title: [Showering of slaughtering pigs. I. A prospective study of the preference of slaughtering pigs for showering after transport and its consequences for meat quality].
abstract: In the Netherlands it is common practice to shower pigs awaiting slaughter during the two-hour period of rest in lairage. However, the quantity of water used in showering is considerable. There is a tendency to restrict the use of water for this purpose. Water, even if the well from which it is drawn is owned, is an expense, as taxes designed to cover the cost of preventing water-pollution are based on the quantity of water used. The main question asked in slaughter houses is whether spraying a mist of water is as effective as is showering (sprinkling drops of water). Another question is whether intermittent showering could replace continuous showering. The length of the periods of showering and intervals between these periods are of importance. So is the temperature of the water. By approaching these questions through two disciplines: applied ethology (preference-tests and general observations) and meat-technology (recording carcass quality), an effort was made to find an answer. Sprinkling obviously did not offer any advantage as regards the pigs or the carcass quality, when it was compared with spraying a mist of water, and uses five times as much water during a similar period and on the same surface. The pigs preferred four showers, each lasting ten minutes, to continuous showering throughout the two hours in lairage. Carcass quality was not adversely affected by intermittent showering compared with continuous showering. The experiments were carried out during a (cool) summer period. The pigs did not show any preference for lukewarm water rather than cold. Naturally, the response could be entirely different in winter time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D001494:Baths / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D008460:Meat / Q000592:standards; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013552:Swine
vernacular_title: Het douchen van slachtvarkens. I. Een oriënterend onderzoek naar de preferentie van slachtvarkens ten aanzien van het douchen na transport, en de gevolgen daarvan voor de vleeskwaliteit.