• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.117-122
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• 2013

The study was conducted to develop an ESF (electronic sow feeder) for improving animal welfare of group housed gestation sows. Feed intake of both individual and group housed gestation sows was restricted 2 kg a day. ESF system was very effective in reducing feed loss. The amount of feed loss in treatment group (group housed gestation sows with ESF) was only about 55 g, while the amount of feed loss in control group (individually housed gestation sows) was about 200 g. In spend time to feed intake, there was no difference in the result between the control (about 30 min) and the treatment (about 22 min) group. The ESF system ran well without any mechanical problems throughout the entire experiment. These results suggest that the EST is expected to improve the performance feeding of sows.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.167-172
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• 2014

This study was conducted to evaluate the housing design on the feeding behaviors of group housed pregnant sows. A total of 65 sows (Landrace ${\times}$ Yorkshire) were employed into 2 experimental sow housing with different housing design. Lying area of one of sow housing was designed with concrete fence to give the shelter for weak sows. The other was floor type without any obstacles. Group housed sows were fed using electronic sow feeder (ESF) during gestation. Daily feeding pattern of sows was automatically recorded in ESF feeder program. Most sows ate all feed during night. Daily visiting frequency to ESF of sows in pig pen with the shelter was significantly lowered than sows in floor type pen. This study showed that the housing design of group housed sow pen could fairly impact ESF utilization of sow.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.1512-1518
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• 2015

This experiment was conducted to assess the welfare and productivity of gestating gilts in groups with the electronic sow feeding (ESF) system compared to conventional stalls. A total of 83 gilts ($Yorkshire{\times}Landrace$) were housed into individual stalls to be artificially inseminated. Gilts confirmed pregnant were introduced to their treatment, conventional stalls (ST) or groups with the ESF system. All gilts were taken to the farrowing crates one week prior to their expected farrowing date. In the gestation period, there were no significant differences between gilts allocated to ST and ESF on growth performance. However, backfat thickness gain (p = 0.08) and body condition score (BCS) at 110 days of gestation (p = 0.10) tended to be higher in ESF gilts than ST. Likewise, gilts housed in group showed significantly higher estimated body muscle contents at 110 days of gestation (p = 0.02) and body muscle change during gestation (p = 0.01). There was a trend for a shorter parturition time in ESF gilts (p = 0.07). In the lactation period, group housed gilts showed a tendency to increased BCS changes (p = 0.06). Reproductive performance did not differ with the exception of piglet mortality (ST = 0.2 no. of piglets vs ESF = 0.4 no. of piglets; p = 0.01). In blood profiles, ST gilts showed a higher cortisol level at 110 days of gestation (p = 0.01). Weaning to estrus interval was shorter in gilts housed in ESF than ST (p = 0.01). In locomotory behaviors, ESF gilts recorded a tendency to elevate locomotion score at 36, 70, and 110 days of gestation (p = 0.07, p = 0.06, and p = 0.06, respectively). Similarly, ESF gilts showed significantly higher incidence of scratches at 36, 70, and 110 days of gestation (p = 0.01). Moreover, farrowing rates were higher in stall treatment (97.6%) compare to group housing treatment (95.2%). In conclusion, while group housed gilts with ESF system positively affected welfare status in combination with less physiologically stressful environments and activity, it negatively effects piglet mortality, farrowing rates and injuries of gilts.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 2013

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different housing systems on the performances of sows and their piglets during gestation. A total of 90 sows (Landrace ${\times}$ Yorkshire) were employed into 3 experimental farms to give 3 treatments, stall housing, group housing in either slatted floor or litter floor. Individual sow was used as an experimental unit. Group housed sows were fed with electronic sow feeder during gestation. Performance measures were taken on sows and piglets. Back-fat thickness and body condition score of sows were not affected by housing systems for pregnant sows. There was no difference of estrus interval of pregnant sows between housing systems. The lower number of still-birth was observed in group housing type. The number of wounded sows in slatted floor was remarkably increased compared with sows in litter floor. This study showed that the housing systems could fairly impact sow and piglet performances.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.1011-1014
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• 2008

A total of 335 sows at a commercial operation (Hitch Pork Producers Inc, Guymon, OK) was used to determine dietary effects of yeast culture supplementation ($XPC^{TM}$, Diamond V Mills) on litter performance. Sows were grouped by parity (parity 1 to 12). Pigs within a group were then allotted to treatments. Treatments consisted of: CON (no added yeast culture) and YC (12 and 15 g/d XPC during gestation and lactation, respectively). Sows were housed individually and fed their assigned gestation and lactation diets from d 35 of gestation to d 21 of lactation. Sows were fed 2.0 kg/d during gestation and ad libitum during lactation. Voluntary feed intake was measured daily during lactation. At farrowing, numbers of pigs born total and alive were measured. Weights of litters were measured at birth and weaning on d 21 of lactation. Litter weight gain of the YC treatment was 6.9% greater (p<0.01) than that of the CON. However, voluntary feed intake of sows and litter size did not differ between treatments. This study indicates that dietary yeast culture supplementation benefits sow productivity by improving litter weight gain. At present, it is not confirmed if improved litter weight gain was due to milk production, which remains to be investigated.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.1817-1826
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• 2022

Public concern on the methods of raising food-producing animals has increased, especially in the last two decades, leading to voluntary and mandated changes in the animal production methods. The primary objective of these changes is to improve the welfare of farm animals. The use of gestational stalls is currently a major welfare issue in swine production. Several studies assessed the welfare of alternative housing systems for gestating sows. A comparative study was performed with gestating sows housed in either individual stalls or in groups in a pen with an electronic sow feeder. This review assessed the welfare of each housing system using physiological, behavioral, and reproductive performance criteria. The current review identified clear advantages and disadvantages of each housing system. Individual stall housing allowed each sow to be given an individually tailored diet without competition, but the sows had behavioral restrictions and showed stereotypical behaviors (e.g., bar biting, nosing, palate grinding, etc.). Group-housed sows had increased opportunities to display such behavior (e.g., ability to move around and social interactions); however, a higher prevalence of aggressive behavior, especially first mixing in static group type, caused a negative impact on longevity (more body lesions, scratch and bite injuries, and lameness, especially in subordinate sows). Conclusively, a more segmented and diversified welfare assessment could be beneficial for a precise evaluation of each housing system for sows. Further efforts should be made to reduce aggression-driven injuries and design housing systems (feeding regimen, floor, bedding, etc.) to improve the welfare of group-housed sows.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

This study was conducted to analyze the effects of sow breeding environment on the reproduction in the first litter in a large-sized hog farm, located in Dangjin-gun, Chungnam from July 1st, 2007 to June 30th, 2008 and provide basic information to improve the sow productivity in a family farming sows. The results obtained were as follows; 1. The gestation periods were proved to be similar without significant differences between indoor and outdoor breeding grounds, The average of farrowing rate was 91.91%, and 92.54% farrowing rate of out-door ground breeding sows was slightly greater than 91.57% of group-housed sows, but there was no significance between two groups. 2. The average of total litter size and the number of born alive per litter were 9.81 and 9.02, respectively. The number of total number was 0.98 and the number of born alive per litter was 1.18 in the outdoor-ground breeding sows, which was significantly greater than group-housed sows(p<0.001). 3. The number(rate) of piglets stillborn was 0.22(2.10%) from the outdoor-ground breeding sows was significantly greater, compared with 0.33(3.53%) from group-housed sows(p<0.01). The number of piglets culled was 0.23(2.27%) and 0.26(2.77%), in the out-door ground breeding sows and in group-housed sows, respectively and it was not significantly similar between two groups. And, the number of mummies was 0.21(2.1%) and 0.28(2.29%), in the out-door ground breeding sows and in group-housed sows, respectively, which showed no significance. 4. The weaning number in the playground breeding sows was 9.48 and it was significantly greater than that in the group-housed sows(p<0.001). The average of weaned age was observed to be 22.91 days. The weaned age in the out-door ground breeding sows was 22.39 days, and it was significantly smaller than that in group-housed sows(p<0.001). The breeding rate for the weaning of pigs was satisfactory as 96.82%, but there was no significant difference between two groups.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.147-153
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• 2019

A goal for swine farming is the improvement in the number of live-born and weaned piglets per sow. Hence, the effect of parities should consider the correlation between the component traits of reproductive performance, weaning, and duration. Sows were housed in farrowing pens (W 2.2 ${\times}$ D 1.8 ${\times}$ H 1.2 m) on a partially slatted plastic floor. Twenty sows used in this study were between the first and sixth parity in gilts (P1), parity 2-5 (P3), and parity 6-9 (P6). Data collection by parity was classified into three categories: (1) reproduction performance (gestation length, total number of piglets born, number of piglets live born, number of piglets stillborn, total piglet birth weight; (2) weaning traits (weaning period, number of piglets weaning, total piglets weaning weight); (3) duration traits (farrowing duration, placenta expulsion duration, time from last piglet to first placenta, average birth interval, and tail wagging behavior). Gestation length was higher in P6 than P1 and P3 of different parity sows. The maximum value in P1 and P3 was 117 days, but the median value in P6 was 117 days (p < 0.05). The total number of piglets born (p = 0.113), number of piglets live born (p = 0.118), number of still piglets born (p = 0.151), and total piglet birth weight (p = 0.117) were not affected by parity. The number of live piglets was higher than the other parities by an average of $15.6{\pm}2.1$ in P1. The duration of farrowing was the lowest at 22.2 min in P6, but the maximum value was 42.2 min more than other parities (p = 0.355). Weaning traits of sows also did not differ significantly (p > 0.05), but the weaning period from P1 was lower than that of the other parities (p = 0.170). The number of piglets weaned was 10 heads on average in P1, P3, and P6 (p < 0.05). However, the mean values of the total piglet weaning weight (p = 0.377) of P6 (62.0 10.4 kg) were higher than those of P1 (54.9 10.2 kg) and P3 (58.4 13.6 kg). The placenta expulsion duration was higher in P6 than that in P1 and P3 (p = 0.447). The time from the last piglet to first placenta was be lower in P3 than that of the other parities (p = 0.206). The average birth interval was higher in P3 than that of the other parities (p = 0.156). Tail wagging (count) behavior was higher in P6 than in the other parities (p = 0.065). The data showed that the reproduction performance, total piglets born, and weight were higher in the gilts group, and higher in the weaning trait than that in the P6 group. This study examined the relationship between reproductive performance, birth interval and tail motion according to sow parity. Regarding duration, farrowing duration was lower in P6 than that in the other parities, but placenta expulsion and tail wagging were higher in P6 than in the other parities. Therefore, it is possible that the results from these sows could be used as basic data for effective farm management.