation at about 17°C and no cooling. The resulting temperatures of the floor were 27.6 and 35.8°C for the cooled and the control treatments, respectively. The sows from both treatments were exposed to average maximum and minimum environmental temperatures of 26.9 and 20.8°C, respectively. Sows maintained on a cooled floor had a higher feed intake (6.47 vs. 5.61 kg/day; P b 0.01). Despite this higher intake, sows maintained on a cooled floor had higher body weight and body protein losses during the lactation period (P b 0.01) in connection with a higher milk yield and subsequent growth of the litter (2280 vs. 1798 g/day; P b 0.01). There was an effect of treatment on rectal temperature, surface temperatures and respiratory rate (P b 0.01) with lower values in sows submitted to floor cooling. It is concluded that floor cooling under the lactating sow improves its productive and reproductive performance, as well as the performance of its litter.
Livestock Science, 2009
Fifty nine primiparous sows PIC Camborough 23 were distributed in a completely randomized 2 × 2 (with and without floor cooling × two dietary treatments) factorial design with 16 sows/treatment, each sow being considered as an experimental unit. Four replicates of sixteen sows each were used during the trial with the objective of evaluating the effects of floor cooling and the use of dietary amino acid contents on their performance and behaviour during summer. The sows were distributed among the treatments according to body weight and backfat thickness after farrowing. The sows were maintained in the experiment until weaning at 21 days of lactation. The two experimental diets supplied the same levels of crude protein (22%), metabolizable energy (ME; 14.65 MJ/kg) and levels of essential digestible AA relative to digestive lysine and differed according to the digestible lysine to ME ratio (0.75 vs. 0.82 g/MJ of ME). The temperature of the water circulating in the cooled floor was maintained at about 17°C. Based on the average minimum and maximum temperatures (21.5 and 29.5°C) obtained during the experimental trial, it can be assumed that the sows were exposed to periods of heat stress. The replicate and the interaction between replicate and treatment effects on all the measurements were not significant. Similarly, no effect of diet or interaction between diet and floor cooling system was found for all criteria measured. An effect (P b 0.05) of floor cooling on average daily feed intake was observed and floor cooling sows showed a higher average (P b 0.05) digestible lysine (61.5 vs. 51.8 g/d) and ME (78.2 vs. 65.9 MJ/d) intakes. The sows submitted to floor cooling showed, consistently, higher absolute values for average weight (+ 8.5 kg) and backfat (+ 0.75 mm) at weaning, compared with the control sows. The sows submitted to the cooled floor showed a shorter (P b 0.01) weaning-to-oestrus interval. The piglet and litter's daily weight gain (DWG), average weight at weaning (AWW) and total weight gain during lactation (TWG) were higher (P b 0.01) for the floor cooling sows. The floor cooling sows showed a higher (P b 0.01) daily milk production. The respiratory rate and rectal temperature values were lower (P b 0.01) for the floor cooling sows. There were differences (P b 0.01) on the cutaneous temperatures measured on the different parts of the sow's body, with the animals submitted to the cooled floor having lower values. The sows submitted to floor cooling spent less (P b 0.01) time in lateral recumbency inactive, more time nursing (P b 0.05) and more time feeding (P b 0.01) compared with control sows. The floor cooling under the sows increased daily feed intake and lysine intake, leading to a lower body weight loss, a lower weaning-to-oestrus interval and also improved nursing behaviour of the sows, leading to a higher milk production and, consequently, higher weight gains of piglets and litter during the lactation period.
Effect of floor cooling on late lactation sows under acute heat stress
Livestock Science, 2017
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The use of a heated floor area by sows and piglets in farrowing pens
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2007
Twenty-six sows housed in farrowing pens were observed from 5 days prior to until 5 days after parturition. Pens consisted of a resting area with solid concrete floor and an activity area with drained concrete floor. The sows were randomly distributed between two pen types: Pens where the floor of the resting area was heated to 34 8C (HEAT sows) and pens where the floor of the resting area was kept neutral (CONTROL sows). The average room temperature was 19.8 AE 0.8 8C. The lying position of the sows as well as posture of the sows were observed continuously and scan sampling was carried out every hour recording the position of the piglets. Thirteen sows chose to farrow in the resting area and 13 in the activity area with no significant difference between treatments. Sows that farrowed in the resting area were lying in the resting area for the majority of their lying time during the 5 days after the birth of the first piglet (BFP), whereas sows that farrowed in the activity area tended to lie more and more in the resting area in the days following parturition, the latter being significantly more pronounced for HEAT sows (F 10,177 = 1.92, P = 0.04). The number of postural changes was higher in CONTROL sows than in HEAT sows (F 1,20 = 7.67, P = 0.01), in particular on the day of parturition (day 0). In contrast, the duration of time the sows were active (standing/walking) did not differ significantly between HEAT and CONTROL sows on any days. The percentage of the litter resting without contact with the sow in the resting area increased over days for HEAT piglets whereas the percentage remained low for CONTROL piglets (F 4,79 = 4.95,P = 0.001). In conclusion, the percentage of sows that farrowed on the heated floor was unaffected by treatment. However, after parturition, both the sows and the piglets actively sought the heated floor.
Floor heating at farrowing in pens for loose-housed sows
Livestock Science, 2012
The effects of floor heating at parturition on sow and piglet behaviour in pens were examined 12 in a Danish production herd. A total of 50 gilts and sows were split into two groups; one 13 (n=25) experienced no treatment; one (n=25) was exposed to floor heating in the area of the 14 sow around parturition. The sows and piglets were recorded on video 24 hours a day for be-15 havioural analyses. 16
Drying and warming immediately after birth may reduce piglet mortality in loose-housed sows
animal, 2009
The aim of the present experiment was to investigate the effects of placing newborn piglets under the heat lamp or both drying and placing them under the heat lamp on piglet mortality. Sixty-seven healthy (Landrace × Yorkshire) sows were divided equally into three different experimental groups: a control group where the farrowings occurred without supervision from the farmer (C;n= 23 litters), another group where the piglets were placed under the heat lamp in the creep area immediately after birth (HL;n= 22 litters) and a third group where the piglets were dried with straw and paper towels followed by placing them under the heat lamp in the creep area immediately after birth (DHL;n= 22 litters). The sows were individually loose-housed in farrowing pens during farrowing and lactation. The piglets were not closed inside the creep area, but were free to move around in the pen. The routines in the experimental groups required the stock person to attend the farrowings from the onset of b...
Heat Loss in Lactating Sows under Different Ventilation Systems and Diets during Summer
2012 IX International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES IX), 2012
The experiment was conducted in a commercial farm and aimed to evaluate the heat loss and thermoregulation parameters from lactating sows under two ventilation system (natural or evaporative cooling) and two diets (natural or adjusted electrolyte balance) in the summer. Variables related to performance and thermal regulation were recorded during the 20-day lactation. Respiratory rate was recorded along with the recording of skin surface temperature and rectal temperature in the afternoon. Calculations were performed considering the heat exchange balance. Data were analyzed using Minitab 15 ® . Evaporative cooling led to a reduction (p<0.05) in respiratory rate, rectal temperature and skin surface temperature of the sows and increased the sow's heat loss. However, the dietary electrolyte balance did not cause significant difference in these variables. It was concluded that the use of evaporative cooling system helped to reduce heat effects on the sows' thermoregulation. In the diet with adequate nutritional levels for hot climates, the adjustment of the electrolyte balance did not show benefits in minimizing the effects of heat stress.
Resting Behavior of Piglets in Farrowing Crates Equipped with Heat Mats
Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 2005
In-barn tests were conducted to study the resting behavior of piglets on heat mats in swine farrowing crates. An environmentally controlled farrowing room was set at 215C (705F) to simulate winter conditions in farrowing barns. Two enlarged crates [1.94 y 2.13 m (6.4 y 7 ft)] were used in the tests and each crate had a 0.6-y 1.2-m (2-y 4-ft) electrically heated mat. Mat surface temperatures of 335C (915F) and 355C (955F) were tested. Resting patterns of piglets on heat mats were recorded on videotapes using a time-lapse VCR and were subsequently analyzed. Heat mats provided a comfortable thermal environment to piglets as a low degree of huddling (10%) was observed. A difference of 25C (3.65F) in mat temperature (335C vs. 355C) caused no differences in the resting behavior or growth of the piglets. Piglets spent more time nursing than resting on heat mats during the first 24 h after birth. Heat mat usage by piglets was high (>50%) from day 2 to 5 and it started to decrease thereafter, a result of less need for heat as piglets grow. The area occupied by piglets on the mat averaged 0.044 m 2 /pig (0.47 ft 2 /pig) and 0.074 m 2 /pig (0.80 ft 2 /pig) for 1-and 14-day old piglets, respectively. The dynamic heat mat use behavior of the piglets indicated that a mat size of 0.37 m 2 (4 ft 2 ), as typically used in current commercial production facilities, could accommodate most of the space needs of a litter of 12 piglets; but larger mats (e.g., 0.56 m 2 or 6 ft 2 ) would be advisable to ensure the well-being of piglets under unfavorable (cool or drafty) environmental conditions when the mat needs to accommodate the entire litter simultaneously.