STANDING AND FEEDING-BEHAVIOR OF THE LACTATING SOW - EFFECT OF FEEDING LEVEL DURING PREGNANCY

Forty-eight Large White gilts were divided at mating into three feeding groups, low (L), medium (M) and high (H), and were fed during pregnancy, respectively, 1.8 kg day-1, 2.25 kg day-1 and 2.7 kg day-1 of a diet containing 17% protein. During lactation they received the same diet ad libitum. Feeding and standing behaviour was recorded during the whole lactation by using infra-red cells connected to a microcomputer. Feeding bouts shorter than 10 min were considered as within meal intervals. Average daily feed intake over lactation decreased from Group L to Group H. Number of meals per day (8.7 on average) was not significantly different among the three groups, but average meal duration and meal size decreased during the first 2 weeks of lactation when gestation feed allowance increased. It was concluded that the effect of feeding level during gestation on feed intake during lactation is mainly associated with shorter meal duration and smaller meal size without any influence on the number of meals per day. A strong diurnal pattern of feed intake was apparent and similar in the three groups. About 72% of the meals and 73% of feeding activity occurred during the day phase. The same diurnal pattern was found for standing behaviour that was often related to feeding, since 67% of standing activity was associated with feeding behaviour.