Behaviour of growing pigs kept in pens with outdoor runs: II. Temperature regulatory behaviour, comfort behaviour and dunging preferences

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the temperature regulatory behaviour, comfort behaviour, and dunging preferences of growing pigs when housed in a barn with outdoor runs. Seven replicates, each consisting of 96 pigs of 10 weeks of age, were randomly distributed to eight experimental pens with outdoor runs, each provided with a wallow. The pigs were subjected to three environmental factors that might influence their behaviour: the side of the building (north/south), access to an outdoor shelter (±), and roughage (±). The pigs used the wallow for lying and oral behaviour within the whole temperature range (−4 to +24°C), but the duration of these behavioural patterns increased when the temperature exceeded 15°C. The pigs placed the majority (more than 75%) of their dung in the outdoor runs — about 50% in the wallow. The pigs excreted away from the roughage and their lying area, and shade, provided on the south side of the building, was found to increase dung placed outside the building. The side of the building (north/south), roughage, and shelter are factors considered to be important to both the pigs’ temperature regulation and to where the pigs place their dung.