Effects of weaning age on the behavioural and neuroendocrine development of piglets

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

This study investigated whether weaning, which involves maternal separation, at different ages, altered subsequent
behaviour, physiology and neuroendocrine function in young pigs. It was found that the occurrence of belly nosing in later weaned pigs also suggests that care is required when designing environments where sows and piglets are housed together beyond 28 days.

Sows having high lifetime efficiency and high longevity associated with herd productivity in commercial herds

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

The objectives of this study were to characterize high lifetime efficiency and high longevity (HE–HL) sows, to investigate relationships between lifetime measurements, to determine correlations between herd productivity measurements and proportions of HE–HL sows in the herds, and to identify factors associated with HE–HL sows in commercial herds. It was found that approximately 20% HE–HL sows in commercial herds had the greatest pigs born alive (PBA) and farrowing percentage from the first parity to the end. Increasing a proportion of HE–HL sows in the herd increase herd productivity. We recommend increasing a proportion of gilts to be mated when they were 186–227 days of age. In addition, we suggest that producers carefully reconsider their culling policy for sows at low parity. Annualized lifetime PBA can be an integrated measurement for lifetime fertility, lifetime prolificacy, and sow longevity.

Postnatal changes in electromyographic signals during piglet growth, and in relation to muscle fibre types

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

The present study addresses the following questions:
Can non-invasive evoked CMAP recordings be used
to follow postnatal changes in muscle development in
the pig, a new species with respect to compound muscle action potential (CMAP) measurements?,
and to what extent do CMAP signals correlate
to the actual fibre type composition of muscles at the
point where recordings are made? It was found that the CMAP signal, measured using non-invasive
surface techniques, increases during early postnatal
development in agreement with the physiological
development of muscles. It is proposed that postnatal
hypertrophy results in a CMAP signal comprised of the
sum of action potentials from fewer, yet larger and most
likely more highly coordinated fibres, with age, leading
to associated changes in CMAP parameters. Finally, in
spite of a small sample size, the correlations between
CMAP signal parameters and fibre type percentages
warrant further investigation.

Despite rising costs of production Canadian Producers can compete

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

McEwan’s study followed producers in Ontario, Manitoba
and Iowa since 2002. Profitability was very dependent on
feed costs, although he found that all costs have increased
during the period. Producers need to be going through their input costs
line by line, he says. Alternative feeds, such as bakery products
and wheat shorts, may help to reduce the cost of feed.
While there may be a slight productivity trade-off, most
people are willing to sacrifice some performance to bring
the cost of feed down. Utility and labour costs are also areas
where producers may find ways to reduce costs. Perhaps the biggest impact is the depreciation of the American dollar, which has had the effect of lowering prices
for Canadian hogs by 30 to 40 per cent – a difference of
$54.17 per pig between 2002 and 2007. “That is a huge
obstacle to overcome,” says McEwan.
Nonetheless, McEwan remains optimistic about the
future of Ontario pork. “We learn how quickly these things
can change,” he notes. When all production inputs were
compared in farrow-to-wean operations between 2002 and
2006, it was estimated that Ontario producers realized a
profit of $2.66 per pig, Manitoba producers $2.90 per pig and
Iowa producers $2.16 per pig.
“When margins are that close, differences can be overcome
by improved productivity,” McEwan says.

Distillers Dried Grain Product Innovation and Its Impact on Adoption, Inclusion, Substitution, and Displacement Rates in a Finishing Hog Ration

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

This study focuses on the impact of product development of DG in adoption, inclusion, and displacement rates. We also want to estimate what savings in feed cost, if any, can be attributed to the use of DG in a finishing hog ration. It was found that inclusion of DDGS in a feed ration saves feeder-finisher operations $2.17 per head if traditional DDGS is used and $8.06 per head if newer generation DDGS products are used. Finally, with their higher substitution and displacement rates, newer-generation DDGS products can better alleviate the trade-off between food, feed, and fuel in the
continuing expansion of biofuels.

A laboratory study of the effect of coating on cleanability of concrete flooring for use in piggeries

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

Agricultural environments are challenging from the point of view of durability and cleanability of materials. Several substances wear, weaken and soil the floorings. These include for example mixtures of manure, feed and washing waters with chemical load. Choice of materials in piggeries is an important factor affecting the well-being of animals by allowing the species-characteristic behaviour of the animals and preventing injuries and diseases (Baxter, 1984; Hoy et al., 1999). In addition, the material chosen also affects the comfort and safety of the personnel working in animal production buildings. When the aim is to produce safe food products, requirements for hygienic properties for the production plants are also of importance (McClanahan, 2005). Furthermore, the hygienic environment of the animals affects the organoleptic quality of meat (Maw et al., 2001). Both chemical substances and mechanical impact on floorings cause corrosion and wear that may promote injuries to the animals. In addition, it may make cleaning difficult, thus promoting spread of diseases (De Belie, 1997; De Belie et al., 2000b). Therefore the use of coatings to protect the surface of concrete against wear is of interest. The effects of five plastic coatings on cleanability of concrete flooring were examined. The aim of the study was particularly to examine the correspondence between the cleanability of the surfaces using simple model soils in a radiochemical reference method and manure soil in a colorimetric study. According to both colorimetric and radiochemical measurements, coating of concrete improved the cleanability of the flooring. The use of coating can thus be justified in sites in which a high cleanness level is required, probably meaning that coatings will be used only in some sites in animal production buildings. According to the colorimetric results, coating also decreases the time required for cleaning. As an important result for further studies concerning comparison of surface materials for animal buildings, this study demonstrated that cleanability of the surfaces from manure soil could be described by both 14C- and 51Cr- labelled radiochemical model soils (correlation coefficients 0.656 and 0.691, respectively). The quantitative radiochemical method is an excellent way to detect soil absorbed in materials. This is important especially from the point of view of durability, because soil absorbed in the flooring material causes chemical attack, which weakens the material in the long run.

For more information the full article can be found at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/15375110

Investigating Conductivity to Predict Magnesium Addition Requirements for Struvite Precipitation in Swine Manure Slurries

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

The goal of this project was to develop a system that identified magnesium demand for struvite formation by
monitoring conductivity changes during continuous injection of magnesium chloride in several swine manure slurries. Theoretical predictions and pure solution tests provided information capable of determining the magnesium demand for struvite precipitations. However, after testing six different manures in triplicate, the conductivity responses did not follow theoretical predictions and failed to provide any indication of optimum magnesium injection rates for phosphorus removal.

For more information the full article can be found at http://asae.frymulti.com/toc.asp

Simple odor solution

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

Oklahoma farmer Vic Little is constantly looking for other ways
to further reduce the odor of his hog farm, and has discovered a
solution that has turned out to be simple and inexpensive—piping
which acts as a buffer system in the lagoon.

Temperatures Within a Truck Transporting Pigs During Winter and Summer Months in Western Canada

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments

This study investigated the temperatures within a truck transporting pigs in western
Canada, during summer and winter months. Pigs were transported from PSC
Elstow Research Farm, and involved approximately 8 hours of travel to the Maple
Leaf plant in Brandon. The temperature conditions pigs were exposed to during
transport varied considerably between seasons and among compartments within
the vehicle, and pigs were exposed to temperatures as low as -15 °C or as high as
30 °C.

Influence of sex and castration of females on growth performance and carcass and meat quality of heavy pigs destined for the dry-cured industry

Posted in: Meat Quality by admin on | No Comments

This paper investigates the effects of sex and slaughter weight (SW) on growth performance and on carcass and meat quality characteristics. There were 6 treatments arranged factorially, with 3 classes (intact females, IF; castrated females, CF; and castrated males, CM) and 2 slaughter weights (114 and 122 kg of BW). It was found that castrated males and females at more feed, grew faster, and had more carcass backfat depth. Also, compared to intact females, CF and CM had more intramuscular fat and less linoleic acid content in the subcutaneous fat. It is concluded that CF and CM had similar productive performance meat quality characteristics when slaughtered at the same age, and that castration of females improved average daily gain and increased weight and fat content of primal cuts. Therefore, castration of females is recommended for pigs destined for the dry-cured industry because of the beneficial quality effects of the primal cuts when castrated.