Pig Trucking & Handling – Stress and Fatigued Pig

Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2005 | No Comments

Stress in the period during transport and around slaughter is known to influence the physiological and biochemical processes in pigs. Pigs that become unable to walk without obvious injury, trauma or disease are considered fatigued. Fatigued pigs tend to be of heavy muscled, high lean genetic types. Visual indicators of a stressed pig include open mouth breathing, muscle tremors, downed pigs, reddened areas of the skin, and increased body temperature. Within North America, normal appearing market-ready swine continue to die in transit or in a pen. Animal factors that could influence stress include the social environment (crowding, aggression, hierarchy, etc.), genetics, fear (characterized by a high pitched vocalization), exposure to handling (more exposure to handling by humans will result in less stress), nutrition (fasting prior to shipment will increase aggression and stress), health, facilities (pigs can wedge themselves in narrow corridors), and goading methods (do NOT use a prod). Human factors that could influence stress include the role of the handler (attitude of the handler and behaviour of the handler in regards to moving pigs) and role of training (be sure to not move more than 5 or 6 at a time and do not panic a fall-behind pig).

A review of the behavioural and physiological adaptations of hill and lowland breeds of sheep that favour lamb survival

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Survivability in harsh and unfavourable environments is especially critical during parturition and during the neonatal period, when there is a greater chance of ewe and lamb mortality. This is especially true for extensively managed animals such as hill compared to lowland (intensively managed) breeds of sheep. The extensively managed sheep have to have different behavioural and physiological adaptations that enable them to survive. Some of the differences between hill and lowland sheep are as follows: hill sheep have smaller average litter sizes than lowland sheep, but their litters are significantly heavier. Maternal experience and knowledge of the environment will affect isolation seeking at parturition. Domestication seems to have had an effect on isolation seeking. This behaviour has decreased in intensively managed breeds. The extensively managed breeds have a shorter labour, and an easier delivery than intensively managed breeds. The hill (extensive) breeds also lick their lambs more after birth and perform more low-pitched bleating than lowland ewes. These differences in behaviour result in hill breeds having better ewe-lamb recognition and closer spatial relationships. The hill ewes are also more aware of their during lactation, which could also be a useful protective measure against predators. Hill lambs stand and suck faster after birth and show greater maternal recognition than lowland lambs. Hill lambs are more tolerant of cold temperatures, due to birthcoat characteristics, higher thyroid concentrations and possibly due to the higher lipid content in the colostrum. Compared to lowland sheep, the behavioural and physiological mechanisms of hill sheep have evolved to ensure lamb survivability in harsh environments.

Development of a maze test and its application to assess spatial learning and memory in Merino sheep

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

There is increasing interest in the concept that cognitive abilities of animals can provide clues to the types of situations that might cause suffering or distress. In the present experiment a maze test was developed to assess spatial memory and learning in Merino sheep. Total time to traverse the maze and times spent in cul de sacs (errors) were used to assess performance. Both total time and errors decreased when the performance of sheep was assessed on three consecutive days, indicating that sheep learnt to traverse the maze. Scopolamine hydrobromide, a drug known to impair memory, was administered to sheep to validate whether the maze could be used to assess deficits in learning and spatial memory. Sheep receiving scopolamine hydrobromide 30 min before maze testing on each of three successive days were significantly slower to complete the maze on day 3 compared to control sheep receiving saline. The results of this experiment suggested that the maze was measuring spatial memory and therefore might be useful to assess neurological deficits related to spatial memory and learning in sheep in neurological conditions such as Annual Ryegrass Toxicity.

Effects of resource density on spatial memory and learning by foraging sheep.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Grazing animals are often confronted with spatially heterogeneous food resources in which preferred food types are distributed in patches. In this study the hypothesis that spatial memory is used less as the resource density increases was tested. Individual sheep foraged for 20 minutes in an arena containing a grid of 100 bowls of which 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 contained 25 g of concentrate food. Amount eaten increased linearly over days indicating that learning occurred. There was an increase in the amount eaten per full bowl visited, an increase in the cumulative number of different bowls visited by the sheep and a reduction in the path length needed to find a given number of bowls leading to improved encounter rate with full bowls. Therefore, intake improved during the trial due to, at least in part, the use of spatial memory to learn full bowl locations and optimize the route taken to those locations. Length of the shortest possible path required to find five full bowls and expected path length from a random walk on the grid decreased exponentially as resource density increased. Actual path length to find five full bowls also decreased exponentially as the number of full bowls increased. Number of full bowls visited by the sheep (excluding revisits) within a day did not differ significantly between treatments. However, number of days on which any individual food bowl was visited (including 0 visits) decreased linearly as resource density increased. The proportion of full bowls visited that were revisited on the same day was significantly higher for the 10 bowl treatments. In summary, the results of this study suggest that sheep used spatial memory to optimize their route to food bowls more effectively at lower resource density.

Increasing registration precision for liver movement with respiration using electromagnetic tracking

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Gestion de la mortalité du bétail

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Dans le domaine de la production animale, il est inévitable qu’un certain nombre d’animaux meurent ou aient besoin d’être abbatus. On parle alors d’animaux morts ou de cadavres d’animaux. La mortalité peut etre due a une cause naturelle, a un accident ou à un acte délibéré. La mère ou sa progéniture peut mourir pendant la mise bas. Parfois des animaux grandissant ou admeurent à la suite d’une maladie ou d’une blessure. Beaucoup d’animaux peuvent mourir lors d’un incendie d’étable ou à cause d’une défaillance du système de ventilation. Ce genre de tragédie s’appelle alors une mortalité massive. S’il s’agit d’une maladie extrêmement contagieuse, on pourra devoir abattre tout le troupeau d’animaux ou d’oiseaux. Tous ces cadavres d’animaux doivent alors être conservés de manière appropriée, puis détruits sans que cela pose un danger pour l’environnement, conformément aux normes du Règlement sur la gestion des animaux morts et des déjections du bétail.

Liquid Feeding of Pigs: Implications for Pig and Human Health

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Human health is a major concern in agriculture (e.g. – Salmonella). Contamination of human food begins at the crop level from vectors such as bird feces and other vermin. The industry is well aware of risks such as these, so there are quality processes in place to monitor quality control. However, consumers in the UK are suspicious that quality control measures are not enough to prevent the spread of Salmonella from pigs to humans. Surveillance data shows that this is not that case at all and that only 5 to 30% of carcasses may be Salmonella positive. If hygienic food preparation measures and thorough cooking are performed then there is minimal risk. Cross contamination from poor food handling procedures is the biggest concern.

Pelleted feeds have shown to be a vector of Salmonella contamination within pigs. This is due to the fact that non-pelleted feeds require more time in the stomach to digest; therefore the organisms are exposed to more stomach acid, which can be enough to kill the organism. There has been great success in Europe in lowering Salmonella contamination by feeding liquid diets. Liquid diets have been fermented by lactic acid, which increases the acidity of the feed, thereby making it inhabitable by Salmonella species. This fermentation benefits the feed because of the lactic acid content of the feed from the mill will help reduce the risk of contamination after the mill stage of processing. Predictable fermentation can be achieved by inoculating liquid feed with lactic acid bacteria that produce lactic acid rapidly and have a high terminal lactic acid concentration. This does not appear to affect complete diets that contain no synthetic amino acids.

Piglets have poor stomach acid concentrations. Feeding fermented liquid feed (FLF) increases the acidity of the stomach, therefore reducing the amount of bacteria in the stomach. In fact, when piglets are weaned directly onto FLF the amount of lactic acid bacteria is greater than the amount of coliforms in the stomach, which is a similar attribute to piglets that continue to suckle.

Foreign Animal Disease Outbreaks – Are You Prepared?

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

The CFIA regulates Canada’s importation of animal and animal products to control diseases regulated by the OIE. The diseases they are most concerned with are foot and mouth disease, swine vesicular disease, African swine fever, and hog cholera. The introduction of any one of these diseases would be detrimental to the industry. The producer’s role in disease prevention is to have very strict biosecurity. Any disease outbreak must be reported to a veterinarian. The CFIA has a prepared plan of action in an event where a foreign animal disease enters Canada. The veterinarians are able to order animal destruction, but disposal methods must be followed by provincial standards. Compensation from such an act is described by the Health of Animals Act (Section 51), and includes amount of compensation, maximum value, and additional compensation. When an FAD is diagnosed, the facility will be quarantined by the CFIA. Then an investigation will be carried out, and all contacts with the barn will be quarantined as well. Investigation will be carried out in facilities of close proximity. Once the disease is confirmed in the initial facility, the NCFAD (National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease) will order the animals destroyed. With readily available information, this process can be completed within 48 hours of disease suspicion.

Moisture Effects on Facility Life: Sources and Corrections

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Moisture, when unmanaged, can be the source of a variety of problems affecting the life of both the interior and exterior of swine facilities. It can cause rot, corrosion, mould, staining, shrinkage and/or swelling, and insect infestations. Moisture balance is based on wetting and drying. Sources of wetting include rain, air, built-in moisture, and soil moisture. Sources of drying include drainage, evaporation, air leakage, and heating. The amount of water vapour depends on the air’s capacity to hold it and is affected by temperature. Condensation occurs when the maximum holding capacity is exceeded (warm air can hold more). Water vapour moves by diffusion (more moisture to less moisture) and convection (high pressure to low pressure). Sources of moisture include livestock (manure, urine, and respiration), equipment (drinkers, pipes, heaters), and structure (water “ponding”, ice damming, air leaks, etc.). Moisture problems specific to swine facilities include corrosion, mould, and decay. Control of moisture is important and can be done by rain and air leakage control, drying, and adequate ventilation. Manure and urine should be removed as quickly as possible. Equipment should be maintained and repaired so it functions efficiently, and structures should be designed properly to minimize problems that may occur.

EFFECTS OF ROOM OZONATION ON AIR QUALITY AND PIG PERFORMANCE

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments