Motor activity of pregnant tethered sows

Continuous recording of body postures (standing or lying) using photocells connected to an event recorder was carried out on 125 pregnant sows tethered either by a thoracic girth or by a neck harness in six different farms, at different times of the year. Standing activity occupied an average of 250 min per day. This position occurred mainly during daytime, with amount of standing during the night (10 p.m. to 6 p.m.) averaging less than 2% of the total time. This mean value was found in 4 farms out of 6. However, on one farm, standing postures lasted 390 min and this hyperactivity was associated with stereotypes. In another farm, time spent standing did not exceed 180 min. In all cases, multiparous sows spent about 60% more time standing than first or second litter sows. Time spent standing was dependent on other animal characteristics such as physical condition and foot condition, and also on environmental factors. Activity rhythms were synchronized by food distribution. These results are discussed together with the potential of using motor activity to characterize adaptability of sows to tethering.