Vattenbehov och olika system för vattentilldelning till nyavvanda grisar
We all know that water is very important for both animals and humans. When we are
weaning the piglets from the sow we must guarantee that the piglets can start to drink
more water instead of sow milk. The first thing to check is always the quality of the
water that is to be used. To secure that, you must take a water sample. If the water is
inadequate it can bring a lot of problems and diseases. It?s also important to choose
the right water system for the piglets, so that the water requirements is fulfilled. The
faster the newly weaned pigs start to drink the faster will they begin to grow.
The aim of the study, that was made in connection to this work, was to register
differences between newly weaned pigs in two types of water systems. Two pens with
ten pigs each were used. In one pen the piglets had a water nipple and in the other pen
they had a water cup with a water mirror. Both pens were video taped and it was
documented how many times the piglets visited the water place. Feed consumption
and individual weight gain of the pigs were also registered in the two pens.
The results for drinking behavior showed more drinking visits per pig in the pen with
water mirror compared to the pigs who had water nipple. The number of noses spilled
water was actually higher for the pigs with water nipple. You can see that the two
groups of piglets had the same feed consumption but the piglets with water mirror
gained more weight than the piglets in the other box. It was also less activity in the
pen with water mirror.