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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Circuit and Noise Analysis of Odorant Gas Sensors in an E-Nose
Posted in: Ontario Pork, Pork Insight Articles by admin on February 28, 2005 | No Comments
In this paper, the relationship between typical circuit structures of gas sensorcircuits and their output noise is analyzed. By using averaged segmenting periodical graphand improved histogram estimation methods, we estimated their noise power spectra andoptimal probability distribution functions (pdf). The results were confirmed through experiment studies.
Assessing Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae aerosol movement at several distances
Posted in: Air Filtration, Pork Insight Articles by admin on January 15, 2005 | No Comments
Modern developments in pig production such as segregated production, early weaning and strategic medication have eliminated some of the risks associated with the spreading of pathogens. Although there have still been certain pathogens able to penetrate herds despite these improvements. Enzootic pneumonia (EP) is one disease that still causes reductions in production performance of swine herds. One of the main agents of EP is M hyopneumoniae, which is very difficult to grow in a lab causing a need for nested PCR technology to aid in the detection of the organism in tissue and air samples. The spreading of M hyopneumoniae is mainly through infected pigs and aerosols. This disease is assumed to travel up to 3km making dense pig operations and roadways that transport hogs risk factors for spreading the disease. But these assumptions are based on retrospective epidemiological studies, no scientific studies have been conducted to see if the disease can actually travel through the air for various distances. To test for the spreading of M hyopneumoniae a model was used that had previously been designed to test for the spreading of PRRS. This model consisted of three components: dispersal, dissemination and detection. The dispersal phase involved spraying units of M hyopneumoniae through a aerosol can, similar to a cooking oil spray. A blower was used to disseminate the samples, and a portable air centrifuge was used to collect samples at 1, 75 and 150 m from the dissemination area. The study was replicated twice at each distance. After each test, the centrifuge was sanitized. Samples were taken after each tests at each distance. All of the samples from each distance were found to be positive with M hyopneumoniae DNA. All the samples consisted of non-specific bacteria making it difficult to determine if any samples had M hyopneumoniae-like colonies. Further studies need to be carried out to find out the maximum distance the particles can travel and to see if different weather conditions play a role in the distance traveled.
Battling PRRS virus Aerosol Spread
Posted in: Air Filtration, Pork Insight Articles by admin on | No Comments
Researchers were able to determine that the PRRS virus transfers between pigs by way of aerosol. It was also determined that the more virulent the disease was the higher chances it has of shedding and infecting other pigs. Identifying these factors has led to a need to develop an air filtration system capable of stopping the PRRS virus from traveling from an infected herd to a non-infected herd. A filtration system put in place by French hog farmers was able to eliminate PRRS outbreaks in an area that was once commonly infected with the virus. This method involved three filters one being high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter capable of filtering particles as small as 0.3 microns. To prove the effectiveness of this method American researchers ran a series of tests involving PRRS infected pigs. The PRRS infected pig was put in one room and a PRRS negative pig was put in a room beside it with the filter placed between them. In 20 trials the PRRS negative pig was not infected with the virus, when the same test was done without the filter the negative pig was infected 6 out of 20 times. To intesify the study the researchers used 2 pints of solution containing PRRS to create a “virus fog” which was put through the filter. When the filter was in place for 10 trails the negative pig was not infected once, where as in the control when the filter was removed the negative pig was infected 9 out of 10 times. This HEPA filter was put in place in a barn in Iowa that consistently suffered from PRRS outbreaks annually between November and February. After a year of having the filter in place the barn suffered no out breaks and the staff veterinarian said that the overall environment of the barn had been improved.
Animal Handling: So, Did You Come Here to Dance or Fight?
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2005 | No Comments
The Canadian Pork Council has developed the ACA (Animal Care Assessment tool) to answer the public demands for assurance of animal well-being. This will enhance the marketability of Canadian pork. Compliance with the CQA program is a prerequisite for using the ACA. The ACA focuses on quality stockmanship, care of animals, and appropriate housing and use of equipment.
Do low-density diets improve broiler welfare during rearing and laying.
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Due to the genetic selection for a high growth rate of progeny, broiler breeders have a high growth potential and need to be feed restricted to prevent health and reproduction problems at later ages. Low-density diets may improve welfare of restricted fed broiler breeders by increasing feed intake time with less frustration of feed intake behaviour a result. Moreover, low-density diets may promote satiety through a more filled gastrointestinal tract, and therefore feelings of hunger may be reduced. In this experiments broiler breeders were fed 4 different diets during the rearing and laying periods. Behavioural and physiological parameters were measured at different ages as indicators of hunger and frustration of the feeding motivation. A diet of 8.4 MJ/kg as compared with a standard diet of 10.9 MJ/kg extended feeding time and reduced stereotypic object pecking at 6 and 10 wk of age. Furthermore, compensatory feed intake at 12 wk of age was reduced. During lay, differences in behaviour were observed between the treatments that could be attributed to differences in feeding time. However, birds fed the diet with lowest energy content (i.e. 9.2 MJ/kg) had higher heterophil to lymphocyte ratios at 40 wk of age compared to other treatments, indicating that they experienced more stress during the laying period than the other treatments. This result could have been due to the very long feeding time of this treatment group during lay, which may be stressful. In conclusion, a low-density diet of 8.4 MJ/kg may reduce hunger and frustration in the first half of the rearing period. However, for substantial improvement of broiler breeder welfare during rearing, more extreme diet modifications are required.
Can short-term frustration facilitate feather pecking in laying hens?
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In laying hens, feather pecking is a major problem and it thought that it might be brought upon when the birds experience frustration. Three studies were conducted, the first study tested to see if short term frustration caused feather pecking in a high feather pecking line of laying hens. Secondly the effects of frustration on feather pecking by high and low feather pecking line was compared. The third study examined the motivation to peck at a key when the reward was withheld in high and low feather pecking lines was compared. The hens used in all the studies were taught to peck at a key to obtain a food reward. During frustration tests the feeder was covered by clear plastic. In the first study, the hens from the high feather pecking line were prone to perform gentle feather pecking and aggressive pecking during the control sessions than the victims, and it was the victims that vocalized at the highest rate. In the second study, hens from the high feather pecking line scratched more, which indicates that there is a difference in the motivation to forage or dustbathe between the two lines and this may relate to feather pecking. In the final study, hens from the low feather pecking line pecked at the key to obtain a food reward more than hens from the high feather pecking line. This illustrates that hens from the low feather pecking line had a stronger motivation to peck at the key to attain a food reward. In general, there was no evidence to verify that the frustration the hens experienced resulted in the hens to begin to feather peck. There were noticeable differences between the two genetic lines in their reaction to frustration and in the motivation to obtain a food reward, thus the possibility of the involvement of frustration in feather pecking in not ruled out.
Le stockage des déjections du bétail
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Le gouvernement provincial a adopté des règlements particuliers qui régissent la construction et l’utilisation des installations de stockage des déjections du bétail. Les producteurs doivent être en mesure de stocker les déjections jusqu’à ce qu’elles puissent être épandues sur les terres agricoles.
New ideas about gilt development and management
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
Replacement gilts are important in any herd because they determine the future productivity of the herd. Today the visual selection criteria used may not be the best indicator of reproductive potential. The aim of this paper is to introduce some relatively new management techniques for gilt development. It is important to maintain health during ovarian development at the piglet stage. In piglets that exhibit diarrhea, age at puberty is unaffected for the most part, but the proportion of gilts exhibiting puberty, farrowing rates, and number of pigs born alive are consistently lower. At the nursery stage, growth of specialized glands from uterine tissue must be maximized. First off, sows must not be exposed to estrogen-containing mycotoxins in feed. This results in poor embryonic survival of the replacement gilts coming from that sow. Replacement gilts cannot be crowded or there will be detrimental effects on weight of ovulation and born alives.
The first lactation is widely agreed as the most important time of a gilts reproductive life. The number and size of piglets nursing have a direct effect on the amount of milk produced, and the amount of milk produced is directly related to the weaning weight. Analysis can be done on a per farm basis to determine the amount of piglets the average gilt can rear without experiencing a reduction in subsequent breeding performance.
If gilts fail to reach a timely first estrus, work should be done to ensure that future gilts experience minimal environmental stresses, minimal competition with pen mates, and minimize lactation stress by reducing the number of nursing pigs.