Handling Stress During Marketing of Pigs from Large Groups

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

We have previously shown that pigs from large groups are more socially tolerant than pigs from conventional small groups and will fight less when re-grouped, as happens during marketing. This study was conducted to compare the differences in handling attributes, stress responses, and meat quality of pigs between small conventional pens and large group auto sort pens. When handled through the same facilities, pigs from large and small groups required similar levels of force during handling. However, pigs from large groups tended to load more quickly. Pigs from the two treatments had similar physiological responses to handling. When given adequate lairage time to recover from handling and transportation, meat quality was similar between group size treatments. However, pigs from small groups had a higher degree of marbling, higher light reflectance and also a redder colour. The trends, although not statistically significant, would suggest conventional small group pigs respond slightly more to stress than large group pigs.

Evaluating Energy Usage and Various Energy Conservation Strategies for Swine Barns

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Energy usage in swine barns and potential energy conservation measures were evaluated in
this study. A survey of 28 swine facilities showed large variability in energy used per hog
produced between barns. Energy audits conducted in four selected barns identified the various
areas, equipment, and practices in the barn that contributed significantly to the total overall
energy consumption, thereby aiding in prioritizing areas for intervention. Using computer
simulation, various potential strategies that can be applied in a barn in terms of lighting, creep
and space heating, fans, feed motor, and heat recovery were examined. Simulation results for a
typical 600-sow operation showed that potential annual savings up to 47,391 kWh electricity (79
kWh/sow) or 88,404 m3 natural gas (147 m3/sow) can be attained.

Protein, nucleic acid content and activity of m- and m-calpain in the longissimus dorsi muscle as affected by protein and energy restriction during early growth of pigs

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It is well known that accelerated/compensatory growth may occur in pigs after a
period of feed restriction. However, very few data are available on the possible consequences of accelerated
growth on muscle protein-turnover in pigs (growth rate of muscle, nucleic acid
contents, proteolytic enzyme activities). The content of DNA and RNA, as well as
their mutual proportions, influences the capacity of muscle for protein synthesis.
Similarly, the activity of proteolytic enzymes (e.g. m- and m-calpain) influences
muscle growth (Goll et al. 1998). The majority of studies on this topic investigated
final effects, mainly at slaughter weight (e.g. Kristensen et al. 2002; Oksbjerg et al.
2002; Therkildsen et al. 2002, 2004). In this study, these effects are examined in
growing pigs from 25–105 kg bodyweight (BW) at several stages of bodyweight. Based on the results it can be concluded that limitation of protein and energy intake during early growth of pigs does not strongly influence
daily muscle gain and protein deposition in the LD muscle. Similarly, re-introducing
adequate feeding did not influence these features. However, protein/energy
restriction decreases DNA concentration in the LD muscle, and during the following
recovery period the DNA concentration tends towards its normal content.
Moreover, higher rate of gain of total content of DNA in the LD muscle of
temporarily restricted pigs do not cause increased protein deposition in the muscle. As far as the activity of m-calpain is concerned, our results do not prove that it could
be increased in recovering pigs.

Molecular characterization, expression and association analysis of the porcine CMYA4 gene with carcass traits

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In this study, we obtained the mRNA sequence including the full coding sequence and the partial 5′ untranslated
region of the porcine CMYA4 gene by using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the sequence was deposited in the GenBank nucleotide database. It was found that association of genotypes with growth and carcass traits showed that different genotypes of the CMYA4 gene were significantly associated with the backfat thickness of the area between sixth and seventh ribs (p < 0.05) and backfat thickness at the shoulder (p < 0.05).

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.

Effects of shaded versus unshaded wallows on behavior, performance, and physiology of the outdoor lactating sow

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The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of shading wallows during the summer months on lactating sow behavior, performance, and physiology. A total of 128 sows were used during warm weather (May to August 2001) to determine the effects of unshaded (control; n = 8) vs. shaded (SH; n = 8) wallows. Sows ranged over 6 parities and were fed a completely balanced sorghum-based diet. Behavioral data were collected by 15-min scan samples over a 24-h
period/wk for a total of 16 wk. All sows were observed twice when litter age was 5 and 15 d, respectively. Respiration rates (breaths/min) were collected on 50 sows (control, n = 25; SH, n = 25) over an 8-wk period when the maximum temperature exceeded 32°C. Ten milliliters of clotted blood and 20 mL of whole blood were obtained by jugular puncture from each sow on the day of weaning to determine total white blood cells, acute phase proteins, packed-cell volume, and chemotaxis and chemokinesis. Descriptive water temperature profiles were measured by using data loggers positioned at 3 levels per wallow: surface water, shallow mud, and deep mud. Behavioral, postural, location, performance, and physiological measurements did not differ (P > 0.05) among wallow treatments. Regardless of treatment, sows spent approximately 82% of their total time budget inside the farrowing hut and only approximately
7% of their total time budget in the wallow. A total of 428 piglets died, 219 in the control treatment and 209 in the SH treatment. The majority of piglets in both treatments died of crushing within the first 72 h after parturition, and most of the piglets had suckled. Shade kept the shallow water profile cooler during the hotter afternoon temperatures compared with the control wallows. In SH for both the shallow and deep mud profiles, temperatures were consistent throughout the day. In conclusion, sows spent a large percentage of their daily time budget inside the farrowing hut and spent only
brief episodes in the wallow. Shading the wallow did not result in increased wallow use time or improvements in sow physiology and overall performance. 

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

Coated fatty acids alter virulence properties of Salmonella Typhimurium and decrease intestinal colonization of pigs

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The aim of the present study was to determine whether some frequently used short- (SCFA) and medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) are able to alter virulence gene expression and to decrease Salmonella Typhimurium colonization and shedding in pigs using well established and controlled in vitro and in vivo assays. It was found that when given as feed supplement to pigs experimentally infected with Salmonella Typhimurium, coated butyric acid decreased the levels of faecal shedding and intestinal colonization, but had no influence on the colonization of tonsils, spleen and liver. Uncoated fatty acids, however, did not influence fecal shedding, intestinal or tonsillar colonization in pigs. In conclusion, supplementing feed with certain coated fatty acids, such as butyric acid, may help to reduce the Salmonella load in pigs.

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

Pigs’ preferences for rooting materials measured in a three-choice maze-test

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The aim of this experiment was to investigate pigs’ preferences for rooting materials. Eighteen materials
were allocated to six categories each of which consisted of three similar materials based on characteristics such
as structure, size of particles,complexity, destructibility and digestibility.Twelve pairs of pigs chose among the
three materials of each of the six categories in a balanced design.Within each category each pair was given four
instantaneous choices among the three materials in a three-armed maze. ‘No choice’ was scored if the pigs did
not enter one of the maze-arms within 90 s. Thus there were four options in each choice situation. The results
were analysed using a random utility model incorporating random intercepts to account for the repeated testing
of the same animals. The pigs expressed clear preferences within the category EARTH,where compost and peat
were preferred to wood-shavings and no choice. In the category CHIP the most probable rank-order was spruce
chip, willow chip, fir chip and no choice, while in the category ROUGH the most probable rank-order was
maize-silage, grass silage, sugar beets and no choice.However, in these two categories none of the probabilities
were sufficiently large to signify a preference for any of the three materials although the probabilities of the ‘no
choice’ option were low.The pigs expressed no preferences among any of the four options including ‘no choice’
in the categories TOY(sisal robe, Bite-Rite,wooden beam),HAY(alfalfa hay mixed with straw, seed grass hay,
barley straw with under-seed), and STRAW (long straw, chopped straw and straw pellets).

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

Consumer Preferences for Animal Welfare Attributes: The Case of Gestation Crates

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The objectives of this study are to 1) estimate consumer willingness-to-pay for alternative pork production practice attributes including use of gestation crates; 2) examine if these preferences are related to preferences for farm size and country-of-origin attributes; 3) evaluate if banning use of gestation crates may be justified on grounds of economic welfare enhancement; and 4) identify the distribution of welfare impacts of gestation crate bans across consumers. Mixed logit and latent class models are employed to investigate the extent of consumer preference heterogeneity influencing conclusions to theses individual objectives. In our analysis, if a consumer is provided with adequate labeling of pork produced on farms certified to voluntarily not use gestation crates, we find no economic support justifying a ban on the use of gestation crates that impacts all consumers. The results of this analysis imply that the desires (and corresponding voting behavior) of these consumers have substantial impacts on the consumer welfare of all consumers whose food product choice set is impacted. Also, the swine industry may benefit by encouraging additional labeling of products originating from producers voluntarily choosing not to utilize gestation crates. If these products are currently not widely available to consumers, results of this study suggest that additional labeling may, in addition to seizing market opportunities, potentially help alleviate some of the increasing pressure for production practice changes associated with gestation crates.