Landwirtschaftskammer Niedersachsen

Behaviour & Welfare

Animal Health

Environment Impact

Housing & System Trials

At the Experimental Station for Pig Farming (ESPF) of the Chamber of Agriculture Lower Saxony different kinds of husbandry systems for farrowing sows, weaning piglets an growing/finishing pigs are available to carry out performance, behavioural and animal welfare studies on pigs. The main research areas of the ESPF are: - Testing of different housing systems and management measures - Testing of digital assistance systems and their effects in animal health and welfare monitoring as well as the linkage of data from different data sources - Avoiding non-curative interventions on pigs (e.g. no tail docking, alternatives in castration) - Testing of reduction measures for emissions and their environmental impact - Testing of reduction strategies in drug administration (e.g. antibiotics)