Welfare assessment in pregnant sows kept in stalls and its relationship with productivity

A pilot study was undertaken to analyse the system in which pregnant sows are housed in stalls. The objective was to establish relationships between welfare indicators and animal criteria and environmental conditions. A sample of 692 sows was analysed. These animals came from 16 farms allocated to one of three groups according to productivity (piglets/sow/year). The results showed that animal welfare indicators such as, motor activity and oral non feeding activities are closely linked. Both were highly dependent on a certain profile including individual (body condition, parity of the sows) and collective criteria (ambient température and type of floor). The postures adopted by the animals were found to be related more to body condition and to the design and size of the stalls than to others factors. Indeed theposition of the bars of the stall can interfere with movement and cause deformations and skin injuries. A multifactorial statistical analysis was performed and it indicated than an overall positive relationship exists between herd efficiency and welfare characteristics such as those measured in the survey.