Original Scientific Article
Postural behaviour in gilts housed on concrete and rubber slats during four seasons
Željko Pavičić
,
Mario Ostović
*
,
Sven Menčik
,
Anamaria Ekert Kabalin
,
Marija Vučemilo
,
Kristina Matković
,
Boris Antunović
,
Rajko Pavešić
,
Vlatko Ilieski
Received: 05 May 2014
Received in revised form: 22 July 2014
Accepted: 02 August 2014
Available Online First: 13 August 2014
Published on: 15 October 2014
Correspondence: Mario Ostović, mostovic@vef.hr
Abstract
In the present study, postural behaviour was compared between gilts kept in service unit with different types of flooring during all seasons. The study included four 28-day production cycles and 10 gilts per cycle, equally divided into a control and an experimental group. Control gilts were housed in gestation stalls with slatted concrete floor, whereas in the experimental group the floor was covered with an adjusted rubber mat. Postural behaviour of gilts was observed 4 times per cycle for 4 hours. Study results showed that during cooler seasons, gilts in concrete stalls spent more time standing and lying sternally, whereas gilts in matted stalls were mostly lying, predominantly laterally (P<0.001 all). There were no significant between group differences according to the time the gilts spent sitting or the frequency of changing posture in any season observed. Nevertheless, experimental animals spent significantly less time changing standing to both lying positions during all seasons (P<0.01 all). In conclusion, rubber mats may improve lying comfort in gilts; however, when using rubber mats, the house thermal conditions should be taken in consideration.
Keywords: gilts, rubber mats, postural behaviour, welfare
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Copyright
© 2014 Ostović M. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declared that they have no potential conflict of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
Citation Information
Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 37, Issue 2, Pages 157-164, p-ISSN 1409-7621, e-ISSN 1857-7415, DOI: 10.14432/j.macvetrev.2014.08.020, 2014
10.14432/j.macvetrev.2014.08.020
