Incidence of growing pig housing conditions, fully slatted floor or straw bedding, on technical efficiency

Two housing systems (fully slatted floor vs straw litter) were assessed with respect to their technical efficiency. The comparison was carried out under two contrasting seasons, in order to take into account the usually reported difficulty in the climate control of straw bedding systems in cold conditions. Whatever the season, the straw based system induced a sharp decrease of average daily gain, mainly explained by a decreased feed efficiency. Regarding the carcass value, lean meat percentage and carcass yield were also reduced within the straw based system, as far as backfat and loin thickness were both negatively affected.