The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is an American non-profit charitable organization founded by Christine Stevens in 1951 with the goal of reducing suffering inflicted on animals by humans. It is one of the oldest animal welfare organizations in the US. Its legislative division, the Society for Animal Protective Legislation (SAPL), pushes for the passage of laws that reflect this purpose.
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of lactation growth performance and piglet sex on solid feed consumption entry, as well as to characterize post-weaning (PW) growth based on the day piglets began eating. A total of 596 crossbred piglets [(L x LW) x Pt] from 67 randomly selected sows were monitored from birth until 10 days PW. Piglets were individually weighed on day 1, day 7, at weaning (21 days), and at 4 and 10 days PW. Dyed feed was provided from 10 days before weaning until 4 days PW, and rectal swabs were used to assess feed intake at weaning and at 2, 3, and 4 days PW. At weaning, piglets were distributed into 24 pens (2.35 x 1.91 m2) according to their body weight (BW) and sex, with approximately 25 piglets per pen. They were classified into five categories: Creep-Feed Eaters (CFE; animals identified as eaters at weaning), PW Eaters at day 2 (PWE2), PW Eaters at day 3 (PWE3), PW Eaters at day 4 (PWE4), and Non-Eaters (NE; no feed intake). Data were analyzed using mixed models with the lmer function in R v.4.4.0, including the fixed effect eater category and the random effects sow and pen for lactation and PW variables, respectively. At weaning, only 4.36% of piglets consumed creep-feed (CF), with this percentage increasing to 11.41%, 33.22%, and 73.66% by days 2, 3, and 4 PW, respectively. Sex did not significantly affect feed consumption probability (P > 0.05); however, females showed a higher percentage of eaters than males. Table 1 summarizes the productive performance of the 596 piglets over the lactation period and the first 10 days PW. No differences in BW were observed on day 1 (P = 0.408). Piglets that began eating solid feed early (E and PWE2 categories) had a lower average daily gain during the lactation period compared to the other categories (P < 0.001); this difference appeared within the first week and continued throughout lactation. Thus, the growth rate during the suckling period was influenced by the eating category. The lightest piglets at weaning were the first to initiate solid feed intake (P < 0.001). Between weaning and 10 days after weaning, CFE, PWE2, and PWE3 categories grew faster than PWE4 and NE categories, mainly because later CF eaters exhibited slower growth than early CF eaters in the first four days after weaning (P < 0.001). In conclusion, piglets classified as early creep-feed eaters displayed reduced growth performance during lactation, starting in the first week of life. However, by avoiding a post-weaning fasting period, these piglets demonstrated compensatory growth, matching the weight of their heavier counterparts by ten days post-weaning.
Der Tierpark Arche Warder ist weltweit das größte Zentrum für seltene und vom Aussterben bedrohte Nutztierrassen. 87 Rassen sowie 7 Stammformen (Wildtierarten) leben hier in einem 40 ha großen Landschaftstierpark sowie auf 19 Satellitenstationen mit insgesamt 150 ha und vermittelt einen umfassenden Eindruck von der einstigen tierischen Agrobiodiversität. Der Landschaftstierpark sowie das Besucherzentrum „Domesticaneum“ bilden die Grundlage für intensive, hautnahe Tier-Mensch-Begegnungen, Umweltbildung, Naturerfahrung sowie die Vermittlung der Bedeutung der Haustiere in der Kulturgeschichte des Menschen. Darüber hinaus ist die Arche Warder eine wissenschaftliche Institution. Dieser holistische Ansatz mit den folgenden 6 Säulen hat ein Alleinstellungsmerkmal: (1) Erhaltungszucht, (2) Satellitenstationen, (3) Bildung, (4) Vernetzung, (5) Forschung, (6) Erhalt einheimischer Biodiversität. Dieses Konzept soll in der vorliegenden Veröffentlichung vorgestellt werden.
