Education Commons^™

G75-242 Space Requirements For Swine (Revised July 1978), R. D. Fritschen, A.J. Muehling

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

The amount of space required per pig was given little attention when pigs were reared on dirt lots or pasture. As confinement production developed, the amount of space needed per pig for optimal performance became an important planning-management considerations. Too few pigs per pen reduces the return on initial building investment. However, overcrowding may result in: tail biting or cannibalism, reduced gain, increase feed required per unit gain, gastric ulcers, and additive stress factors. This NebGuide discusses the space requirements needed to raise swine.

G75-246 Preventing Tail Biting In Swine (Anti-Comfort Syndrome) (Revised January 1983), Robert Fritchen, Alex Hogg

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Tail biting in swine could be renamed the anti-comfort syndrome, for any feature of the pig's environment that makes it uncomfortable may be expressed as tail biting. Tail biting is the most common of the pig's antisocial vices, but not the only one. Ear chewing, navel sucking and acute cannabalism are other forms of antisocial expressions.

This NebGuide analyzes the management situation of tail biting.