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. 2019 Jun 22;9(6):383. doi: 10.3390/ani9060383

Table 1.

Environmental enrichment materials and objects according to the categories included in the Commission Recommendation (EU) 2016/336, and their main effects on sucker and weaned piglets’ behavior.

Animal Enrichment Duration of Behaviour Observation Main Effect References
sucker/weaned piglets black foam rubber matting *** 8 h daily on 3, 10, 19, 26, 33 d of pig’s life reduction in belly nosing Bench and Gonyou [84]
sucker/weaned piglets farrowing pen—straw bedding * 6 h daily on 6, 12, 20, 21, 22, 27 d of pig’s life increased level of exploration, animal comfort improved Brajon et al. [82]
sucker/weaned piglets farrowing pen—wood shavings **, sisal rope **, plastic ball attached to chain ***, newspaper ** 4 h daily one day per 2, 3, 9 wks. of pig’s life at pre-weaning stage—decrease in pen mate manipulation Telkänranta et al. [81]
weaners pen—wood shavings **, sisal rope **, plastic chewing toy *** at post-weaning stage—decrease in severe tail damage
sucker/weaned piglets farrowing pen—wood bark in a plastic box ** 6 h daily on 4, 5, 11, 12, 19, 23 d of pig’s life baseline of cortisol level on d 1 post-weaning Yang et al. [79]
weaned piglets aromatized plastic container ** 24 h per 9 d after weaning decrease of duration of agonistic behavior Nowicki et al. [88]

* optimal, ** suboptimal, *** marginal materials according to the categories included in the Commission Recommendation (EU) 2016/336 on the application of the Council Directive 2008/120/EC, laying down the minimum standards for the protection of pigs with regards to measures to reduce the need for tail-docking [9].