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 Jul. 10, 2012 BrownfieldAgNews reports: A Kansas State University swine specialist says that, in the ongoing debate over the use of gestation stalls for pregnant sows, one important point is often overlooked. Steve Dritz says concern over animal welfare is one of the reasons that producers implemented gestation stalls in the first place. "Over time, we've evolved to gestation stalls, not only because it was a way of being more efficient with labor, but also to address some of these issues with animal welfare to begin with," Dritz says. Dritz-who is a veterinarian-says that in group pens, some sows eat more than they should, while others eat less than they need. And he says gestation stalls also protect the pregnant sows, as they can be aggressive and physically harm one another-something that is prevalent in open pen situations. "We definitely see more injuries and those sorts of things in sows-those rates do go up in those systems," Dritz says Dritz recently spent time in Europe where he learned that sows with the ability to move in and out of gestation stalls actually choose to spend 80 to 85 percent of their time in the individual stalls. "The behavior of the sow is such that they like to 'individually' spend a large proportion of their time," he says. Dritz adds that research designed to measure stress hormones in swine has shown no difference in sows that are free to move about versus those housed in gestation stalls. Tweet |
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