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UDC 628.86.89

Received: April 14, 2026

Revised: April 20, 2026

Published: May 29, 2026

This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license

 

The study was conducted in 2024 at the breeding reproducer of the Cherkasy Research Station of the Institute of Agriculture of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences on lactating Large White sows. The aim was to investigate the efficiency of using farrowing crates equipped with an electronic feeder for housing lactating sows with piglets. The farrowing crate equipment for lactating sows was modernized, and their behavior and productivity parameters were studied. The distinctive feature of the modernization was that the crate-unit was equipped with a round feeder connected to an electronic feeding apparatus, and a play device was mounted on the adjacent partition. To determine the efficiency of the experimental equipment, a control group of lactating sows (n=8) was formed in one of the farm’s facilities; these sows were housed in crates with stationary farrowing crates. In the experimental group, lactating sows (n=8) were kept in experimental crates equipped with a transformable farrowing crate. Compound feed for the control group sows was delivered into standard feeders from a mechanical dispenser twice a day. Compound feed for the experimental group sows was delivered into the experimental feeders from an electronic feeding apparatus eight times a day. It was established that the improved farrowing crate equipment prevents feed wastage and improves animal welfare and productivity. The experimental group sows kept in the modernized crates outperformed their control counterparts in terms of estimated milk yield, average piglet weight, litter weight, and reproductive performance coefficient by 1.88%, 5.39%, 7.36%, and 3.17%, respectively.

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