Thought I'd share some of the pig headlines from the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) conference this week. Apparently playing the radio increases piglet play behaviour and sow nursing behaviour. Piglets getting down to Lady Gaga was an interesting suggestion!
Also, on gilt management, Mr Cottney's results showed that ad lib feeding gilts after service doesn't affect no. born alive but reduces farrowing rate by 8.7%.
And, diets balanced properly using peas and beans instead of soya bean meal are no different in nitrogen balance and retention. Pulses look like a useful alternative to soya...
Click here to read the highlights on Twitter and, for full details, visit the BSAS website.
The pig radio research was carried out by Kayleigh Langdon for her MSc thesis at Writtle College. We were trying reduce the jumpiness of sows in systems with minimal human contact and there were definite positive improvements with local radio (chat and music). Next up would be a measurement of piglet performance....
ReplyDeletePlease contact me if you have any further insights/comments. Dr Jon Amory
jonathan.amory@writtle.ac.uk