Pig Pens: A Look at Mirrors and Mats.

A study has shown how pigs react in various pen models,such as those with rubber mats,mirrors and pens with humans in sight.What a pig sees when it looks into a mirror may help scientists improve livestock housing. The study looked at different types of pig pens. Pigs had access to a standard pen with a metal floor (the "control" pen), one with a rubber mat on the floor, another with a mirror and a fourth with a view of another pig across a passageway. Pigs preferred spending 40 per cent of their time in pens where they could see another pig. They spent 10, 20 and 30 per cent, respectively, in the control, mirror and mat pens. In a second experiment, scientists examined which pens pigs preferred when a person was present. When a person was in sight, pigs spent nearly 90 per cent of their time in either the pen with the mirror or where they could see another pig. The use of mirrors in a commercial production, where pigs are kept in groups, would not be feasible but producers could consider using rubber mats to help improve the pigs' environment, which may help reduce stress and promote health and productivity.