Abstract: Easy management of rooting materials: Proactive tail-biting prevention

Type and Average of Pigs on the Farm

The farm maintains approximately 2,500 grower-finishers.

Farming System

Intensive production system.

Description and Evaluation of the Good Practice

The farm provides straw daily and has established a simple but effective monitoring and intervention protocol for tail biting. Each day, one employee empties the long trough before feeding while observing all animals, focusing on general health, hanging tails and wounds. The action plan followed is: one hanging tail — observe the next day; two or more hanging tails, or one with a wound — intervene immediately. The pen is marked and a second employee carries out the intervention, which consists of providing more straw and hanging a Christmas tree or a bottle from the ceiling. It is considered essential to act as soon as a hanging tail is observed.

Farm Context

• Environmental Enrichment Straw is provided every day as both a manipulable object and bedding material, with a handful per pen per day. A metal chain is attached to the ceiling, and parts of Christmas trees or fir trees are used as additional enrichment.
• Pigs All pigs have long tails; tail docking rate is 0%.
• Housing and Management Characteristics Stocking density is 0.85 m²/pig at insertion, with pens starting at 24 pigs at 30 kg and reducing to 14 before slaughter. The flooring is 2/3 solid and 1/3 slatted, with diffuse ventilation supplemented by natural light from windows. No outdoor access is provided. Pigs are fed liquid feed in a long trough that allows 100% of pigs to eat simultaneously. The diet is homegrown plus soya and minerals, and each pen has a nipple drinker for water.
• Management Practices Pigs arrive at 30 kg, mixed on the truck and sorted by size at arrival. They are mixed 1–2 times during the growing-finishing period. Daily health monitoring is carried out. The tail biting intervention protocol consists of providing a new type of rooting material first; the biter is removed if identified (very rare, approximately once a year); and the severely bitten pig is removed if needed.
• Economic Analysis The farm euthanizes 1–2 pigs per year due to tail biting. The pigs are produced under a premium animal welfare label, and the farmer receives an extra payment of €10–11 per pig, adjusted individually. This extra payment helps cover the added costs of providing straw, more space and a higher weaning age.
• Environmental Analysis The pigs have 30% more space compared to EU law, which results in a slightly lower manure quantity and a slightly higher ammonia emission per pig.
• Replicable Benefits and Relevance for Other EU Countries This good practice can be implemented from one day to another and in all herd sizes across countries.