On organic sow farms, sows predominantly farrow in individual farrowing pens, where the sow and her piglets remain for several weeks. At the latest after weaning, at a minimum age of 40 days, piglets from several litters are grouped and reared together until they reach a weight of at least 25 kg and are moved to the fattening stage. If a group suckling system is used, an additional relocation is required, namely the grouping of several sows with their piglets approximately 2–3 weeks after birth. This approach meets the sow's need for separation from the group shortly before and for some time after farrowing, and raising piglets in rearing pens with targeted feeding allows for good animal management. However, this approach also involves multiple relocations, which means both repeated cleaning and stress for the animals.

Therefore, the FERTIG25 project is testing the following alternative compared to the farrowing pen-group suckling-rearing pen method: The entire suckling period takes place in individual farrowing pens, and after weaning, the piglets remain in the farrowing pen for rearing, while only the sow is moved. The piglets thus remain in the same familiar environment until the end of rearing, resulting in less work for moving and cleaning, reduced stress, and potentially a decrease in the occurrence of weaning diarrhea.

Project partners:

BOKU Vienna (Dr. Christine Leeb), Schauer Agrotronic GmbH