Page 10 - Australian Pork Newspaper

The five domain model
n Promoting positive welfare in pigs
Since completing the farrowing shed, there has been an increase in all key production figures including piglets weaned and weaning weights along with fewer sickness outbreaks.
Insight into Stockyard Industries
WHEN it comes to building new produc- tion facilities and refur- bishing or expanding existing sheds for pro- ducers, Stockyard Indus- tries are at the forefront of the industry.
with natural tunnel com- bination ventilation and Big Dutchman equip- ment, included complete turnkey build and install.
their vast background in turnkey projects but could also offer valuable knowledge and feedback to tailor the build to our farm’s requirements.”
the Big Dutchman Rainmaker evaporative cooling system, which is controlled by the Big Dutchman Climate Pro- duction Computer 307Pro to allow for automatic regulating of shed tem- perature.
Stockyard has grown to become the largest sup- plier of pig equipment in Australia, with coor- dination of materials and equipment the company’s specialty.
When asked what had led him to approach Stockyard Industries, Jamie said, “Everyone I’ve spoken to in the industry knows about Stockyard Industries.”
The new farrowing shed was a priority given the existing buildings age and the current difficulties in achieving optimal climate conditions for both animal well-being and maxim- ising production.
“The new shed complete with Big Dutchman auto- mated climate and feeding control and flooring has now enabled us to provide optimal condition all year round for our sows and has reduced the overall labour within the shed,” Jamie said.
Recently, Stockyard were approached by Jamie and Alexis Green to build a farrowing shed.
“I had initially pur- chased a few feeding products through the company and then, after getting to know Joe Ol- iveira, we were able to discuss the future expan- sion plans for our farm and how Stockyard could assist in this process.”
“The older sheds were becoming not only diffi- cult to maintain but were also challenging for our employees,” Jamie said.
“Since completing the farrowing shed, we have seen an increase in all key production figures including piglets weaned and weaning weights along with fewer sickness outbreaks.
Based in southeast Queensland, the specifi- cations for the construc- tion were of course in consideration of the envi- ronment.
“Very quickly I knew that Stockyard was not only able to assist with the complete build and instal- lation of product through
For efficiency, the new farrowing shed has Big Dutchman automatic cur- tains to regulate shed tem- perature in both summer and winter reducing elec- tricity costs.
The project scope for a 28 crate 30m x 8m shed
It also has installed
“After the success of the first shed, we are now confident to move for- ward with additional de- velopment plans in future, utilising Stockyard Indus- tries and Big Dutchman equipment.”
The new shed complete with Big Dutchman automated climate and feeding control and flooring provides optimal condition all year round for the sows.
When considering new, refurbished or extensions to production facilities, contact Stockyard Industries – stockyardindustries.com
The benefits are ob- vious.
PUBLIC concern for the welfare of farmed animals is growing, as is consumer demand for higher welfare animal products.
environment, other ani- mals and people.
tive mental experiences in domain 5.
But how can we tell if welfare is good?
Once factors and con- ditions in the first four domains have been con- sidered, the likely conse- quences – in terms of the animal’s subjective experi- ences – are assigned to do- main 5, mental experience.
When it comes to pro- moting positive welfare, we typically focus on do- main 4, behavioural inter- actions.
When scientists talk about animal welfare, we are talking about how an animal is experiencing its world, or what it is ‘feeling’.
The integrated outcome of negative and positive mental experiences in do- main 5 represents the ani- mal’s current welfare state.
This is because cor- recting factors or condi- tions in domains 1–3 that lead to negative experi- ences can achieve neutral welfare at best.
Assessing animal welfare can be difficult because we can’t simply ask animals about their experiences and there is no way of ‘meas- uring’ experiences such as pain or pleasure.
Early welfare assessment models focussed solely on identifying and alleviating negative experiences.
As an example, treating an injury can alleviate the negative experience of pain but doesn’t typically result in positive experiences.
We can only infer what an animal might be expe- riencing, using observable indicators such as changes in physiology or behaviour.
It is now recognised that alleviating negatives can achieve neutral welfare at best, and that good welfare requires an animal to have positive experiences as well as minimising nega- tives.
In contrast, alleviating negative experiences due to compromise in domain 4 can result in negative ex- periences being replaced by positive ones.
To understand an ani- mal’s overall welfare status, we need to con- sider all possible factors and conditions that might influence their experience.
One of the advantages of the five domains model is that it helps the user to identify opportunities for welfare enhancement, as well as identifying risks for welfare compromise.
For instance, if we con- sider interactions with other animals, moving a single-housed social an- imal into group housing could replace negative ex- periences such as loneli- ness with positive experi- ences such as companion- ship and pleasure associ- ated with social bonding. Promoting positive wel- fare in farmed pigs
The five domains model is a comprehensive welfare assessment framework that gives us the tools to un- derstand what an animal might be experiencing at a given time.
The most recent version of the model provides nu- merous examples of factors or conditions in domains 1–4 that may impact wel- fare, along with their as- sociated negative or posi-
Using existing scientific knowledge, the five do- mains model can be used
It guides welfare evalua- tion by systematically con- sidering a wide range of factors and conditions that can impact on welfare.
* continued P12
Dr Nikki Kells of Massey University in New Zealand.
The model consists of five areas or domains.
Four physical functional domains – namely nutri- tion, physical environment, health and behavioural interactions – and a fifth mental experience domain.
The first three domains consider nutritional, envi- ronmental or health-related factors that can influence the animal’s internal physical functional state, whereas the fourth deals with features of the ani- mal’s external physical and social environment.
Domain 4 is further sub- divided into three catego- ries – interactions with the
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Page 10 – Australian Pork Newspaper, January 2022
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