113. The Welfare of Livestock Regulations 1994 state that:
"All pigs shall be fed on a wholesome diet appropriate to their species, age, weight and behavioural and physiological needs, which is fed to them in sufficient quantity to maintain them in good health and to promote a positive state of well-being."
"All pigs must be fed at least once a day. Where pigs are housed in a group and do not have continuous access to feed, or are not fed by an automatic feeding system, each pig must have access to the food at the same time as the others in the feeding group."
114. Unlike indoor production, where it is possible to monitor carefully body condition of each sow and take remedial nutritional action, the outdoor herd can be more difficult to manage. Food provision should be adjusted according to weather conditions. It therefore requires a high degree of management skill to react to changing weather so as to optimise feed inputs. From the point of view of pig welfare, the most important requirement is to ensure that sufficient food reaches all animals. Food is presented to outdoor pigs in a variety of ways (e.g. by hand or by a mechanical feeder, which should be kept off the paddock to avoid rutting) most of which are quite capable of achieving good welfare but it is essential that feed is kept in good condition and is widely distributed so that all pigs can gain easy access to it without undue competition. There should be a suitable, well-drained feeding area and this is particularly important if the food is scattered directly on to the ground. There are other feeding systems under trial and provided these facilitate the even distribution of food to all sows we welcome their development.
115. We understand there are some units where the intake of sand with food which has been scattered on the ground is sufficient to cause injury or, in extreme cases, death. Where this occurs, alternative methods of feeding, for example the use of troughs or the provision of a material such as rubber belting to feed on, should be introduced.
116. It is important for sows to farrow in good body condition and to have received adequate food and water to support the onset of milk production. Modern strains now being used require particular attention to be paid to the levels of nutrition prior to first farrowing to ensure that a sufficient level of fat is present to cope with outdoor conditions. This requirement is also important for lean strains of boar when they are first introduced. It is accepted that immediately after farrowing the sow may wish to remain with her piglets and may therefore choose not to eat or drink for 24 hours. The stockman should take care during this period when the sow will be particularly protective of her young.
117. Indoor units provide piglets with creep feed at a young age to prepare them for a dry food diet after weaning. As yet, no practical method of feeding creep to very young pigs on outdoor units has been devised so very careful management will be necessary at weaning to ensure that all piglets take to dry food. We do not know whether sucking pigs which do not receive supplementary feed are adversely affected and believe that this should be the subject of research.