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.

Agricultural Labour – Meeting the Safety Requirements

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There is a trend across Canada to implement and enforce occupational health
and safety regulations in agricultural workplaces. Employer-employee
relationships generally trigger enforcement; as a result, hog operations and
mushroom farms seem to be targeted. Saskatchewan “Farm workers” are excluded from minimum standards; however, workers in egg hatcheries, greenhouses, nurseries, bush clearing, and commercial hog operations are not considered
“farm workers.” Hog workers are entitled to overtime after 10 hours a day or 80 hours in 2
consecutive weeks and there are special provisions for workers and employers to agree to an
alternate day instead of a statutory holiday in the legislation.

Enrichment of pork products with DHA omega-3 lipids

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DHA is a long chain (C22:3) omega-3 fatty acid normally found in fish.
Pigs and humans can convert shorter dietary omega-3 fats (18:3) from plants,
such as flax, to DHA but only at a rate < 10%. Standard corn or grain fed pork typically contains < 20mg DHA per 100 g serving but this can be increased to ~70mg if the pigs are fed 15% crushed flax. The present trial was conducted to determine if pork DHA content could be raised even higher, if DHA was fed directly. The bacon (n=40) was distributed for sensory evaluation in a home use test (HUT) survey. Often feeding highly unsaturated fats to pigs can lead to problems of `off’ odours caused by fat oxidation. Bacon from pigs fed diets of more than 0.6% DHA (~1188 mg per day) began to have off odours and off flavours described as `barnyard’ or `fishy’ which correlated with the amount of oxidation, as measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). In a survey of 40 panellists, over 60% said they would choose omega-3 bacon over regular bacon; however only ~ 60% would buy bacon supplemented above the 0.6% level.

Ileal and total tract digestibility in growing pigs fed cassava root meal and rice bran with inclusion of cassava leaves, sweet potato vine, duckweed and stylosanthes foliage

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Four F1 (Large White x Mong Cai), crossbred pigs, surgically fitted with post-valve T-caecum (PVTC) cannulas, were used in a 4*4 Latin square arrangement to determine the nutritive value of feeds in which the foliages from sweet potato,
cassava, duckweed and stylosanthes provided 30% of the dry matter of the diet, the remainder of which was a mixture (50:50) of cassava root meal and rice bran. The diets with fresh water spinach or fresh cassava leaves had a higher apparent digestibility of organic matter in the total digestive tract but not at the level of the ileum, when compared with the diets containing sweet potato vines or stylosanthes foliage. Apparent digestibility of crude protein was also higher on the diets with water spinach and cassava leaves but the differences were confounded by different concentrations of crude protein in the foliages, and were not significant when the digestibility coefficients were corrected by covariance for differences in protein content of the diets. The total tract apparent digestibility of the crude fiber ranged from 44 to 51%, and did not differ among diets. On all the diets, a substantial proportion of the crude fiber (close to 40%) was digested pre-caecally.

Willingness to Approach Behavior and Feed Disappearance of Weaned Pigs Following Vaccination With Mycoplasma Vaccines

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An adaptation of the nonhuman animal observation section of the 2003 Swine
Welfare Assurance program (SWAP) was utilized to evaluate the behavior of
weaned pigs following vaccination with Ingelvac MycoFLEX® (Boehringer
Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., St. Joseph, MO) and Respisure®-One (Pfizer Animal
Health, Exton, PA). The objective was to determine if field observations of
markedly reduced pig activity following vaccination with certain Mycoplasma
hyopneumoniae vaccines could be confirmed and quantified by observing postvaccinal
pig behavior and feed disappearance. A total of 1,832 weaned pigs
17–23 days of age were allocated across 72 nursery pens (36 pens per treatment
group), resulting in approximately 25 pigs/pen with pen as the experimental
unit.
Pigs were evaluated to determine willingness to approach and feed disappearance
behavior pre- and postvaccination with each population of pigs serving as
its own prevaccination baseline for postvaccination behavior observations. After
entering and crouching down in a pen, the blinded observer counted all pigs who
approached him during a 15-s period. The pigs approaching the observer were
designated as willing to approach. The difference in pre- and postvaccination
values is reported here as a decrease in percentage approachability.
A significant decrease in postvaccination willingness to approach was observed
within both groups of pigs (p < .0001). However, the decrease in
willingness to approach was significantly less for the Ingelvac MycoFLEX®
vaccinated pigs compared with the Respisure-One vaccinated pigs (11.38% vs.
27.05%, p < .0001). The Ingelvac MycoFLEX® vaccinated pigs consumed
significantly more feed through 24 and 48 hr postvaccination (p < .0001 and
p D .0001, respectively). These findings suggest that willingness to approach and feed consumption may be useful parameters for assessing vaccine reactivity
(side effects) in pigs.

Amino acid digestibility of distillers dried grains with solubles, produced from sorghum, a sorghum-corn blend, and corn fed to growing pigs

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Since there are no data on the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) or the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in sorghum (S-DDGS) or in blends of sorghum and corn DDGS (SC-DDGS). Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to measure the AID and SID of AA in S-DDGS and SC-DDGS and compare these values to the SID of AA in C-DDGS. It was found that the digestibility of CP and Lys in S-DDGS and SC-DDGS is similar to values obtained for
C-DDGS, but many of the remaining AA are less digestible in S-DDGS and SC-DDGS than in C-DDGS. The concentration and digestibility of AA in C-DDGS varies among ethanol plants, which impedes the prediction of the concentration of digestible AA from the concentration of total AA.

For the full text please subscribe to the Journal of Animal Science

Holistic Method Turns The Tide on PRRS

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Research compiled over the years has given pork producers better “tools in their toolbox” to combat porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), says Scott Dee, DVM, director of the Swine Disease Eradication Center at the University of Minnesota. “Today more than ever before, producers can take a holistic, systematic approach to managing PRRS with greater success. Our improved understanding of the dynamics of the virus; transmission, infection, diagnosis and monitoring; and vaccination protocols has helped us provide producers with highly effective tools to turn the tide on PRRS infections,” Dee says. “The most effective and successful PRRS control and prevention within
an area requires a high degree of cooperation, coordination and collaboration within and among production
systems in a region,” Dee concludes. “Fortunately, producers have a number of effective tools available to better
help them determine current status, assess PRRS risk, measure and monitor infection status and improve their disease-
management decision making.”