Hogs and the humans who handle them may both feel discomfort throughout the process. Handling hogs with kindness, tolerance, and understanding might help them feel less stressed. People working with hogs should bear in mind that the animals are not used to being moved about and have no idea what the purpose of their effort is. It’s considerably easier to split and distribute hogs into their respective groups if they aren’t very enthusiastic.
Understanding of animal behaviour might facilitate the management of hogs
Despite their voracious curiosity and tendency for exploring the unknown, hogs may experience significant anxiety when placed in unusual surroundings. The more used hogs are to being moved about and working with their handlers, the less stressed they will be. Although hogs have poor vision, they have an innate curiosity in and/or fear of new places, so it’s likely they’ll want to stop and have a look around when they’re being moved. With the use of the Crystal Spring Hog Equipment is essential here.
The temperature
Hogs’ eyes are set low on the side of their head, giving them a wide field of view (310 degrees), but limiting their depth perception immediately in front of them. This demonstrates that hogs have a blind spot in the rear that extends 50 degrees.
- Hogs have excellent hearing and a strong sense of smell. This suggests that they would pause to investigate scents that most people would pass by unnoticed.
- The gregarious character of hogs makes them uncomfortable when alone. Isolation from other swine is an extremely stressful circumstance.
Preference For the Hogs
Hogs like to be moved in small groups because of their innate tendency to stay in close proximity to one another while they travel. Even hogs like to travel in herds. A higher heart rate, faster breathing, more injuries from fighting, and more time spent loading stuff may result from attempting to relocate a big number of people.
Hogs have an exceptional memory and can remember both positive and negative experiences with great detail and for very long periods of time. Reducing the amount of negative interactions between handlers and animals may speed up the process of loading and unloading animals.
Wild hogs like to go where there is more light and will avoid regions that are dimly lighted. There should be uniform lighting, and the interior of automobiles and other areas where hogs are transported should also be well lit to facilitate loading.
Controlling the Gear
There is a vast range of animal handling tools available on farms that may be used to transport animals in a humane and efficient manner.
You should avoid using the electric prods if at all possible. Despite the prevalence of electric prods and plastic paddles in the hog farming sector, recent experiments have shown that sorting boards are more effective at moving hogs from one area to another.
Conclusion
Prodding animals at the back of the group to get them to go forwards is not only ineffective but also unpleasant for the animals. Stress, discomfort, and even fear are all possible outcomes of prodding. Using an electric prod increases the target animal’s body temperature, heart rate, and the frequency with which it becomes immobile, according to research undertaken at universities and by commercial firms. When using electric prods, it is crucial that the animals’ sensitive areas (eyes, noses, anuses, testicles, etc.) not be touched.
