Pol Françoise, Huneau-Salaün Adeline, Gallien Sarah, Ramonet Yannick, Rose Nicolas
Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort Laboratory, EPISABE Unit, ANSES, B.P. 53, 22440 Ploufragan, France.
Chambre Régionale D'agriculture de Bretagne, Pôle Porc, 22195 Plérin, France.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Jan 27;11(2):315. doi: 10.3390/ani11020315.
In barren housing conditions, enrichment materials are given to pigs to improve their welfare. Here, we assessed the suitability of an algae-based cylinder as an enrichment material on the behavioral, physiological, health and productivity welfare indicators of pigs. Algae was compared with metal chains and wood logs. The study involved 444 pigs from two successive batches on one single farm. During the suckling period, half of the pigs received algae and the control pigs received no material. After weaning and until the end of fattening, algae, wood or chains were equally distributed among the pigs. Consumption of algae cylinders was different between pens and between batches. After weaning and during the fattening period, although the results differed between batches, no significant difference was observed in the object manipulations. Salivary cortisol, used as biomarker to measure the stress levels after pig transfers, were similar between the treatments. Enrichment material made from algae had no negative effect on pig health and no effect on performance and body condition. Regarding their characteristics and according to Commission Recommendation (EU) 2016/336 classification, algae cylinders can be categorized as suboptimal enrichment materials, although the present results suggest that it does not significantly improve pig welfare compared to a metal chain, which is categorized as a material of marginal interest.
在贫瘠的饲养条件下，会给猪提供丰富材料以改善其福利。在此，我们评估了基于藻类的圆柱体作为丰富材料对猪的行为、生理、健康和生产性能福利指标的适用性。将藻类与金属链和木段进行了比较。该研究涉及来自一个农场连续两批的444头猪。在哺乳期，一半的猪接受藻类，对照猪不接受任何材料。断奶后直至育肥结束，藻类、木材或链条在猪群中平均分配。不同猪栏和批次之间藻类圆柱体的消耗量有所不同。断奶后和育肥期，尽管批次间结果有所差异，但在物体操控方面未观察到显著差异。用作测量猪转移后应激水平生物标志物的唾液皮质醇，在各处理组之间相似。由藻类制成的丰富材料对猪的健康没有负面影响，对生产性能和身体状况也没有影响。就其特性而言，根据欧盟委员会建议（EU）2016/336分类，藻类圆柱体可归类为次优丰富材料，尽管目前的结果表明，与被归类为兴趣不大的材料的金属链相比，它并没有显著改善猪的福利。
