Summary
This field trial evaluated the effects of twice-weekly outdoor paddock access on growing pigs in a conventional indoor housing system. Pigs with outdoor access (OUT) showed significantly lower salivary cortisol levels, reduced body lesion severity, and lower diarrhea frequency compared to indoor-only controls, with no negative impact on growth performance. Despite lower leukocyte counts, OUT pigs demonstrated a higher proportion developing humoral immune response against L. intracellularis, suggesting improved health and welfare outcomes from environmental enrichment.
Regional applicability
The findings are directly relevant to United Kingdom intensive pig production, where conventional fully-slatted systems dominate commercial practice. The study demonstrates a feasible welfare improvement (twice-weekly outdoor access) that could be integrated into existing UK farm infrastructure without compromising economic performance, potentially informing UK pig welfare policy and farm assurance standards.
Key measures
Salivary cortisol levels; body lesion severity; average daily gain; diarrhea frequency; leukocyte counts; humoral immune response against L. intracellularis
Outcomes reported
The study measured salivary cortisol levels, body lesion severity, growth performance, diarrhea frequency, leukocyte counts, and humoral immune response to L. intracellularis in pigs with and without regular outdoor paddock access. Outdoor access reduced stress biomarkers and improved welfare indicators without affecting growth performance.
Topic tags
Dig deeper with Pulse AI.
Ask about this record, its theme or its relevance to UK farming and policy. Pulse AI uses selected catalogue evidence and cites the sources it draws on.