HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-01-10, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2019. PAGE 11.
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devices that are 50 per cent natural
(wood, straw, etc). Pigs love straw
but the Terpstra’s manure handling
system makes use of straw and hay
difficult to manage.
Given the sows’ fascination with
the chains (they literally wait in line
to use them) Tara’s sows seem quite
pleased with their current
enrichment devices. Fighting and
tail biting is reduced and the pigs are
calmer.
Once bred and ready to give birth,
the sows move into farrowing rooms
where the expectant mothers are
given a length of burlap to chew on.
This encourages their natural nesting
behaviour.
“We get 100-foot rolls from the
feed mill,” says Tara. “They chew it,
eat it, rip it or use it like a ‘dookie’ ”
explains Tara.
She believes the burlap has
reduced sow anxiety and it’s rare she
has to inject a sow with Stresnil to
them down during farrowing.
Once born, the piglets feast when
not exploring or sleeping on their
heated mats. Sometimes they can be
found curled up in the burlap.
“It smells like mom,” says Tara.
After 21 to 24 days, the piglets
move into the hot nursery where they
are grouped. It can be a stressful
time but the addition of a scented,
flavoured “PorkyPlay” toy keeps the
little piglets fascinated. Hanging
from the ceiling, the plastic disc toy
“eases the piglet’s aggravation and
stress.”
Having just returned from
EuroTier, a large agricultural
exhibition in Europe, Tara came
home with the idea to install boating
rope in the pens for the piglets to
chew on. She’s still figuring out the
best method to install this new
enrichment device.
From here, the piglets are moved
into the cold nursery and finally, the
finishing barn with toys all along the
way. Dangling chains bolted to the
pen corners seem to work best in the
finishing barn. Some pens have big
yellow balls as well. Tara has had
devices dangling from the ceiling
but pigs are well-known for their
destructive ways and she’s already
had one device torn from the ceiling,
requiring repair.
“We have a sales guy who was a
pig farmer in Holland and he thinks
like we do,” says Tara. “He often
sources out toys for us to use.”
Tara’s nurturing tendencies are
clearly evident. Having grown up in
the city, she isn’t thwarted by “this-
is-the-way-we’ve-always-done- it”
thinking. So offering enrichment
devices to keep pigs happy seems so
obvious, she doesn’t understand why
she gets “looks” when she goes to
meetings to extol the virtues of
enrichment devices.
She has full support at home.
Husband Dennis is equally on board.
“When you don’t have toys, and you
come into the barn, you either
frighten the pigs or you become the
toy,” he says. Plus, he recognizes
consumers’ dislike of anything
“mass produced” and their concern
for animal welfare. “They want that
feel-good feeling and we get that by
using enrichment devices.”
The couple’s barn manager, Ryan
Leibold of Wingham, agrees. Having
worked in other pig barns, he sees
the difference enrichment devices
can make.
“Pigs need to have something to
do,” says Ryan. “Or else they want to
destroy stuff or each other.”
Bluntly put, he said sows in some
barns are basically prisoners. “They
eat and sleep with nothing to do.” At
Silver Corners, the sows can wander,
choose their social structure, find
their favourite sleeping spot, and
they “chew on those chains all day
long.”
It’s the kind of barn more people
should get a chance to see but in the
pig world, biosecurity is critical.
Entrants have to remove clothing,
shower and dress in farm-supplied
clothing before entering the barn.
Tara and Dennis have done tours
for their accountants and other
interested parties but it’s quite a
process. “We aren’t trying to keep a
secret...there are just so many
biosecurity issues.”
The couple is keen to tell their
story and let people know what a
modern pig barn looks like. They
want to open the animal welfare
conversation to teach and
learn. Especially Tara who says
“this is all new” to her. For her,
raising pigs isn’t just a business.
She says “we are caretakers of
animals and there are costs
associated with that. I don’t get paid
more money to experiment with
enrichment devices. I choose to do
this because I believe they really
work.”
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Nesting
Sows are moved into farrowing rooms at Silver Corners Inc.
once they are preparing to give birth. The expectant animals
are given a burlap sack to encourage natural nesting
behaviours. (Lisa B. Pot photo)
A healthier lifestyle
Incidents of fighting and tail-biting have been reduced dramatically by the toys that Silver
Corners Inc. sow barn offers their animals, according to owner Tara Terpstra. The animals
literally wait in line to play with toys, reducing stress and encouraging health. (Lisa B. Pot photo)Get breaking
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Toys lead to healthier drift of pigs says Terpstras