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

Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2008 | No Comments

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.

Effect of drinker type on water intake and waste in newly weaned piglets

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In this experiment the effect of drinker type on water and food intake, growth rates, and belly nosing
were examined in newly weaned piglets. It was found that piglets with nipple drinkers wasted more water than other piglets, whereas piglets with float bowls consumed less water than the other piglets. Drinker type also affected feeding behaviour; piglets with push level bowls spent less time at the feeder than other piglets, although no difference was detected for feed intake or average daily gain. Also piglets appear to use more water during the first two days after weaning, although they do not appear to attain satiety through water consumption because most of the water used during this time is wasted. This excessive drinking and water wastage can be abated through the use of push-lever drinkers without negative implications for feed intake or growth rates.

Conceptus development during blastocyst elongation in lines of pigs selected for increased uterine capacity or ovulation rate

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This study evaluated conceptus development during blastocyst elongation as a potential contributing factor to differences in survival rate among piglets from different pig lines. The study found that differences between the lines of pigs in conceptus development during blastocyst elongation is limited. This suggests that mechanisms involved in generating the differences in survival rate are likely manifested later in the gestation period.

Physiological and immunological responses to weaning and transport in the young pig: Modulation by administration of porcine somatotropin

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This study examined the effects of exongenous procine (pST) on measures of stress and immune function in weaned pigs with or without transport. It was concluded that improved immune function in weaned pigs by pST may lead to greater health and growth in a commercial setting.

Effect of lecithin with or without chitooligosaccharide on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood metabolites and pork quality of finishing pigs

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Two
experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary lecithin with or without chitooligosaccharide (COS) on the
performance, blood metabolites, pork cholesterol, fatty acid composition and quality of finishing pigs. In exp. 1, 36 pigs
(Landrace x Yorkshire x Duroc, 84.590.60 kg initial body weight) were fed lecithin at 0, 2.5 or 5.0% of the diet. Lecithin
improved average daily gain (16%) and feed conversion ratio, and did not affect apparent nutrient digestibility. On day 28,
lecithin decreased serum total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (34 and 77%, P=0.016), and increased serum
triglyceride (P=0.048). Lecithin did not affect carcass characteristics and pork quality, but increased myristic and alinolenic
acid and reduced palmitoleic acid in pork. Experiment 2 involved 108 pigs (85 ± 0.76 kg initial body weight) in a
2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments, wherein two levels of lecithin (low, 2.5 and high, 5.0%) and COS (0.0 and 0.1%)
were used. Addition of COS in diets containing lecithin reduced pork cholesterol (16.4%) and oleic acid (28.3%), and did
not affect performance, nutrient digestibility, blood metabolites and pork quality. In conclusion, these results suggest that
lecithin improved the growth performance of finishing pigs and inclusion of COS reduced the amount of cholesterol in
pork.

Benchmarking and Cost – Production Relationships

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Agri Stats is a privately held company that provides professional benchmarking services to the commercial livestock industries. Currently, benchmarking services are provided for broiler, eggs, turkey, and swine production companies as well as their slaughtering and processing plants. Agri Stats started in the mid 1980’s with broiler benchmarking services. There are now twenty-one international companies participating in Agri Stats with the majority of those located in Canada and South America. Agri Stats collects participant financial and production data electronically each month. Internal auditors convert the data, prepare it for comparison and perform the monthly audits. Each company’s costs and financials are reconciled to their general ledger. Participants receive monthly detailed reports and performance summaries that allow them to compare their performance to other participants, the average of all companies and the top 25%. Current month, current quarter and previous twelve-month periods are reported. Each monthly report contains eight sections for analysis and comparison: Performance Summary, Feed Mill, Ingredient Purchasing, Nursery, Finishing, Market Haul and Profit. Benchmarking is simply the act of comparing data to improve performance. It can be and is done in various industries or in personal life. Businesses participate in formalized benchmarking to improve their performance, production and/or products. One benefit of benchmarking is that it contributes to the ability to see outside personal or professional practices. Benchmarking helps open the window to allow visualization of what individuals, companies and/or competitors are doing and how one compares to them. Effective benchmarking breaks this paradigm blindness and leads to creation of practices or processes that improve performance. Now that we realize the purpose and benefits of benchmarking, we should be able to agree upon its uses in the swine industry. In fact, it is used in various forms. These could range from simple production comparisons to elaborate and sophisticated total production and financial comparisons. Each and every commercial swine operation is encouraged to participate in some benchmarking effort; however, the ultimate goal is increasing profitability – not always increasing the level of production. Companies with higher feed costs/ton made it in the Top 25% list by being efficient and having advantages in other areas. The bottom line take home message is that a swine production company or entity needs to be aware of their advantages and disadvantages so they may properly position strengths and allocate efforts for improvement. Current challenges facing the Canadian swine industry do not appear to be improving as evidenced by increasing cost disadvantages compared to the US. Canadian participants achieve higher production levels than their counterparts in the US but are more severely challenged with higher costs. Recent trends indicate the production gap may be reducing. This primarily is due to declines in Canadian production at the same time as US numbers have improved. Higher production levels do not guarantee lower costs. Swine production companies need to be able to measure their strengths and advantages in order to focus efforts on lowering costs and improving profitability. Benchmarking is an effective tool for identification of strengths and opportunities as well as measuring progress and trends. Each swine production company should be participating in some type of benchmarking. To gain maximum benefit, production, cost and financial performance should all be part of the benchmarking program.

Effect of sodium butyrate on growth performance and response to lipopolysaccharide in weanling pigs

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Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of dietary sodium butyrate on growth performance and response to Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in weanling pigs. In the first experiment there was no effect of dietary sodium butyrate or tylosin on overall G:F, but there was a decreasing ADFI and ADG as levels increased. In the second experiment it was found that feeding diets containing sodium butyrate or carbadox did not alter ADG or ADFI compared with pigs fed the control diet. This indicates that dietary sodium butyrate does not enhance growth performance but may regulate the response to inflammatory stimuli in weanling pigs.