Net Energy Content of Canola Meal and Full-Fat Canola Seeds in Swine

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 1, 2008 | No Comments

Investigation of QTL regions on Chromosome 17 for genes associated with meat color in the pig

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This paper finds that the EDN3 and PHACTR3 genes might have potential effects on meat
colour in pigs, and molecular mechanisms of their functions are worth
exploring.

Agglomeration Externalities and Technical Efficiency in Pig Production

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The objective of our paper is therefore to assess the effects of agglomeration externalities on the technical efficiency of French pig farms. This paper employs the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and in a second-stage truncated regression the impact of
agglomeration externalities based on theoretical
expectations is investigated. Using data about pig activity for 899
French farms in 2004, our results showed that farm
technical efficiency is as much increased by
concentration as it is the case for other businesses.
Reasons may be knowledge spillovers, labor force
matching and proximity to upstream and downstream
market. By contrast, the analysis did not reveal any
constrain due to increased land demand following the
environmental regulation.

To What Surprises Do Hog Futures Markets Respond?

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We examine the response of hog futures prices to different measures of surprise resulting from the Hogs and Pigs Reports (HPR) announcements. We investigate whether the preliminary announcements and market expectations are rational forecasts for the period 1982–2002. We then assess the impact of alternative measures of new information from the announcements on hog futures prices. We find that HPR announcements are irrational estimates of final estimates and that market expectations are also irrational estimates of HPR announcements. First, while irrationality exists, HPR reports continue to demonstrate that they provide information to the market regardless of the form that is used to measure the effect. Second, the source of the irrationality in forecasting final and announced estimates is not clear, but because it emerges regardless of the supply variable examined, it makes sense to regard a factor such as a time-varying structural or technological change in the hog industry as a likely source. Finally, while we find that new information does indeed explain changes in prices, the degree of explanatory power is relatively small.

Dietary tryptophan helps to preserve tryptophan homeostasis in pigs suffering from lung inflammation

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In pigs, inflammation modifies Trp metabolism and consequently could impact on Trp requirement for growth. In this study, the effects of lung inflammation, induced by the intravenous injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant, and dietary Trp content on Trp metabolism and availability were investigated. Two dietary Trp contents, one corresponding to a low- Trp diet (1.5 g of Trp/kg of diet, Basal diet) and the second to an adequate-Trp diet (2 g of Trp/kg of diet,
TRP diet), were used. Ten blocks of 4 littermate piglets were selected at 40 d of age. Within each block, piglets were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 experimental treatments: (1) healthy control and Basal diet, (2) inflammation and Basal diet, (3) inflammation and Basal diet + antioxidant, and (4) inflammation and TRP diet. Inflammation induced an increase in indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) activity, an enzyme involved in Trp catabolism, in lung, lymph nodes, heart, and spleen (P < 0.01). Contrary to piglets fed the TRP diet, pigs suffering from inflammation did not maintain
their plasma Trp concentrations when they were fed the Basal diet. Furthermore, pigs fed the TRP diet had decreased plasma haptoglobin concentrations, IDO activity, and lung weight than those fed the Basal diet, indicating that the inflammatory response was moderated with the greater Trp supply. Antioxidant addition in the Basal diet decreased the effects of inflammation on plasma Trp concentrations and IDO activity. These results indicated that inflammation increases Trp catabolism and thus may decrease Trp availability for growth.

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

Maternal infanticide in sows: Incidence and behavioural comparisons between savaging and non-savaging sows at parturition

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Failure to establish normal maternal bonds occurs in individuals of many species. In some animals this may simply show as abandonment or refusal to care for offspring. An extreme behaviour, usually associated with litter bearing species, involves active maternal aggression towards newborns, up to and including infanticide. This behaviour has been observed in domestic sows (Harris et al., 2003) causing both significant economic losses to the pig industry and problems of animal welfare. Piglet mortality before weaning within commercial pig production is about 10% in Europe. One reason for these losses is sow aggression towards piglets (Lay et al., 2002). Aggression of sows towards their newborn offspring, a syndrome usually abbreviated by stockmen to ‘savaging’, has been described in large surveys of commercial piggeries in Europe with an incidence of 8% (Knap and Merks, 1987) and 7–12% (van der Steen et al., 1988). Harris and Gonyou (2003) also reported that the incidence came up with 5.3% of gilts in large study in the US. The behaviour may be defined as an active attack of piglets, using the jaws, that results in serious or fatal bite wounds. It almost always occurs during farrowing or immediately afterwards. The aims of this study were to investigate the incidence and nature of this behaviour and to compare other behaviours between savaging and non-savaging sows around parturition in 226 F2 sows that were produced by two highly divergent pig breeds of Chinese Erhualian and western Duroc with significantly genetic difference on maternal behaviours and were raised at three different pig farms. Each of these sows was housed in individual 2 m x 2.5 m pens with concrete floors. Three kilograms of fresh straw was provided to sows before parturition. Behaviour observations were made from 5 h before parturition to 24 h afterward using real time 1:0 sampling. Savaging sow was defined as an apparently deliberate attack on one or more piglets that resulted in the death, by biting, of at least one piglet. The incidence of savaging was: farm 1, 10.7% in gilts and 5.3% at the second farrowing; farm 2, 14.6% and 6.25%, respectively; farm 3, 6.8% at the second farrowing and 3.2% at the third farrowing. The incidence of savaging tended to be higher in gilts although some savaging gilts were killed before their second litters. There was no effect of the different farms on incidence of savaging. Prepartum nest building behaviours were not a predictor for savaging, but savage sows had a greater frequency of posture change from before parturition through the expulsive phase. This restlessness included an increase in rearing behaviour and a reduced ability to lie down carefully without endangering piglets. This study suggests that savaging is part of a more generalized behavioural pathology that includes increased excitability and is not specifically piglet directed.

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

Maternal responsiveness of sows towards piglet’s screams during the first 24 h postpartum

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In this study we focused on sow responsiveness towards piglet screams which are proposed to have an
important link to posture changes and early piglet crushing. A sow’s responsiveness to screams of her piglets was
investigated along the first 24 h after birth, the period of highest mortality, in 15 lactating sows housed in
farrowing crates.We compared the sow’s response to playbacks of screams of trapped piglets to her response to a
control sound during birth, 8–12 h postpartum and 20–24 h postpartum. We did the same with playbacks of
screams of fighting piglets during nursings 8–12 h postpartum and 20–24 h postpartum. The sow’ responsiveness
to screams of own trapped piglets was analyzed within the whole 24 h and to screams of fighting piglets
30 min between 8 and 12 h postpartum and 30 min between 20 and 24 h postpartum. A sow was scored as
responsive if she changed her posture in response to the stimuli. Sows had a four times higher response towards
playbacks with screams than towards the control stimulus. The proportion of the sows’ responsiveness to
screams (44%) of trapped piglets did not change significantly between birth, 8–12 h postpartum and 20–24 h
postpartum. Sows responded to 28% of playbacks of fighting piglets by terminating a nursing independently
from the time after birth. Playbacks and real screams of own piglets were similarly effective in evoking a
response for both types of screams. There was no significant association between the sows’ responsiveness to
screams of trapped piglets and piglet mortality nor between screams of fighting piglets and weight gain. In
conclusion our results indicate that sows maintained their responsiveness towards piglet screams during trapping
and during fighting for teats within the first 24 h. Playbacks and real screams were similarly effective in evoking a
response. We discuss the importance of the sound characteristics of piglet screams related to the sows’ response.

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

Is it getting better? Animal welfare aspects in subsidized dairy and pig stables

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The Farm Investment Scheme (FIS)does not achieve important improvements in the behavioural aspect of animal welfare at the farm level. Although there are some meliorations in the dairy farms, these are mainly due to the abandonment of tethered-stalls – a husbandry form which is due to become extinct even without policy intervention
in the middle run. At the pig farms, restriction of animal behaviour is a much more severe problem and the FIS can not account for any improvement.

An estimate of the methionine requirement and its variability in growing pigs using the indicator amino acid oxidation technique

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The objective of this study
was to determine the mean Met requirement in individual
gilts and to estimate the related variability. It was concluded that to maximize profitability,
Met levels in starter pig diets should be determined,
depending on the cost of crystalline Met and the fraction
of the population whose requirement is to be met.

Genetic components of heat stress in finishing pigs: Development of a heat load function

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This study tested the effects of heat stress during the life of a pig, specifically its final weight. It was found that the threshold varied from 16-20 degree Celcius and the second period was varied from 8 to 16 weeks. Changes in BW of finisher pigs was due to heat stress and can be magnified by heat load during the last 10 weeks of life.