Our aim was to evaluate the effects of single or mixed sex fattening of boars and split marketing (SM) on pig welfare. Female (n = 10), male (n = 10) and mixed sex (n = 10) groups were fattened to 105 kg. Two focal pigs per pen were selected for continuous behaviour observations and skin lesion inspections. Aggressive and sexual behaviours were recorded during feeding. One week prior to slaughter the three heaviest pigs in half of the pens were marketed. There was more sexual behaviour in mixed and male groups. However, there was less agonistic behaviour in mixed and female compared to male groups. SM male groups tended to have higher lesion scores than non-SM male groups. There was more mounting in non-SM mixed groups than in both SM and non-SM female groups. The welfare of boars was improved in mixed sex groups but females fared better in single sex groups. Split marketing reduced the welfare of pigs in male groups but improved pig welfare in mixed groups.

The number of group-housed, non-lactating sows is increasing rapidly in Europe. However, systematic information of the between-sow variation in animal welfare related factors under various on-farm conditions is lacking. Indicators of feed intake, fear of humans and social behaviour in non-lactating, group-housed sows were monitored in 14 herds. Regarding indicators of feed intake, the results revealed that back fat gain increased with increased parity number to a larger extent in group feeding than in individual feeding systems. Furthermore, behavioural observations showed that sows older than third parity spent significantly more time eating than younger sows during feeding in group feeding systems. With respect to indicators of social behaviour, first parity sows had significantly more skin lesions than older sows in herds with no escape possibilities (small group sizes and no feeding stalls), whereas second and third parity sows had the highest number of skin injuries in herds with escape possibilities. The results emphasise a need for management initiatives to consider the requirements of especially young sows in group housing. This is of particular importance in systems with small group sizes and group feeding systems.

The point of the Piglet Scream Test is to identify those sows that increase the survival of their piglets through good maternal behaviour. For this to work, sows must be shown to differ in their test responsiveness, for differences to be consistent across parities and for responsiveness to be associated with piglet survival. Our data provide some first evidence that outdoor sows, kept under commercial production conditions, differ consistently from each other in their test responsiveness across parities. However, there was no evidence that this was associated with the survival of their litters. This, together with the lack of consistent evidence from other studies for a relationship between Piglet Scream Test responsiveness and piglet survival and concerns about its possible causes, cautions against the use of the test to enhance piglet survival on farms without further study. The paper highlights lack of standardisation of the test and pseudoreplication as concerns.

Housing of farrowing and lactating sows in farrowing crates can cause a number of welfare problems. Recently, alternative farrowing pens have been developed which allow the sow to turn around and move freely. In this experiment a conventional farrowing crate (C; 5.0 m2; the sow is crated permanently), the Trapez pen (T; 6.7 m2; with a crate opened two days after farrowing) and a modified FAT2 pen (F; 6.7 m2; loose-housing system with nest and dunging area), were compared. The behaviour of sows was recorded from 6 hours ante partum to 24 hours post partum and analysed for duration of birth, number of posture changes, activities indicating nest building and piglet crushing. Sows were inspected for skin lesions at days 5 and 23, post farrowing. There was a tendency for longer birth duration and restlessness during farrowing when sows were crated. Sows in F and T crushed more piglets than sows in C but only few sows were concerned. In C more sows had severe injuries on the udder and on the limbs than in F and T. It can be concluded that the health and behaviour of farrowing and lactating sows are negatively affected when being housed in conventional pens with crates and slatted flooring. Further development is required to minimise piglet crushing in loose-housing systems.

Crating sows in farrowing systems greatly restricts their normal behaviour, which is usually justified by the assumption that piglet mortality is higher with loose-housed sows. Based on experiments showing that this is not the case, farrowing crates were banned in Switzerland in 1997. Since then, many farms have introduced loose farrowing systems, enabling a comparison of piglet mortality in farrowing systems with and without crates based on a large sample size. Data of a sow-recording scheme (UFA2000) were analysed using generalised linear mixed-effects models with an underlying Poisson distribution. In 2002 and 2003, the average total piglet mortality on 173 farms (n = 18,824 litters) with loose farrowing systems amounted to 1.40 piglets per litter and did not differ from that of 482 farms (n = 44,837 litters) with crates (1.42 piglets per litter). Nevertheless, the number of crushed piglets was significantly higher in pens with loose-housed sows (0.62 versus 0.52 piglets per litter), whereas the number of piglets that died for other reasons was significantly higher in crates (0.78 versus 0.89 piglets per litter). Total piglet mortality was influenced by litter size at birth, age of the sow and season. Consequently, evaluation of the reproductive data of commercial farms shows that no more piglet losses occur in loose farrowing pens, common nowadays in Switzerland, than in farrowing pens with crates, and that litter size at birth is the main influence on piglet losses.

The natural protective behaviour displayed by Konik Polski horses against flies was investigated. The factors considered were age (adults versus foals), management system (forest reserve versus pasture), weather conditions and type of horse activity. Twenty-five Konik Polski adults and 18 foals were observed between 0800 and 2000h during two summer seasons (2000 and 2001). Individual protective behaviours (IB) eg tail swishing, head shaking, leg lifting, skin twitching and social protective behaviour (grouping for mutual protection) against insects were studied. Adult and forest-kept horses performed more IB than foals and pastured horses, respectively. Wet and windy weather conditions significantly reduced insect harassment and the frequency of responses to insects. Therefore, if it is not possible to apply chemical repellents against insects, then allowing horses to aggregate into groups or providing them with refuge, especially on hot and windless days, may have significant welfare benefits.