Housing

There are a variety of production systems that are used in industry today. There is no one ideal system in which the facility alone can meet all of the needs of the animal. The single most important factor in addressing the welfare of animals is the husbandry skills of the producer and stock handlers. Current housing systems are continuously evolving to improve efficiency, herd health and productivity. Our farmers are committed to developing new alternatives and providing for increased welfare and comfort for their pigs. Every year, over half a million dollars is invested in pig welfare research by APL.

Housing systems for pigs from birth to weaning and for lactating and weaned sows are generally managed on an all-in all-out basis, keeping pigs of similar age within a common environment. There should be provision for the cleaning and disinfection of each section between each batch of pigs. This is a major component in disease control and hence good welfare.

The four main options for housing pigs are:

• Indoor cement and/or slatted floored individual pens (note that only sows and boars are housed in individual pens);
• Indoor cement and/or slatted floored group pens with various individual or group feeding systems – partial feeding stalls, electronic feeding stations, trickle and floor feeding etc;

• Indoor large open-sided sheds, hoop-like structures, with deep litter flooring (rice hulls, straw, sawdust or similar), sometimes referred to generically as ‘deep litter housing” accommodating compatible groups of pigs. They are used extensively for growing pigs and for group housing of dry sows; or

• Outdoor paddocks, which include rooting areas, wallows, and kennels/huts for shelter (free range). These systems are only suitable for certain parts of the country and pose disease risks and a risk to the environment if not carefully controlled.

Gestation Stalls: Why Individual Housing Is Important

What is a Gestation Stall?

In Australia, the dominant system for housing sows for all or part of their gestation is in individual stalls. Pigs can be aggressive animals and aggression between sows increases in the early stage of pregnancy. During this vulnerable time, individual housing is the best way to ensure sows are getting ford and are totally protected from bullying, bites, injuries an =d the increased chance of miscarrying their babies.  For these reasons, stalls have been widely adopted by industry since they provide a controlled feeding environment, reduce aggression between sows and deliver a superior reproductive performance. A sow stall is a metal-barred area that houses a single gestating (non-lactating) sow during the crucial stage of embryo development during her pregnancy. Sow stalls are installed in long rows within a shed with an access way between each row. The floor of the stall is usually concrete with a slatted covered trench for drainage at the rear. A standard sow stall is approximately 2 m long and 60 cm wide but sizes vary. This provides enough space for the sow to lie down, stand up and move back and forth, but not enough to walk or turn around. The flooring within the stall is generally concrete, with a concrete slat section over a portion for waste disposal. While pigs are very social animals, they are also aggressive animals – when housed in pens as a group, they establish an order of dominance. Pigs at the lower end of the pecking order can suffer severe bites from the more dominant animals resulting in subordinates having less access to food. Gestation stalls are one way in which farmers can provide more individual attention to pregnant sows as well as provide protection from dominant pigs during the vulnerable time of pregnancy. See this short video of sows in groups determining dominance.

In the gestation area, sow health is monitored daily. Sows are fed individually and offered water regularly. The stalls are cleaned daily. They can lie down comfortably, stand up or sit and walk a few steps forward and back.

Sow stalls are humane and beneficial to the animals as they improve sow health, feeding, management and efficiency. The main disadvantage of sow stalls is that they restrict exercise opportunities for the sow. Animals can lie down, stand up and move back and forth, they do not have space to walk or turn around. While this system has many benefits, there are potential welfare implications which are being researched.

Scientific evidence on the use of gestation stalls indicates that they provide clear and measurable benefits in animal welfare and productivity by preventing pig aggression. However, well managed group housing can provide similar benefits.

Australian Industry Practice

Gestation stalls are currently widely used in the industry for the confinement of pregnant sows. A 2004 producer survey by APL indicated that while gestation stalls are used on 60 per cent of Australian farms they only house about 40 per cent of sows and only 35.3 per cent of sows are housed in stalls for their entire gestation. Of breeding sows 20.1 per cent are housed in stalls for up to 6 weeks after mating, 5.1 per cent are in stalls for more than 6 weeks but less than 10 weeks, and 3.4 per cent of sows are in stalls for more than 10 weeks but less than their entire gestation.

Farrowing Stalls – Protecting Piglets

A few days prior to giving birth, sows are usually moved to farrowing accommodation.  Farrowing crates of various designs have been the main form of housing used worldwide for farrowing/lactating sows worldwide since the 1960s. Farrowing crates were developed largely to combat high rates of piglet mortality by preventing the sow from rolling onto and crushing her piglets. Confinement of the sow continues to attract concern from animal welfare activists and sections of the general public. Confined farrowing crates  allow the sow to stand up and lie down and stretch out, but keeps her piglets in a separate section.

During the short and chaotic periods new piglets are suckling, they are extremely vulnerable to being crushed to death by their mother.  The average sow weighs over 250kg – equivalent to three standard fridges compared to a one kg new born piglet.  The temporary use of farrowing crates plays a crucial role in protecting piglets from being crushed.

The Model Code of Practice – Strong regulations

Australia’s animal welfare regulations are specifically designed to care for

and protect the welfare of our pigs. Australia is the one of the few countries in

the world where the welfare of pigs is protected by a Model Code of Practice.

The Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals (Pigs)  was developed along with vets, regulators and welfare groups and approved by the Primary Industries Ministerial council in 2007. The standards in the Code are enforceable by state law, policed by state authorities and backed by the threat of prosecution and severe penalties, including jail terms. The Pig Code is the first to have standards regulated in such a way.

There are approximately 25 changes from the previous 1998 Code. Most of the changes broadly reflect current industry practice, therefore should not be of concern to the majority of producers. However, an important change to the structure of the Code is the incorporation of explicitly stated Standards. The Code also shows a movement to a more “animal centric” outcomes-based approach, rather than just looking at facilities and processes.

Amongst other changes, the Code requires that from 2017, pregnant sows may be housed in individual stalls for only the most vulnerable first six weeks of pregnancy (currently up to 16 weeks), after which they will be released into group housing situations with other sows i.e. they will only be allowed to be individually housed until they are mated and their pregnancy is confirmed. This allows confinement during mating and early pregnancy for protection from aggression of other sows which may prevent early abortion.

The new Code introduces criteria for assessment of sow ‘fit’ within her stall or farrowing crate, which provides a degree of flexibility for producers in what size of stalls are used but must be adhered to at all times.

Specifically, the ‘fit’ criteria states that:

• Pigs must be able to stand up at rest in a stall without simultaneously touching both sides.
• Their snout and hindquarters must not simultaneously touch both ends of the stall.
• If the stall has bars along the top they must not touch the animals back when standing at rest or when their heads are down feeding.
• In practical terms this allows producers to continue using existing smaller stalls for smaller sows for the rest of the stalls useful life. However, in some cases producers may need to build larger stalls to accommodate larger sows.

Other changes include:

• The area of all new stalls will be increased.
• There will be a requirement for persons managing and conducting procedures on pigs to be trained or under the supervision of a person who is trained.
• Such persons will be required to inspect their pigs regularly and more often in hot conditions.
• Sows that are placed into crates to give birth (‘farrowing crates’, to protect piglets from being injured) must not be left there for longer than 6 weeks.
• Where there is any evidence of serious behavioural problems due to individual confinement in stalls, the animals must be examined by a qualified person and treated.
• Development of recommendations for keeping and confinement of pigs at free-range, including their shelter accommodation.
• A recommendation that pig farmers join their industry quality assurance management programs to provide improved welfare, high skill levels and greater market opportunity.

Outdoor Pig Farming in Australia
The suitability of an area to outdoor pig farming (sometimes called ‘free range’ pig farming) is a matter of careful site selection, environmental controls and requires sound management practices with specially trained stock people.

APL represents farmers who use many different types of production systems, and does not support or prefer one form of pig farm production system to another: rather we are cognisant of the fact of the benefits and limitations of each system and seek to work with the farmer and the production system that secure the most sustainable outcomes for pig welfare and the environment.