Lambert, K., Kimmer, M., Mitchell, E. 2017. Using braided cloth as a pig enrichment device. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 5(1) (March), 36-38.

While the provision of space is important, it is not enough on its own to satisfy the behavioral needs of the pig. Pigs are highly intelligent animals that require complexity in their environment to provide them with multiple levels of stimulation. Van de Weerd et al. (2003) found that the following five characteristics of enrichment devices would help maintain a pig’s attention: ingestible, destructible, deformable, chewable, and odorous. Multiple studies have also found that pigs seem to prefer items suspended at eye level over items placed on the floor, and that they will quickly lose interest in items once they have become soiled. Many institutions tend to use devices, such as hard plastic or rubber devices, that can be easily sanitized but will not meet all of the criteria as listed above to maintain a pig’s attention. Some of the materials suggested that would encourage pig interactions were cloth, rubber, or rope. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of braided cloth suspended at the front of the pig’s enclosure as a potential enrichment device. The majority of pigs showed interest in the devices when first placed in the enclosure, but interactions typically decreased by the afternoon. Even though the device did not maintain novelty for long, it still received more interactions from the animals than the other cage enrichment regularly provided. During our observations, the average percentage of time interacting with other devices was 2% overall (compared to the overall average of 22% with the cloth braid).