02345nas a2200253   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260007000043653002300113653001400136653001200150653002600162653001600188100001700204700001500221700001200236700001500248700001400263700001300277245010800290490000800398520167100406022001402077       2020                            d  c12/2020bSchlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KGaHannover10anutritive additive10afattening10arearing10aSus scrofa domesticus10atail biting1 aK Kauselmann1 aL Schrader1 aB Glitz1 aE Gallmann1 aH Schrade1 aE Krause00aTurning the gaze to maize: The effects  of maize kernels in straw as enrichment  on exploration in pigs0 v1333 aTail biting is one of the biggest problems in pig production systems that causes animal welfare and economic problems. Therefore, tail docking is a widely used intervention to reduce tail biting. However, appropriate enrichment material that stimulates and increases exploration behaviour of pigs also reduces the prevalence and risk of tail biting. In 288 pigs with undocked tails we investigated whether the attractiveness of chopped straw (CS) as enrichment material can be further increased when maize kernels were added (CS+MK). Further, we examined whether a higher attractiveness is accompanied by reduced tail incidents. We used material dispensers equipped with ultra-high-frequency radio-frequency identification (UHF RFID) systems to record individual exploration times of the pigs to the offered enrichment materials. Furthermore, animals were scored thrice for tail length losses and tail injuries, i.e. after the rearing period, in the middle of the fattening period and at the end of the fattening period. Both rearing and fattening pigs had higher exploration durations when housed with CS+MK compared to CS (LME: rearing, P<0.001, fattening, P<0.05). Interestingly, enrichment materials not only remained interesting but were used even more from rearing to fattening. However, when CS+MK was offered pigs showed a higher prevalence for tail biting incidents in the rearing, but not in the fattening period, compared to CS (rearing GLMM, P<0.01). This may have resulted from competition for the more attractive enrichment material (CS+MK). An edible additive increased the interest for straw in pigs over long term but could not improve tail status.  a1439-0299