A response to nervousness in pigs

Pigs · Animal welfare

Pheromones for modern, compliant and profitable pig farming

Today farmers are asked to pay more and more attention to how pigs are kept, especially to the conditions involving equipment, feeding, staff training and, more generally, everything that concerns pig welfare. In recent years legislation has introduced new rules on space allowances, environmental enrichment, restrictions on tail docking…

The tools available to ensure modern, compliant and also profitable pig farming are few: among the products that have recently appeared and can help with some signs of excessive nervousness are pheromones. The pheromones used are synthetic analogues of the maternal pheromone, which the animal recognises as similar to the one produced by the mother at farrowing; this recognition calms the pig and eases all social interactions.

Thanks to its field experience, Alpha proposes the use of pheromones above all:

• when animals are mixed, for example when sows are moved from crates to pens;
• at all times when stressful conditions lead the animal to show excessive nervousness, which sometimes results in aggression, tail biting and ear biting.

Pheromone-based products come in two forms of administration:

• SecurePig Flash: a fast-acting spray applied directly to the animal, between the pig’s shoulder blades;
• SecurePig Gel Block: environmental enrichment, by installing a gel block in the areas to be treated.