Search

Quality of life (QoL) assessment in horses may easily be overlooked, often as a consequence of practitioner time constraints and a lack of consensus regarding effective and reliable methodologies. This review explores the concept of Qol, the principles and methods of Qol measurement and discusses the usefulness of qualitative Judgements. It draws conclusions on the importance of life-long, multifaceted Qol evaluation and the advances being made in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Piglet mortality rates between Freedom Farrowing and Traditional Farrowing cohorts did not significantly differ. • Piglet weight gain did not significantly differ between farrowing systems. • Sows and piglets in FF systems undertook significantly more positive social interactions than those in TF systems. • Sows and piglets in Free Farrowing systems undertook significantly fewer undesired behaviours than those in Traditional Farrowing systems. Farrowing crates have traditionally been used to reduce occurrence of piglet mortality as a result of sow crushing. However the utilisation of traditional farrowing crates has been suggested to contribute to negative welfare for both the sow and piglets. This study compared mortality rates, weight gain and behaviour of two cohorts, Freedom Farrowing (FF) and Traditional Farrowing (TF), of sows at a commercial farm. Results indicated no significant difference in mortality rates (2-sample t -test, t 24 = −0.08, p = 0.761) between systems or in weight gain of piglets (batch 1: 2-sample t -test, t 12 =−0.01, p = 0.993; batch 2: 2-sample t -test, t 12 =−0.12, p = 0.904). Behaviour of sows indicated a number of significant differences between FF and TF cohorts including TF sows spending more time lying down, χ2 (2, N = 24) = 5.69, p = 0.017 and FF sows spending more time nursing their piglets χ2 (1, N = 24) = 6.66, p = 0.01, socialising with their piglets χ2 (2, N = 24) = 12, p = 0.001 and exploring the pen χ2 (2, N = 24) = 6, p = 0.014. TF piglets spent more time lying away from the sow (lying elsewhere) χ2 (2, N = 24) = 4.78, p = 0.029 and engaging in agonistic behaviours with other piglets χ2 (2, N = 24) = 4.76, p = 0.029, whilst FF piglets spent more time feeding from the sow χ2 (1, N = 24) = 63.18, p < 0.001 and playing with other piglets χ2 (2, N = 24) = 4.37, p = 0.036. As farmed production animals it is important that management changes to improve welfare consider both economic impacts and effect on production time; the results of this study demonstrate that both mortality rates and weight gain of piglets are comparable between the two systems giving an overall advantage to the implementation of Free Farrowing pens in a pig production environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]