Les exploitations d'élevage et la qualité de l'eau souterraine

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La plupart des personnes vivant dans les zones rurales du Manitoba dépendent principalement de l’eau souterraine pour s’approvisionner en eau. Afin de protéger et de conserver la qualité des sources d’eau souterraine, il est important que les producteurs agricoles exploitent leurs terres d’une manière responsable, en tant que gardien non seulement de la terre mais aussi de l’eau souterraine qui s’y trouve.

Tips for Saving Water

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Water is an essential nutrient in pork production. Research reveals how we can manage this resource for best results and minimal cost.

1. Do a water audit. Wasted water costs money to pump and to dispose of in slurry. The average usage is 78L per sow (farrow to finish farm), however actual usage has been reported as low as 65L/sow and as high as 120L/sow, a variation of as much as 50% from the mean! See water usage table in Pork Production Reference Guide 2000, pg 30.

2. Water requirements have been found to be 2.3L for every kilogram of feed consumed (grower and finisher pigs). Gonyou

3. Mounting water nipples correctly reduces wasted water. For nipples pointed straight out pigs should drink from shoulder height. For nipples mounted downward at 45o the nipple should be 5cm (2 inches) above the back of the pig. Mounting lower will increase water wastage. Nipples should be set for the height of the smallest pig in the pen. Water Use and Drinker Management, Gonyou,

4. Check flow rates. Flow rates determine time spent at the nipple, water intake and water wastage. Too little is just as costly as too much when it comes to flow rates. Flow rates of 1,500 ml for lactating sows, 700 ml in grow-finish are recommended. Research on wastage found 23% at 2080ml/min versus 8.6% at 650 ml/min. Water use and Drinker Management, Gonyou

5. Adjust nipple height. Improved water nipple design by providing a step for smaller pigs resulted in a reduction of water waste of 13%, and reduced manure volume of 10% compared to conventional nipple drinkers. Well-managed nipple drinkers (including nipple height changed every two weeks and flow rate) gave similar results to the improved nipple designs. PSC Annual Report 2002, Li, pg 23.

6. Cup or bowl drinkers waste less water, reducing spillage by 10-15%. Energy Efficiency in Barns, Part I Winter/spring 2001.

7. Water wastage has been measured at 25% of total water disappearance in grower-finisher pigs at Prairie Swine Centre, this is lower than the 40-60% estimated on commercial farms. Proper flow rates and nipple height could contribute to reduced losses. PSC Annual Report 2002, LI, pg 23.

8. Use wet/dry feeders in grow-finish. Wet/dry feeders reduce water used by 34%, and slurry volume by 20-40% compared with dry feeders and a bowl. Wet/dry feeders also increase consumption of mash diets compared to dry feeders and a separate water nipple, resulting in a 5% improvement in average daily gain. PSC Annual Report 2002, Christianson, pg 24.

9. Avoid high mineral water sources. High levels of sulphate in water results in an osmotic diarrhea but has no effect on animal performance. PSC Annual Report 1997, Patience, pg 26.

10. Feeding a diet containing excessive protein and/or excessive mineral levels results in increased water usage. PSC Annual Report 2002, Shaw, pg 33.

11. Temperature impacts water requirements. For every 1oC above 20oC results in a sow drinking 0.2L more water each day. Energy Efficiency in Barns, part I, Winter/Spring 2001.

12. Wasted water results in increased slurry application costs. Assuming grow-finish pigs waste 40% of water delivered to the nipple, 396L will be wasted per market hog. This will result in increased manure slurry produced and cost an additional $0.60 per pig in manure application costs. Energy Efficiency in Barns, Part I, Winter/Spring 2001.

Practical Application of Enzyme Supplementation in Swine

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Introduction
Application of enzymes to improve nutrients digestibility of plant-based feed ingredients for swine and poultry has now been studies for decades. Initially, the main focus was phytase to break down the phytate molecule and release the attached phosphorus molecules. In the last two decades, enzymes to assist digesting NSP were developed, tested, and commercialized. In the meantime, enzymes to assist digesting starch, protein and fat have been tested as well. A large array of chemical characteristics exists among plant-based feed ingredients, and success of enzyme application will depend on these characteristics. The substrate must match the enzyme and be a limitation for nutrient digestibility or voluntary feed intake. Two diet formulation methods exists to apply enzyme treatments in practice: (1) formulate diets to a regular nutrient content and supplement with an enzyme, while hoping for an improvement in feed efficiency, or (2) formulate diets to a reduced nutrient content and count on an uplift by the enzyme to a regular nutrient content, while reducing feed costs. An overview of considerations and practical application of enzyme supplementation in swine will be presented.

Ingredients
Seeds of plants crops or fractions thereof each contain some of the three main energy categories: carbohydrates [divided into sugars, starch and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP)], protein, and oil (fat). Among the listed feed ingredients, a large array in content of these main energy categories exist, ranging from 10 to 37% NSP, 14 to 63% starch, 9 to 47% protein, and 1 to 5% fat (Table 1).

In least-cost diet formulation, the greatest cost-pressure exists against digestible or available energy (Zijlstra et al. 2001). Overall in swine nutrition, the inverse relationship between NSP content and energy digestibility has been well described for several feed ingredients, for example wheat (Zijlstra et al. 1999) and barley (Fairbairn et al. 1999). Logically, enzymes that degrade fiber and thereby improve energy digestibility or voluntary feed intake will thus have a high chance to be beneficial economically, whereas phytase to improve phosphorus digestibility may also reduce nutrient excretion and thereby improve sustainability of the swine industry.
Among ingredient, large differences in digestibility of the main macronutrients exist (Figure 1). Among the cereal grains, oats has the lowest digestibility of crude fiber, then barley, wheat, while corn has the highest digestibility of crude fiber. Both peas and soybean meal have a high digestibility of crude fiber. By-products from value-added processing, including wheat middlings from wheat flour milling, generally have a lower nutrient digestibility than the parent cereal. Digestibility of other carbohydrates, including starch, sugars, and the remainder of the fiber fractions was lower for wheat middlings, oats and barley compared to the other four feed ingredients. Protein digestibility followed and similar pattern as digestibility of other carbohydrates with the highest protein digestibility observed for soybean meal. According to the database (CVB 1994), fat digestibility showed a large variation among feed ingredients. Phosphorus digestibility was consistently below 40%, likely due to the phytate contained in plant-based feed ingredients.

A Checklist for Water Intake

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Pigs obtain water from three sources: water physically contained in the feed, water consumed by drinking, and water produced through chemical reactions as part of normal metabolism in the body. Maintaining water balance is extremely important, as even small changes in water balance can result in serious consequences to the pig. The water requirements of the pig have never really been defined. Research at the Prairie Swine Centre and elsewhere has found that free choice water intake in young growing pigs with free access to feed is about 2.2 to 2.8 times the intake of feed. Thus, a pig eating two kilograms (kg) of feed will normally drink at least 4.5 litres of water per day. Nursing sows have a somewhat higher intake, approaching four times their feed intake, due to the water needed for milk production. The above estimates do not allow for wastage, which can be quite high (40+%), especially with nipple drinkers. Also, additional water must be added to the above intake levels to compensate for hot weather, excess minerals or protein in the diet, or to help the pig deal with certain health problems such as scours. Pigs do not drink only to satisfy their physiological need for water. Pigs will also drink water to alleviate a feeling of hunger, or out of boredom. The impact of “luxury” intake must not be underestimated, especially in gestating sows since they are limit fed; boredom and hunger can increase water intake many fold over basic requirements. One critical question for pork producers is what are the minimum and maximum flow rates necessary to optimize health and productivity? While solid research on the subject is limited, reasonable flow rate estimates can be provided: weanlings and growers – 750 to 1,000 millilitres per minute (mL/min) and nursing sows – 1,000 to 2,000 mL/min. Water quality is also a common issue on the Prairies. Quality can be evaluated using microbiological, physical and chemical criteria. Within each, individual items relate to safety and/or aesthetics. For pork producers, iron and manganese can be problematic, since they plug screens and cause other delivery problems. However, the most common concerns of pork producers are associated with sulphates, which cause diarrhea and at very high levels, poor performance. A recent study, conducted with the cooperation of Stomp Pork Farms in Leroy, Sask., demonstrated that weanlings perform quite well with water containing 1,600-ppm sulphates.

Influence of volatile compounds on the development of off-flavours in pig back fat samples classified with boar taint by a test panel

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Désodorisation du lisier de porc en utilisant des racines de raifort et des peroxydes.

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Les préoccupations du public à propos des mauvaises odeurs provenant des fumier/lisiers de bétail sont en hausse ainsi qu’est la nécessité de développer des moyens pratiques pour réduire les odeurs. Des racines de raifort (Armoracia rusticana L) émincées (à un ratio de 1 :10 w/v plantes : lisier de porcs), avec du peroxyde de calcium (CaO2 à 26 ou 34 mM) ou du peroxyde d’hydrogène (H2O2 à 34, 52 ou 68 mM) ont été utilisés pour la désodorisation du lisier de porc; ces traitements ont été évalués en effectuant une série d’expériences en laboratoire. Le principe derrière cette méthode de désodorisation est l’oxydation des composantes odorantes par l’action combinée de la peroxydase du raifort (contenu dans la fibre de la plante) et le peroxyde qui sert en tant qu’accepteur d’électrons, suivi par la polymérisation des odorants phénoliques avec une adsorption ou copolymérisation possibles des autres composantes de l’odeur. L’effet de désodorisation a été évalué par un panel humain et la chromatographie en phase gazeuse (GC). Dans le cas de la méthode GC, 12 composantes associées communément avec les mauvaises odeurs (sept acides gras volatiles ou VFAs, trois composantes phénoliques, et deux composantes indoliques) ont été employés comme indicateurs d’odeur. L’évaluation par un panel humain de la mauvaise odeur provenant du lisier traité a indiqué une réduction de 50% de l’intensité de l’odeur. Les résultats du GC ont démontré une élimination de 100% de tous les odorants phénoliques sans réapparition durant au moins 72 heures. En regardant ces données, l’usage des matériaux de plante en tant que porteurs d’enzymes et des peroxydes en tant qu’accepteurs d’électrons s’avère être une approche efficace pour le contrôle d’odeur phénolique pour le lisier animal.

What Can the United States Learn from Spain’s Pork Sector? Implications from a Comparative Economic Analysis

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Factors identifying pigs predisposed to tail biting.

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Tail biting results in welfare and production problems. The objective of this study was to identify common behavioural factors among pigs that tail bite. At three and six weeks of age (before and after weaning) pigs were individually tested in a tail chew test. This test consisted of observing each pig’s behaviour in response to two ropes (one soaked in saline, the other not). The time spent in contact with the rope in the second tail chew test (after weaning) was positively correlated with tail biting behaviour. The time spent in contact with the rope in the first tail chew test was positively correlated with ear biting behaviour. Pigs that spent more than 1.5% of their time engaged in tail biting behaviour weighed less at weaning and tended to weigh less at seven weeks of age than pigs that spent less time performing tail biting behaviour. The authors suggest that nutritional deficiencies could be at the core of the tail biting problem. The nutritional deficiencies could cause the pigs to engage in foraging behaviour directed at other pigs in the form of ear/tail biting.

Sensory varieties in concentrate diets for stabled horses: Effects on behaviour and selection

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There is very little data available about how presenting horses with a concentrate affects their feeding behaviour and whether restricting the variety in the diet affects the foraging behaviour. The study examined how various sensory components of the diet affect the diet selection and the behaviour of horses housed in stables. In the first experiment varied the formulation of the diet. Experiment two varied the flavour and formulation of the diets and experiment three, varied only the flavour of the diet. In two identical stables, horses were provided with a single concentrate diet or four concentrate diets for five minutes. During the five minutes, the behaviour of the horses was videotaped and compared. There were significant differences in the foraging and non-foraging behaviours when the horses were offered a single type or multiple concentrates in all three experiments. The diet that was available during the single selection influenced the diet choice when multiple concentrates were available. The flavour of the diet significantly affected the foraging and non-foraging behaviours. Horses provided with multiple concentrates foraged more frequently and for longer. However, the foraging bouts were much shorter in duration when compared to horses only provided one type of concentrate. The results from this study suggest that stabled horses exhibit and natural patch foraging behaviour when they are offered multiple concentrate diets, even if they only vary in terms of flavour.

Reduction in feather pecking and improvement of feather condition with the presentation of a string device to chickens.

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Feather pecking remains a serious problem in commercial egg production. It has been argued that feather pecking occurs as a result of misdirected pecking, so a possible solution would be to increase the likelihood that such pecking was targeted at another object in the environment rather than to the feathers of conspecifics. Chickens of various strains and ages will readily peck at a device consisting of strands of white string but it is not yet known if pecking at that device would substitute for pecking at conspecifics. Therefore, the effects of providing string devices on feather pecking in an experimental situation (Experiment 1) and on feather condition under commercial conditions (Experiment 2) were examined. In experiment 1, 300 chicks of a high-feather pecking strain of white leghorn-type layers were housed in groups of five in litter-floor pens. The 60 pens were randomly allocated to one of five treatments: devices incorporated in the chicks’ pens continuously from 1 day of age till the end of the experiment at 57 days; devices presented for 4 h per day from 1 day of age; first presented from 22 days of age; first presented from 52 days of age; and finally, devices never presented. Feather pecking was virtually eliminated when the devices remained in the pens from 1 day of age or when they were presented for 4 h per day. Feather pecking was most pronounced among birds that had never received the device whereas its introduction at 22 or 52 days of age yielded intermediate results. This orderly pattern of more pecking at feathers when the device was added at later ages was significant (P < 0.005). In experiment 2, 768 Lohmann LSL laying chickens were housed in rearing cages and 720 were transferred in groups of three to conventional laying chickens when 16 weeks old. The birds were allocated to one of four treatments: devices present from 1 day of age; presented for 24 h every 4 weeks; continuously present from 16 weeks of age; and finally, devices never presented. At 35 weeks of age, hens with access to the device had significantly better plumage condition than those that had never received the device (P < 0.05).In conclusion, the addition of a simple string device to the hens of non-beak-trimmed high-feather-pecking birds decreased feather pecking behaviour (Experiment 1), and to the cages of non-beak-trimmed commercial layers significantly improved feather condition (Experiment 2).