Preference and possible consumption of provided enrichment and bedding materials and disinfectant powder by growing pigs

Porcine Health Management

Hans Mielke¹  Felicitas Koch²  Janine Kowalczyk²  Robert Pieper²  Peter Leinweber³  Martin Bachmann⁴  Annette Zeyner⁴  Hans Schenkel⁵ 

[1] Department Exposure, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany;Department Safety in the Food Chain, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany;Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany;Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany;Institute of Animal Science, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany;

关键词: Bedding material;    Enrichment material;    Disinfectant powder;    Peat;    Biochar;    Straw;    Pig;    Preference testing;    Mass spectrometry;    n-alkanes;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40813-021-00243-w

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDomestic pigs have an evolutionary conserved exploratory behaviour. To comply with this requirement, the European Union aims at setting standards for appropriate enrichment materials for pigs (Council Directive 2008/120/EC). As recommended characteristics include ‘chewable’ and ‘edible’, pigs might also consume these materials (Commission Recommendation (EU) 2016/336), which are often additionally advertised to enhance lying comfort and hygienic conditions in stables. To date, a wide range of bedding, enrichment and disinfectant materials is available on the market to ensure environmental enrichment, a dry, hygienic environment or lying comfort. Previous studies revealed considerable amounts of undesirable substances in some of these materials possibly being a risk for food safety considering oral uptake by the animal. To determine interest and indicators for consumption of different types of materials by pigs during exploratory behaviour, a camera-assisted observational study with 12 female pigs (German Landrace) was conducted. We tested their preference for a disinfectant powder, peat, biochar and straw as reference material in a 4 × 6 factorial arrangement.ResultsPigs manipulated and consumed all offered materials. However, longest manipulation time per pig was observed for biochar (63 min/day) and peat (50 min/day) (p < 0.05). Analyses of the bulk molecular-chemical composition and n-alkanes and acid insoluble ash as markers in the materials and in faeces clearly revealed the consumption of these materials by pigs.ConclusionsWhether the consumption of considerable amounts together with certain levels of undesirable substances represents a risk for pig and consumer health could yet not be established. Future studies will address the quantitative contribution of undesirable substances by oral ingestion of bedding and enrichment materials and disinfectant powders to the daily feed ration.

【 授权许可】

CC BY