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Poster 10
Sandra Edwards presents Poster 10 during the poster sessions in the Aula.
Session theme 1: Development, validation and automated measurements of indicators of animal welfare
CHANGES IN WATER INTAKE PATTERNS AS AN AUTOMATED EARLY
INDICATOR OF PIG WELFARE PROBLEMS
H.G. Crabtree 1 , N. Bird 1 , L. Ravn 2 , S.A. Edwards 3
1 Farmex Ltd., Pingewood Business Estate, Pingewood, Reading, RG30 3UR, UK
2 BPEX, PO Box 44, Winterhill House, Snowdon Drive, Milton Keynes, MK6 1AX, UK
3 Newcastle University, School of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
The advent of relatively inexpensive process control technology has made possible remote data
capture systems for pig buildings. A range of performance data can be collected on batches of pigs
including feed and water intake, humidity and air quality as well as local weather conditions.
Routed to a central data processing centre through the internet, this system provides real-time
management information and a window through which changes in animal behaviour and
performance can be viewed.
Longitudinal data profiles for individual batches of pigs on different farms have been plotted to
analyse patterns of water intake using an in-line meter (+ 2% accuracy). Automated logging of
meter readings over sequential 15 minute periods has demonstrated that consistent patterns of water
intake, both within and across days, can be established. Absolute water usage varies with drinker
type but shows a linear regression with time over the growing period (e.g. Drinker A:
litres/pig=3.34+0.077 x day; drinker B; litres/pig=2.17+0.046 x day, R 2 =0.959) Changes in intake
associated with environmental stressors, such as equipment failure leading to thermal challenge or
feed interruption, are immediately apparent by deviation from boundary values of + 1 standard
deviation. In a number of case studies, retrospective analysis has shown that changes in water intake
associated with outbreaks of disease could be identified, by deviation from previous intake pattern
for that group, as early as one week prior to observation of clinical symptoms in the animals.
This technology for recording real time water intake, in combination with statistical models to
identify significant deviations from normality, offers the opportunity to develop decision support
tools which will provide automated alerts to circumstances of impending welfare challenge.
Contact information: Sandra Edwards or email sandra.edwards@ncl.ac.uk
Complete address: Newcastle University, School of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
Species: Pig