Something to scratch a head about

This article showed that if you interact with your pigs, your sows will be happy and their piglets will have better growth.

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If you keep pigs, it will pay you to be friendly with them. The personal touch means bigger profits, according to research carried out by Dr Martin Seabrook at the University of Nottingham, England.

He says: “In a smaller unit it is possible to know all the animals individually, but even then the time for interaction with each animal is short and the working day is hectic. But this doesn’t mean you should not try to relate to your animals.”

The research compared the growth rate of four houses of piglets and their sows’ behavioural patterns under different conditions. Each house consisted of eight batches of piglets with their sows housed in separate pens. The research looked at the effects of four distinct patterns of handling – normal, pleasant, unpleasant and music – and the effect the patterns would have on the four groups of pugs. The experiment was carried out over 28 consecutive days. The sows’ behaviour was noted at random during the day and night and while the pigs were lying down, sitting or suckling.