GROWING-FINISHING PIGS IN AN UNINSULATED HOUSE .1. PIG PERFORMANCE AND HEALTH AND THE INFLUENCE OF REARING SYSTEM

Pig performance and health were studied in growing-finishing pigs housed in an uninsulated building. Comparison with insulated reference housing showed that the animals in the uninsulated housing system had a significantly lower daily weight gain (831 vs. 866 g/day), poorer feed conversion efficiency (2.91 vs. 2.79 kg feed/kg gain), and tended to have a lower carcass meat percentage (58.0 vs. 58.4). The health and condition of the pigs in the uninsulated housing system compared with that of the animals in the reference housing were somewhat poorer; more problems with diarrhoea were recorded. No differences were found with regard to culling rate or mortality. The piglet rearing system of the pigs (in a multisuckling pen vs conventional rearing with one litter per pen) did not have any impact on performance, but the multisuckling pigs had a higher morbidity and a higher frequency of tail biting. The role of competition during the suckling period was unclear with respect to these observations. Pigs reared in the multisuckling system had less injuries after introduction into the growing-finishing house as compared to those conventionally reared, probably because they were not regrouped at this time.