There are opportunities to improve livestock family farms (LFFs) sustainability in Uruguay by using the co-innovation approach to change management practices and incorporate technologies. To harness these opportunities, between 2012 and 2015, a research project was implemented in Eastern Uruguay, where three simultaneous processes occurred at three levels: farm, region, and research team. At farm level, the work was carried out in seven LFF as case studies following three steps: (i) characterization and diagnosis; (ii) redesign; and (iii) implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. At the regional level, a participatory approach to planning, monitoring, and evaluating the project’s progress with regional stakeholders was adopted. At the team level, a Participatory Action Research approach was used. Consensus on the objectives and methods allowed for combined knowledge to solve practice-oriented problems. The 3-year project demonstrated the effectiveness in improving LFF sustainability, opened a learning space with stakeholders, and utilized a co-innovation model to improve rural development outcomes.

The objective of this work is to characterize two contrasting systems of fattening pigs in Uruguay. A total of 96 pigs (average 41.7 kg) were divided into eight groups of 12 animals, representing two production systems: (IN) pigs confined in pens of 12 m² or (OUT) kept in plots with field shelters and access to pasture. Behavioral observations were performed by scan sampling at 5-minute intervals, three times a day during weeks 6, 8, 10 and 12 of the experiment. Aggressions were also observed at the end of the experimental period. Blood samples were taken for cortisol analysis and other physiological parameters, during growth period and slaughter and meat quality characteristics were assessed after slaughter. Differences were found in carcass characteristics, wherein IN presented a higher dorsal fat. These animals presented an overall lower activity and spent less time resting, with a stable pattern throughout the day. In OUT, pigs usually rested at midday hours, more active in the morning and afternoon. The number of total reciprocal aggressions in the observation period was 4.2±3.7 for IN and 2.3±2.2 for OUT. Cortisol levels and biochemical profile did not show evidence of important problems in the animals. Welfare is not compromised in any of the systems, although higher levels of cortisol and aggressions could be indicating some stress problems in the confinement system. Meat characteristics in OUT were considered better than in IN from a nutritional point of view

Defining the composition and properties of manure in livestock production is critical in order to minimise possible environmental impacts stemming from its management. In this study, a nitrogen balance was carried out during two identical fattening periods (Experiments 1 and 2) in growing rabbits from weaning (age 28 d and live weight about 0.6 kg) to slaughter (age 61 d and live weight about 1.8 kg). The breeding conditions were typical for Spanish rabbit production. The objectives were to quantify the total nitrogen excreted by the animals and to estimate the average efficiency in the use of this nutrient, in comparison to other species. Animal weight, feed intake, and the production of faeces and urine were monitored weekly in a set of eight cages with nine rabbits in each, performing weekly analyses for nitrogen content in feed, urine and faeces. The overall nitrogen excretion was 50.2 g N per animal in Experiment 1 and 46.9 g N per animal in Experiment 2, which corresponded to about 58% of the total nitrogen intake. Urine and faeces contributed to overall nitrogen excretion in approximately the same proportions. The nitrogen excretion ratio was 40 grams per kilogram of animal produced. According to this ratio, rabbit breeding is less efficient in the use of nitrogen than raising broilers, but more than fattening pigs.

In rabbit production, several materials such as hay, straw, wood shavings or waste wool and cotton are used as nesting materials during parturition. In this work, straw and wood shavings were studied as potential materials for nest boxes, and a choice test was designed for this purpose. Two replicates of 30 primiparous does each were carried out. Does were housed 10 d before parturition in a double commercial cage, so each doe had access to 2 different nest boxes. One of the nests was filled with 8 cm of barley straw and the other with 8 cm of wood shavings, so the doe could choose which of them she prepared and gave birth in. During the 24 h prior to parturition, the state of the nest was assessed, according to the mixing of the material and the doe’s hair and the preservation of the original material, as well as the chosen nest box. When the does gave birth, the number of live and dead newborn was recorded. In the first replicate, 87% of the does chose the straw nest box, while in the second replicate 93% of the does did so. The number of live kits at birth did not differ statistically for straw and wood shavings nests (8.36±1.74 vs. 6.85±3.44), but litters reared in straw reacted a higher size at weaning (7.98±1.73 vs. 6.29±3.35; P<0.05). Finally, all the nests achieved a good level of mixing between the original material and the hair of the doe and only 5% of the does removed the original material (regardless of whether it was straw or wood shavings) and made the nest only with their hair. In conclusion, our results suggest that does might have a strong preference for straw rather than wood shavings as nest material.