The aim of the master's thesis was to investigate how different housing conditions in the period before and after weaning affect the play and comfort behaviour of piglets and weaners, as well as the frequency of ear and tail biting. The preliminary experiment included five sows (two sows in single group and three sows in the “group” pen) and 56 piglets, which were divided into two groups and were observed in the pre- and post-weaning period. Piglets in the “individual” (I) pen were restricted in their movement to one pen, whereas piglets in the “group” (G) were free to move between three farrowing pens. At weaning, we formed groups of 20 piglets from each treatment. We selected the heaviest piglets and tried to balance them by sex. During the lactation period and after weaning, the piglets had a toy in each pen. The toy consisted of a ball and eight ropes attached to it. Their behaviour was recorded with a video system. In the lactation, I piglets showed more individual and social object play and in post-weaning, I piglets played more with social objects. During lactation, social object play lasted longer in the I group of piglets, while in the post-weaning period; play lasted longer in the G piglets. In both rearing periods, social play increased with the number of piglets involved in play and with age. We found that housing system had no negative effect on weight gain and frequency of ear and tail biting.
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