Table 1.

Ethogram of sow behaviors observed during REMOVAL and RETURN of piglets

Behavior	Description
Posture
Standing	All four legs are in contact with the ground and no portion of the abdomen is in contact with the floor
Sitting	Front two legs are in contact with the ground while the hindquarters of the sow maintain contact with the floor
Lying	Ventral or lateral aspect of torso is in contact with the floor and no legs are actively weight bearing
Consuming
Eating	Head is in feeder
Drinking	Mouth is in contact with nipple waterer
Not consuming	Head is not in contact with feed or water source
Head orientation
Alert*	Oriented towards handler during REMOVAL or toward the direction the piglets had been removed (i.e., oriented towards door)
Rooting/nosing*	Sow is actively using nose to contact piglet body or using nose to explore the ground of the crate upon piglet removal
Not moving	Maintained in a neutral position
Other	Sow is performing a behavior other than the ones provided here
Initiation of nursing†	Time until the sow presented her teats and at least half of the piglets are suckling or massaging the teats

All REMOVAL behaviors were recorded during a 5-min duration starting when the first piglet was removed from the farrowing crate by an unknown handler until the first piglet was returned to the farrowing crate. The RETURN behavior observation was performed for 10 min after the first piglet was returned.

*Behaviors were also calculated as the number of times sows performed each behavior. Rooting/nosing was calculated based on the entire duration of a bout. A bout began when the snout was in contact with either the piglet or the ground and ended when the contact was no longer maintained. Alert behaviors began each time a sow turned her head in the direction of the handler and ended when the animal turned its head in a different direction.

^†Behavior only observed during RETURN.