Top 5 best practices for raising pigs with undocked tails

The experts in this thematic group selected these five best practices from the initial list of 22 candidates.

Following this round, where the Top 5 Best Practices have been selected, the process will continue with the final selection of the 3 Winning Practices.

More and changing rooting material​

When producing pigs with undocked tails, there is a risk of tail biting occurring in some or all pens. When they notice small tail bites, hanging tails, and other signs of tail biting, the farmer has found it helpful to change the rooting material and provide more of it than usual.

This can be implemented on a day-to-day basis. The only preparation required is to ensure that the rooting material is in stock and ready for the pigs.

Observing & isolating biters​

As soon as a bite is found, the farmer stays to identify the pig that bit, which can take up to five minutes. This prevents the biting from spreading to other animals.

The technique employed is identifying the pigs that are or are not interested in other pigs’ tails.

A novel object is placed to distinguish the pigs that are interested in the object or tail from those that are not. This allows the farmer to identify the pigs that are interested in biting.

Another option is to spray oxytetracycline on the tail of the bitten pig. After 10 minutes, the pig will have a coloured snout.

The pig that has bitten is removed and isolated in a pen. After two to three weeks, it is integrated into a group of other biters and there are no further bites. When the room is changed, it is mixed with others, preferably larger ones.

Never docked a pig tail and never will​

This farm has space for 6,400 pigs in three buildings, and employs four people.

The farm is tackling the root causes of tail biting. They have improved the housing conditions by providing more space per pig. They have installed partially slatted floors. Ventilation needs to be sufficient to reduce humidity. Pigs have continuous access to sawdust for rooting and bedding purposes. There is also a thick wooden stick in a vertical holster that they can move and bite. Furthermore, a rubber plate hangs from the ceiling on a chain, providing them with a toy to play with.

Feeding is the most important factor in preventing tail biting. High-quality feed and long troughs that enable all pigs to eat simultaneously are essential. Pigs are social animals and prefer to eat together. They are fed a liquid diet consisting of barley, wheat, peas, and concentrate.

Health management is also very important. The pigs are kept indoors to prevent salmonella outbreaks and contact with wild boars. Footwear is dipped into burnt lime when entering the building, and clothes are changed. Only the farm’s own boots are allowed inside the barn, and they are disinfected at the door every time.

Happy tail​

It consists of a set of good practices covering different aspects of animal management, which allow tail docking and teeth clipping to be avoided. In detail:

– Straw: almost all farms have solid flooring with straw, including 100% of farms for pigs weighing 7–30 kg (15,200 places x 5 cycles per year) and around 70% of farms for pigs weighing 30–180 kg (16,500 places x 1.8 cycles per year).

Space: The space allowance per pig is at least 30% more than the standard: 0.5 m² per pig (instead of 0.3 m² per pig) for weaning pigs (up to 30 kg); 1.3 m² per pig (instead of 1 m² per pig) for fattening pigs (from 30 kg onwards); 2.6 m² per sow.

– Health: To minimise stress in this regard, the farm uses 2,700 PRRS-free sows out of 3,700 and has strict biosecurity measures.

– Environmental control: In addition to the space allowance, the farm provides each pig with more volume to promote better air quality. The barns are organised into three sectors so that the animals can be moved by rotation, leaving an empty sector for the straw to be completely replaced with tractors every 10 days.

Temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and ammonia levels are constantly monitored. Corrective measures are taken when certain limits are exceeded (e.g. the ammonia limit is 10 ppm), which may include anticipating the renewal of straw, opening windows, increasing ventilation, and checking manure pits where there is slatted flooring.

Risk assessment tool​

Knowledge on risk for tail biting outbreaks was gathered to create the Risk Assessment Tool. Possible risk factors are pointed out for the farmer to go through when preparing for production of pigs with undocked tails. Risk factors have been identified and described along with recommendations on optimal conditions for water, feed, rooting material, climate, health, and management. A checklist is available and can be brought into the farm to go through all points.

Another part of the tool is an action plan. Here the farm can describe identified risk factors, when they will be handled, and by whom.

Besides the risk factor assessment and the action plan, another step in the guide is to implement “indicator pens”, where some litters in the farrowing barn are weaned with undocked tails and grouped together until slaughter. This evaluation gives an idea if the farm can start producing more pigs with undocked tails. If not, the identified risk factors must be eliminated using an action plan and once again indicator pens are implemented.