Experimental infection of SPF pigs with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 9 alone or in association with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae

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The purpose of this study was to compare in SPF pigs, the pathogenicity of an Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 9 strain 21 (isolated from the palatine tonsils of a healthy gilt on a French nucleus pig farm). The results show that the presence of A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 9 in a pig herd may be clinically unnoticed and that M. hyopneumoniae may potentiate A. pleuropneumoniae infection.

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

Influence of straw length, sow behaviour and room temperature on the incidence of dangerous situations for piglets in a loose farrowing system

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Crushing of piglets can be a major problem in loose-housing farrowing systems. In this study, we investigated the influence of straw of different lengths provided as nest-building material, sow behaviour and room temperature on the incidence of dangerous situations for the piglets. Piglets were defined as in danger of being crushed if they were trapped by the sow’s body or if they jumped aside in response to the lying down or rolling behaviour of the sow.

The behaviour of 22 Large White sows and their piglets was video-recorded from 10 h before farrowing until 72 h afterwards. The sows were kept in loose farrowing pens equipped with a creep area and a heating lamp. For a period of 5 days (48 h before the expected farrowing until 72 h after farrowing) 11 sows each had access to either 2 kg of long-stemmed straw or 2 kg of short-cut straw provided on the floor.

Sows in pens with short-cut straw manipulated the pen equipment more frequently during the 10 h before farrowing than sows in pens with long-stemmed straw (P = 0.02). The number of dangerous situationswas associated positively with the time the sow spent nest-building during farrowing (P < 0.01) and with the occurrence of events in which she
laid down laterally without leaning against a wall and with more than two piglets present during the first 3 days after farrowing (P = 0.04). The incidence of dangerous situations also decreased over the first days after farrowing (P < 0.001), increased with the time the sow spent moving around before lying down (P = 0.04), and was inversely related to the duration of the lying-down movement (P = 0.05). Moreover, the more piglets there were present during a lying-down movement the higher was the incidence (P = 0.02), especially if they were not grouped on only one side of the sow’s body (P = 0.03). Room temperature was associated positively with the time it took the piglets to get to the creep area after birth (P = 0.01) and negatively with the time they spent there (P = 0.02) but did not affect the incidence of dangerous situations. Straw length had no significant influence on the total pre-weaning piglet mortality or the proportion of piglets crushed.

In conclusion, we found that sow behaviour was hardly affected by straw length but had a major influence on the occurrence of situations with a risk of crushing piglets.

Supplementation of sow diets with oil during gestation: Sow body condition, milk yield and milk composition

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The role of dietary fat during early pregnancy on milk composition and yield in sows has not yet been fully established. To enable the importance of type and timing of oil supplementation to be evaluated this study aimed to determine the consequences of altering the fatty acid profile of sow diets during either the first or second half of gestation; oils of different fatty acid composition were chosen as energy supplements to provide diets with different fatty acid profiles. Consideration was given to sow condition, milk yield and milk composition. It was found that the fatty acid profile of sow diets, during either the first or second half of gestation, appears to be of more importance
than the energy content of the diet per se, also the type and timing of dietary supplementation had a large influence on the backfat deposition during pregnancy and fat mobilization during the lactation period. The provision of extra energy during G1, and to a lesser extent in G2, resulted in increased fat deposition during the period of supplementation. This study shows the important role of maternal adipose tissue as a store of biologically important
fatty acids, for mobilization during late gestation and lactation when they will be of most benefit to their offspring.
The study also shows that oil supplements during G1 also had a profound effect on immunoglobulin secretion during lactation.

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

Genetic background and phenotypic characterization over two farrowings of leg conformation defects in Landrace and Large White sows

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A Bayesian threshold animal model was applied to evaluate the prevalence over 2 farrowings and genetic background of overall leg conformation score and the presence or absence of 6 specific leg defects in purebred Landrace and Large White sows. The results confirm that there is a moderate genetic determinism for leg conformation in Landrace and Large White Sows.

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

Perceptions, regulations and cost: A look at the key questions

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Powerpoint presentation, presented at the 2009 Animal Transportation Conference.

Duration of feeding linseed diet influences expression of inflammation-related genes and growth performance of growing-finishing barrows

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The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of dietary linseed (rich in n-3 PUFA) on expression of inflammation-related genes and on growth performance of growing-finishing barrows. Two isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets were formulated, one as the basal diet and the other containing 10% linseed. Twenty-four Landrace ~ Yorkshire barrows weighing 35 } 3.7 kg were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups, with 6 pigs per group. During the entire experimental period of 90 d, these 4 groups of pigs were first fed the basal diet and then fed the linseed diet for 0, 30,
60, and 90 d before slaughter, respectively. Pig growth; messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-ƒÁ (PPARƒÁ), IL-1ƒÀ0, IL- 6, and tumor necrosis factor-ƒ¿ (TNF-ƒ¿); and plasma concentrations of the 3 proinflammatory cytokines were measured and analyzed. Average daily feed intake did not differ among treatment groups (P > 0.05), but ADG (P < 0.05) and G:F (P < 0.01) responded quadratically to the duration of linseed diet feeding, and pigs in the 60-d treatment group had the greatest ADG and G:F. The mRNA expression of PPARƒÁ in loin muscle
and spleen increased linearly (P < 0.01) with the duration of linseed diet feeding, whereas its expression in adipose tissue was not affected (P = 0.095). Tumor necrosis factor-ƒ¿ and IL-6 mRNA expression in muscle, adipose, and spleen, as well as serum concentration of TNF-ƒ¿, decreased linearly (P < 0.01) with the duration of linseed diet feeding. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-ƒÁ mRNA abundance was negatively correlated with IL-1ƒÀ, IL-6, and TNF-ƒ¿ mRNA abundance both in muscle (R2 = 0.63, P < 0.001) and in spleen (R2 = 0.69, P < 0.001), and PPARƒÁ mRNA expression in spleen (R2 = 0.59, P < 0.01) and muscle (R2 = 0.52, P < 0.05) was negatively correlated with serum TNF-ƒ¿ concentration. There were also significant quadratic relations between ADG and expression of PPARƒÁ (P <
0.05) and splenic TNF-ƒ¿ (P < 0.05). These data suggest that intake of n-3 PUFA from the linseed diet led to significant decreases in the expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes, which may stimulate growth in growing-finishing barrows, at least in part, through a PPARƒÁ-dependent mechanism.

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

The relationship between infectious and non-infectious herd factors with pneumonia at slaughter and productive parameters in fattening pigs

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This paper explores the relationship between infectious and non-infectious herd factors with the occurrence of pneumonia at slaughter and productive parameters in fattening pigs on 39 fattening herds. A questionnaire was used to obtain environmental and management factors (non-infectious factors). Blood samples and lungs were obtained from 35 pigs in each herd at slaughter. Serological testing was performed for antibodies against three respiratory pathogens (infectious factors): porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mh) and Aujeszky’s disease Virus-gE protein (ADV-gE). Lung lesion classifications were catarrhal- purulent bronchopneumonia (CPBP), pleuropneumonia (PLP) and pleuritis. A mean lesion value (MLV) was calculated for each
lesion. ANOVA and logistic regression assessed statistical associations among MLV, average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (dependent variables) with infectious and non-infectious factors (independent variables). Mh vaccination was associated with a significant decrease in CPBP; high Mh seroprevalences was associated with an increased level of CPBP. FCR was negatively related with high seroprevalences for ADV-gE and Mh. No significant associations were seen for ADG.

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

Dietary supplementation with Acanthopanax senticosus extract enhances gut health in weanling piglets

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It is hypothesized that dietary supplementation with Acanthopanax senticosus extract (ASE) may enhance gut health in weanling piglets. This hypothesis was tested by determining the frequency of diarrhea, intestinal microbiota and morphology in weanling piglets on day 21 after the initiation of dietary supplementation with ASE. It was found that dietary supplementation with ASE effectively increased villus height in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, and decreased crypt depth in the gut, which resulted in a decreased incidence of diarrhea, compared with the control group.
These findings suggest that ASE as a dietary additive could enhance gut health by regulating the microbiota composition
and maintaining a normal morphology in weanling piglets, thereby decreasing the incidence of diarrhea resulting from
weaning stress.

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

Lysine requirement for maintenance in growing pigs

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Probably due to methodological problems the knowledge about the AA requirement for maintenance in pigs is rather scarce. In the present study an alternative experimental approach was applied and its underlying hypothesis was tested, whether protein retention decreases with body weight (BW), when daily lysine intake remains constant and acts as the limiting factor for protein retention, and whether this decrease reflects the increasing requirement of lysine for maintenance. If this hypothesis can be confirmed, lysine requirement for maintenance can be calculated when assuming a certain value for lysine concentration in body protein, since marginal efficiency of dietary lysine utilisation for protein retention is not affected by its level of intake (when being below the level necessary for maximum response), BW, protein retention capacity of the animal nor by energy intake. A series of N balances experiments using twelve castrated male pigs were performed at approximately 35, 55, 80, 110, and 140 kg of BW and body composition was determined by the D2O dilution technique. Two lysine intake levels were tested to prove that the animals on the lower level respond to additional lysine and, therefore, have received a lysine-limiting diet, the prerequisite for the alternative. Based on the extent of the decrease in protein retention with BW the following estimates for the maintenance lysine requirement
were derived: 18 mg/kg BW, 71 mg/kg BW0.75, 29 mg/kg fat free substance, and 121 mg/kg body protein. These estimates are higher than values reported in the literature, which might be caused by methodological differences or by the higher feed intake of the animals in the present study.

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

Caring for livestock during transport: Truckers, producers and industry talk the issues

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International developments and new opportunities for collaboration were showcased at
the Livestock Transport Conference, Jan. 29, in Calgary, Alta. The conference, themed
“Are we there yet?” was hosted by Alberta Farm Animal Care (AFAC) and the National
Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC). The .pdf below is a collection of key comments from Livestock Transport Conference
presentations. Articles on many of the presentations are available on the Certified
Livestock Transport Web site.