Safety of a live attenuated Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae vaccine for swine

Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2009 | No Comments

This study evaluated the ability of a live attenuated E. rhusiopathiae strain to become persistently established in pigs after intranasal exposure and its potential to cause clinical signs consistent with swine erysipelas after being administered directly into the nasopharynx of healthy pigs. It was found that the live attenuated E. rhusiopathiae strain would unlikely revert to a virulat state when used in a field setting.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03781135

Investigations on genetic disease resistance in swine—A contribution to the reduction of pain, suffering and damage in farm animals

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

This review deals with genetic disease resistance in pigs as a prospective opportunity to reduce pain, suffering and damage in swine production. Even under favourable terms of housing and management, infectious diseases are wide-spread, and have to be ranked among the major sources for suffering in international pig production. There is abundant
variability in resistance/susceptibility of pig populations and breeds to a number of pathogens, including several viruses, bacteria, and parasites, even at similar performance levels. Practical applications of disease resistance in farm animals and established knowledge on disease resistance in swine are presented. The difficulty lies in the identification of carriers of favourable gene variants. With tools and technologies developed in the context of genome projects, new opportunities to dissect the genetic control of host response to infection are presented with QTL analysis of Sarcocystis
miescheriana resistance given as an exemplary parasite model: this model demonstrates the existence of outstanding gene loci and their role for polygenic trait variability. It further provides evidence for common mechanisms involved in resistance to different pathogens. Although a long way from the model to markers for disease resistance, pain, suffering, and damage might be reduced by the applications of genetic disease resistance in pig production in the future.

For more information the full article can be found at http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/applan/issues

Effects of Handling Procedures and Transport Vehicle Design on the Welfare and Meat Quality of Pigs under Canadian Conditions

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

The main objective of phase 1 of this project was to assess the effects of vehicle design on the pigs’
microenvironment during transport under various weather conditions, the behavioural responses of pigs
to these conditions, and the impact on carcass and meat quality. Overall, many of the differences that were found between the two vehicles may have been the result of the logistics (loading and unloading order) of this commercial study. Furthermore, differences in core body temperature and behaviour variations between and within vehicles were clearly influenced by the season.

Effects of low-phytic acid corn, low-phytic acid soybean meal, and phytase on nutrient digestibility and excretion in growing pigs

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

This study evaluated the effects of feeding low phytic acid (LPA) corn, LPA soybean meal, normal corn (NC), normal soybean meal (NSBM), and phytase on nutrient digestibility and excretion. It is concluded that feeding any combination of LPA corn, LPA soybean meal, and the phytase additive would improve phosphorus digestibility and would dramatically decrease phosphorus excretion thereby reducing the potential impact of phosphorus from pig manure on the environment.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/

Commercial Transportation of Equines to Slaughter in the U.S.

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Powerpoint presentation. Presented at the Livestock Transport Conference 2009.

Early deposition of n-3 fatty acids from tuna oil in lean and adipose tissue of fattening pigs is mainly permanent

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

The objective of this study was to test for different tuna oil feeding regimens, focusing mainly on the efficiency to enrich lean and adipose tissue with n-3 fatty acids and the expression of the adverse side-effects on performance, carcass, and pork quality. It was concluded that tuna oil feeding resulted in a lighter, less red and less yellow backfat and was found to increase the proportion of n-3 fatty acids to total fatty acids in treatments. The results show that, particularly under the condition of a continuous supply, much of the n-3 fatty acids ingested in early fattening can be recovered in pork.

For more information the full article can be found at http://jas.fass.org/

Torque teno virus infection in the pig and its potential role as a model of human infection

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Torque teno viruses (TTVs), of the genus Anellovirus, are single-stranded circular DNA viruses that infect many vertebrate species. Although viruses of this type have quite a stable genome, they exhibit low nucleotide homology. Torque teno virus infection has not been consistently linked to specific diseases, although there is epidemiological evidence of an association with disease in humans. The recent recognition of naturally occurring TTV infection in swine and its epidemiological resemblance to human TTV raises the possibility of using the pig as a model to study human TTV infection. Such an approach will require the development of novel investigative tools to study the epidemiology, transmission, immune responses and potential pathogenesis of TTV infection. The present review summarises
research on animal TTV infection, focussing in particular on TTV infection in the pig, and considers how a porcine experimental infection model might assist in the study of human TTV infection.

For more information the full article can be found at  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10900233

Acanthopanax senticosus extract as a dietary additive enhances the apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids in weaned piglets

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Our previous study indicated that Acanthopanax senticosus (AS) extract modified the cellular and humoral immune responses of weaned piglets by modulating the production of immunocytes, cytokines and antibodies (Kong et al., 2007a). Based on these results, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation with AS extract enhanced the digestibility of AA inweaned piglets. In the present study, this hypothesiswas tested by determining the serum contents and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of AA in weaned piglets on days 7, 14 and 28 after the initiation of treatment. It was found that AS extract is a promising alternative to antimicrobial agents, and could effectively enhance the digestibility and absorption of amino acids in weaned piglets.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Foraging of Iberian fattening pigs grazing natural pasture in the dehesa

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

The purpose of the present study is to determine the daily grazing time, the components of diet, the voluntary
intake and the nutrient balance obtained by finishing Iberian pigs grazing in the dehesa pastures during the montanera period without any supplementary feed. It was found that the proportion of grass and acorns influences nutritional balance and fatty acid profile, which is the present official system (MAPA, 2007) to assess the absence of any supplementary feed during the montanera fattening of Iberian pigs. However, it has shown an individual and year variability in diet composition and these results can contribute to explain final fattening performance differences and meat quality. Considering that acorn production has been quantified in 8–14 kg per tree an Iberian pig should eat approximately the acorn production of 0.5–1 tree per day during montanera fattening. These results are useful to determine set stocking in order to guarantee the traditional finishing system without concentrates or any supplementary feed.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/livsci

Manure Injection Systems

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

This article shows different manure injection systems that are currently available. This article includes manure injection equipment from the following companies, Hydro Engineering, Kongskilde, AerWay, Husky Farm Equipment Limited, Houle, Bourgault, Yetter, Veenhuis, Balzer, Ag-Chem, DM Machinery and Bazooka Farmstar.