Factors influencing farmers’ responses to welfare legislation: A case study of gestation sow housing in Flanders (Belgium)

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

In this study a survey was conducted and revealed that Belgian pig production is likely to undergo drastic changes during the few years remaining before the 2013 deadline and the socio-economic consequences for the Belgian pork industry may be considerable. Although this survey was specific for the Belgian situation, many findings (such as concerning user satisfaction and factors which affect decision making) are clearly relevant to livestock scientists as well as pig farmers from other countries using or planning to convert to a group housing system for their gestating sows.

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

Effects of oral administration of sodium citrate or acetate to pigs on blood parameters, postmortem glycolysis, muscle pH decline, and quality attributes of pork

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This study determines the effect of oral administration of sodium citrate (CIT) or acetate (ACE) to pigs on blood parameters, postmortem glycolysis, pH decline, and quality attributes of pork. It was found that no significant inhibition of the PFK enzyme by orally administered CIT or ACE; however, the PFK glycolytic metabolite data analysis indicated that PFK was a main regulatory enzyme in postmortem muscle.

Effect of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber on embryo survival and sow performance

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Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of soluble (SF) and insoluble (ISF) dietary fiber during gestation on embryo survival and sow performance. It was concluded that the inclusion of SF and ISF in gestation diets did not affect litter size. Sows fed the HS+HIS diet had a greater ADFI and lost less birthweight during lactation than sows fed C. Feeding gestating sows increase levels of both SF and ISF from day 2 after breeding to day 109 of gestation, did not increase litter size.

Sow line differences in heat stress tolerance expressed in reproductive performance traits

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The objectives of this study were 1)
to investigate if there were differences in the relation
between temperature and reproductive performance
traits in 2 different sow lines, a Yorkshire line producing
mainly in temperate climates and a Large White
line producing mainly in warm climates, and 2) to determine
the upper critical temperature (UCT) for the
reproductive performance of these 2 lines. Sows are
exposed to heat stress when temperature exceeds the
UCT of the thermo-neutral zone. Data included 32,631
observations on reproductive performance from 11,935
sows on 20 farms in Spain, collected from 2003 to 2005.
Sows belonged to 2 different purebred sow lines, named
D (Yorkshire sow line, producing mainly in temperate
climates) and I (Large White sow line, producing
mainly in warm climates). Only first insemination records
per parity were used and were combined with the
maximum outside temperature at day of insemination.
Upper critical temperatures were studied for 3 reproduction
traits: farrowing rate (0 or 1), litter size (range
from 1 to 25), and total number of piglets born per first
insemination (combination of farrowing rate and litter
size, range from 0 to 25). Data were corrected for fixed
effects, which included parity, service sire, and an interaction
between farm and year. Corrected data were
used as observations in the models to study the effect of
outside temperature on reproductive performance. Two
models were compared for goodness of fit: a linear regression
model and a plateau-linear model with the plateau
representing the thermo-neutral zone and a linear
decrease above that zone. Farrowing rate of I-line sows
was not affected by temperature. For litter size and
total number born per first insemination of I-line sows
no UCT could be estimated. These traits were linearly
affected by temperature. For all 3 reproduction traits of
the D-line the best model was the plateau-linear model;
the UCT for the D-line sows was estimated to be 19.2°C
for farrowing rate, 21.7°C for litter size, and 19.6°C for
total number born per first insemination. The decrease
in reproductive performance of I-line sows with increasing
outside temperature was less than in D-line sows.
From this study it can be concluded that there are
differences in heat stress tolerance between sow lines
as measured by the differences in reproductive performance.
These differences are an indication of genetic
differences in heat stress tolerance in sow lines.

Effects of adding fibrous feedstuffs to the diet of young pigs on growth performance, intestinal cytokines, and circulating acute-phase proteins

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The consumption of dietary fiber has been shown to regulate systemic and intestinal inflammation. An inverse relationship between fiber intake and circulating acute-phase proteins has been observed in humans (Basu et al., 2006; Ma et al., 2006). Mechanistically, dietary fiber may alter the inflammatory response through regulating the expression of cytokines. Indeed, recent studies have shown that supplementing pig diets with a combination of 4 sources of dietary fiber increased colonic IL-6 expression (Pie et al., 2007). To date, there are no published data on the effects of different fiber types on the expression of cytokines or whether feeding fiber alters markers of systemic inflammation in pigs. Inflammation via the action of cytokines has been found to regulate pathways involved in protein synthesis. Endotoxin challenge decreases the activation of S6 kinase (S6K1), a protein involved in protein translation initiation (Ruvinsky and Meyuhas, 2006) in skeletal muscle (Kimball et al., 2003; Lang and Frost, 2004). However, piglets infected with rotavirus enteritis have an increased level of activated S6K1 in intestinal tissue (Rhoads et al., 2007). There is little data available exploring the effect of dietary fiber on cytokine expression and subsequent effects on anabolic pathways and piglet growth. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the effects of different types of dietary fiber on pig growth, intestinal cytokine expression, and markers of systemic inflammation. Intestinal tissue DNA and protein content and the activation of intestinal S6K1 were also determined. Pigs (n = 120; initially 5.2 kg and 24 d of age) were randomly assigned to diets containing 1 of 4 fiber sources: 1) control diets containing no added fiber source, 2) diets containing 7.5% distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), 3) diets containing 7.5% soybean hulls, or 4) diets containing 7.5% citrus pulp. The experimental diets were fed for 4 wk in 2 phases (phase 1, wk 1 and 2; phase 2, wk 3 and 4). Intestinal tissue samples, liver samples, and blood samples were collected from a subset (n = 24; 6 pigs/treatment) of the pigs on day 7, and blood samples were collected from another subset (n = 24; 6 pigs/ treatment) of pigs on day 28 of the experiment. Dietary treatment had no effect on ADG, ADFI, or G:F throughout the experiment. Likewise, pig BW variability (CV), plasma IGF-I, or the plasma concentration of the acute phase proteins, á1-acid glycoprotein, C-reactive protein, and haptoglobin, were not affected by dietary treatment. Real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed that on d 7, pigs fed DDGS had a greater (P < 0.05) relative abundance of the mRNA encoding IL-6, IL-1â, and IL-10 in ileum tissue than pigs fed all other diets. Diets containing DDGS had no effect on the relative abundance of tumor necrosis factor á or interferon-ã mRNA in ileum tissue on d 7. The d-7 mRNA expression of cytokines was not altered in jejunum, colon, or liver tissue by dietary treatment. Intestinal tissue protein content or jejunum and ileum DNA concentrations were not affected by diet. Western blot analysis found no effect of dietary treatment on the activation of S6 kinase in jejunum, ileum, or colon tissue on day 7. These results indicate that feeding 7.5% of a fiber source as DDGS, soybean hulls, or citrus pulp does not affect growth performance or circulating markers of inflammation in weanling pigs and that feeding DDGS increases the expression of both pro inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in intestinal tissue.

The correlation of chemical and physical corn kernel traits with growth performance and carcass characteristics in pigs

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The objective of this study was to determine the influence of the chemical and physical traits of corn kernels from different hybrids on the growth performance and carcass characteristics of pigs. The correlations of performance measure variation with individual kernel hybrid physical and chemical traits were statistically significant yet not large enough to base corn hybrid selection for feeding pigs on any single kernel chemical or physical trait.

Using haplotype probabilities in categorical survival analysis: a case study with three candidate genes in an Iberian · Meishan F2 population of newborn piglets

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Palliative therapy of osteochondrosis dessicans in a Duroc boar

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The effect of administration of 2-iminobiotin at birth on growth rates, morbidity and mortality in piglets under farm conditions

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This study showed a positive effect of
administration of 2-IB during the first day after birth on
neonatal growth rates up to the age of 10 days.
Furthermore, no negative effect of 2-IB treatment on
health and survival of piglets was demonstrated and this
was also confirmed by the lack of pathological and
histological abnormalities in healthy 2-IB treated piglets
at the end of the observation period. Future research
should increase the numbers of piglets involved to
verify the effects of 2-IB treatment on growth rates at weaning and at the end of the experimental period.
Furthermore, asphyxiated piglets should be included in
the treatment trial to evaluate possible beneficial effects
of 2-IB treatment on postnatal growth and survival in
asphyxiated piglets under farm conditions.

Look past U.S. for global opportunities for Canadian pork, says leading strategist

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Canada is the single most vulnerable pigmeat country in the world because it is so
heavily dependent on exports, particularly to the U.S., says Andrew Cookson, the
managing director of Europe-based GIRA Consultancy & Research who recently spoke
at the annual general meeting of Alberta Pork.
Rather than continuing to rely on one segment of a volatile world market, Cookson
recommends that the Canadian pork industry recognize opportunities to enter growing
markets, enhance farmer/processor relationships, become more cost competitive and
export more pig meat than live pigs. As progress is being made in those areas, Cookson
recommends the industry focus on differentiating Canada’s pork product. Cookson recommends a three-step process for managing risk in today’s market. The first
step is to ensure lowest-cost competitiveness. “You have no choice but to maximize all
measures to improve farm productivity and efficiency,” he says.
The second step is to optimize the current situation. On the production front, this means
finishing and slaughtering more pigs in Canada, says Cookson. On the marketing front, it
means diversifying the Canadian pork industry’s customer base. Finally, the third step is to differentiate Canadian pork, especially against its U.S.
counterpart. Right now there is very little to differentiate Canadian pork from U.S. pork,
says Cookson. This is not helped by the fact that Canadian pork is priced based on the
U.S. market so consumers tend to buy on price rather than product identity.