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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2017
Piglets commonly show a setback in growth and a low intake of solid feed on weaning at three to four weeks of age. Outdoor reared piglets, however, have been found to spend more time eating solid feed than indoor reared piglets in straw yard weaning pens (Webster and Dawkins 2000, Cox and Cooper 2001), even though outdoor piglets do not conventionally receive creep feed prior to weaning. Outdoor piglets are, furthermore, frequently observed chewing the roll nuts provided to outdoor sows. In this study, therefore, we investigated the effect of two aspects of outdoor rearing on the feeding behaviour of indoor reared piglets. These aspects were maternal facilitation of feeding and large pellet size.