Maes Dominiek, Pluym Liesbet, Peltoniemi Olli
Unit of Porcine Health Management, Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
Present address: Belpork vzw, Koning Albert II-laan 35 Bus 54, 1030 Brussels, Belgium.
Porcine Health Manag. 2016 Jul 1;2:17. doi: 10.1186/s40813-016-0032-3. eCollection 2016.
Group housing of sows during gestation is mandatory in the EU since 2013. Compared to housing in individual crates, group housing allows the animals to express normal activity and behavior. The present paper discusses the impact of group housing on health, with emphasis on lameness, aggression and possible spread of infectious diseases. The prevalence of lameness is generally higher in sows housed in group than in sows housed individually. Floor space per sow, group size, pen design and flooring are the main factors of group housing involved in lameness development. Especially floor characteristics are important, and particular attention should be paid to the type, building material and quality of the floor, hygiene and the use of bedding such as straw or rubber mats. Aggression between sows is another critical issue in group housing systems. It occurs predominantly because of competition for access to a limited resource, or to establish a social hierarchy. Key factors to prevent aggression in group housing include gradual familiarization of unfamiliar animals, sufficient space and pen structure during initial mixing, minimizing opportunities for dominant sows to steal food from subordinates, provision of a good quality floor, environmental enrichment and use of straw bedding. Very scarce evidence-based information is available on the relationship between group housing and infectious disease. Compared to individual housing, sows in group housing have more nose-to-nose contact, and they have more oral contact with feces and urine. These factors could contribute to a higher or faster transmission of pathogens, but so far, there is no evidence showing more disease problems in group housing systems. In conclusion, in group housing systems, particular attention should be paid to prevention of lameness and aggression. Management is crucial but also feeding strategies, floor and bedding, and design of housing are very important as relatively minor adjustments may exert major effects on the animals.
自2013年起，欧盟强制要求母猪在妊娠期实行群体饲养。与个体限位栏饲养相比，群体饲养能让母猪表现出正常的活动和行为。本文讨论了群体饲养对健康的影响，重点关注跛足、攻击行为以及传染病的可能传播。群体饲养的母猪中跛足的发生率通常高于个体饲养的母猪。每头母猪的占地面积、群体规模、猪栏设计和地面材质是与跛足发生相关的群体饲养的主要因素。特别是地面特性很重要，应特别注意地面的类型、建筑材料和质量、卫生状况以及稻草或橡胶垫等垫料的使用。母猪之间的攻击行为是群体饲养系统中的另一个关键问题。其主要发生原因是争夺有限资源或建立社会等级制度。防止群体饲养中攻击行为的关键因素包括让不熟悉的动物逐渐熟悉、初次混群时提供足够的空间和猪栏结构、尽量减少占主导地位的母猪从从属母猪那里偷食的机会、提供优质地面、环境丰富化以及使用稻草垫料。关于群体饲养与传染病之间的关系，基于证据的信息非常匮乏。与个体饲养相比，群体饲养的母猪鼻对鼻接触更多，且与粪便和尿液的口腔接触更多。这些因素可能导致病原体传播更快或更多，但到目前为止，没有证据表明群体饲养系统中存在更多疾病问题。总之，在群体饲养系统中，应特别注意预防跛足和攻击行为。管理至关重要，但饲养策略、地面和垫料以及猪舍设计也非常重要，因为相对较小的调整可能对动物产生重大影响。
