John Patience Receives Award for Excellence in Nutrition and Meat Sciences

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 1, 2005 | No Comments

Comparison of three models to estimate breeding values for percentage of loin intramuscular fat in Duroc swine

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Évaluation d’un traitement à aérosol pour améliorer la qualité de l’air dans une porcherie de production intensive (CAFO, ou Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation)

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La mauvaise qualité de l’air à l’intérieur des porcheries de production intensive (CAFOs) représente un danger pour les travailleurs, la communauté environnant l’élevage, et la production agricole. Pour faire face à ce problème, la présente étude a été effectuée pour évaluer une technologie pour réduire la pollution de l’air incluant les particules en suspension (PM), les bactéries viables et l’ammoniac à l’intérieur d’une porcherie de production intensive. La technologie consiste en l’application quotidienne d’un aérosol à base d’acide, d’huile et d’alcool. Son efficacité a été évaluée en comparant la qualité de l’air avant et après le traitement et entre les côtés traités et non-traités d’une porcherie divisée par une partition imperméable. Sur le côté non-traité, la qualité de l’air était typique pour une porcherie à production intensive, avec un PM2.5 de 0,28 mg/m3 et un PMTOT de 1,5 mg/m3. Le traitement a permis une réduction dans la concentration de PM de 75-90% si on considère la concentration avant et après le traitement. L’efficacité a augmenté avec le temps, l’application, et la taille des particules (40% de réduction pour le 1ím et 90% pour >10ím). Les niveaux de bactéries en suspension (bactéries totales, Enterobacteriaceae, et la cocci gram-positive) ont diminué d’une unité logarithmique après le traitement. En contraste, le traitement n’a eu aucun effet sur les concentrations d’ammoniac. Ces résultats démontrent l’efficacité d’une intervention par des réductions de l’exposition et des émissions.

Consumer choice and suggested price for pork as influenced by its appearance, taste and information concerning country of origin and organic pig production

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The aims of this work were therefore to determine the influence of appearance, the eating quality and, for the
first time, the price that consumers are willing to pay for pork labelled with information concerning the system
and origin of pig production. The study was conducted in four countries to try to derive any common aspects which could form the basis of a European marketing strategy.

Sheep show more aversion to a dog than to a human in an arena test.

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Differences in stimulus aversiveness among sheep have been detected using an arena that creates approach/avoidance motivational conflict. More specifically, the procedure involves placing a stimulus between an individual sheep and a group of companions. In this particular study, the stimuli that were tested included: a box, goat, human and dog. Based on the behavioural reactions during the test, the authors speculated on the relative aversiveness of the human compared to the dog and goat. Each sheep was exposed to the stimulus for 10 min. The results indicated that the sheep stayed further away from their companions when a dog was present in the arena. When the dog was present, the sheep explored very little and were very vigilant. When the human and goat were in the arena, the sheep kept an intermediate distance from their companions, and their vigilance and exploration were also intermediate. The main difference in their response to a human and goat was that the sheep sniffed the goat more than the human. More fear-related behaviour occurred because of the human than the goat. This type of test is very useful for measuring relative aversiveness of different stimuli. The dog was most aversive and the human was slightly more aversive than the goat.

Selection and acceptance of flavours in concentrate diets for stabled horses.

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Flavour preference tests were used in this study to determine the role of flavour in diet selection in domestic horses. Eight stabled horses were provided with hay ad-libitum and a standard unflavoured concentrate ration in the morning. The actual trial involved providing the horses with a variety of flavoured rations. Six flavoured diets were presented each day with an hour between each meal presentation. Of the 15 flavours presented 12 were accepted by all the horses. The fastest mean consumption times were found with the following flavours: banana, carrot, cherry, cumin, fenugreek, oregano, peppermint, and rosemary. The second trial involved presenting the eight favourite flavours in paired preference tests. The tests were scored based on 0 (rejection) to 1 (exclusive consumption). The following preference order was determined: fenugreek, banana, cherry, rosemary, cumin, carrot, peppermint, and oregano. The third trial was conducted to determine relative consumption time of the top two flavours, fenugreek and banana. The horses took significantly longer to consume the flavoured pellets compared to the unflavoured pellets. The results of these trials indicated that diet acceptance, selection and consumption times were all significantly influenced by flavour.

Responses to climatic variables of horses housed outdoors under Nordic winter conditions

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This study assessed the effects of Nordic winter conditions on horses kept permanently outdoors, but provided with a sheltered area. The average incidence of being outdoors was 70 %, although the horses spent most of their time outdoors under all weather conditions. Temperatures went as low as -31 °C. The horses made more use of the shelter under low ambient temperatures. There was a strong tendency for increased shelter use in response to rain and wind, but snow had no effect on shelter usage. Shivering behaviour was observed only once on a single horse during a rainy day at +5 °C. In addition to behaviour, body condition score, coat length and serum thyroid hormone (T4) level were recorded. Neck coat length reached an average maximum of 4.6 ± 0.9 cm. Body condition score remained satisfactory over the winter months. There was no correlation between serum T4 and ambient temperature. Results of this study indicated that cold climates with temperatures as low as -31 °C do not challenge the thermoregulation of cold-acclimated Icelandic horses as long as there is sufficient quality feed and access to shelter.

Human contact and feeding as rewards for the lamb's affinity to their stockperson

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The relationship between a stockperson and animals that they care for is important in terms of caring for the animal and avoiding situations that threaten animal welfare. In the case of lambs, it is known that very close relationships can develop, particularly if the stockperson spends a great deal of time with the young animal. This study was designed to determine if this relationship was due to the presence of the stockperson, their handling of the lamb, or an association between the stockperson and feeding of the lamb. Lambs were reared according to three different protocols from birth to 3.5 wk of age. In the first treatment the stockperson entered the lamb’s pen and remained there, in a crouched position, for 5 min. This treatment was applied 5 times the first week, and 2 times per week thereafter. In the second treatment the stockperson handled the lamb during the five minutes that they spent in the pen. In the third treatment the stockperson handled the lamb and encouraged it to eat from the feed bucket. At 3.5 weeks of age the lambs were tested in a test arena in which they were allowed to approach the stockperson. Handling, whether or not it included feeding, increased the lamb’s willingness to approach the human in the arena test. This is indicative of a stronger human-animal relationship. Feeding of the lamb by the stockperson had no additional effect on approach to the stockperson, but while in the presence of the stockperson these lambs were more likely to approach a feeding bucket. In general, handling affected the response of lambs to their stockperson.

Influence of Partus Induction on the pH Value in the Blood of Newborn Piglets

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Partus induction is an important integrative component of reproduction management in the swine industry. In this context, the question is to what extent the application of uterotonic
substances may influence the vitality of piglets. The blood pH value is used as a laboratory objective diagnostic parameter of neonatal acidosis. This parameter of the acid– base balance was examined in piglets born spontaneously at the 115th to 116th day of gestation (group 1, n ¼ 57) and after two different partus induction protocols starting at the 114th day of gestation (group 2: combination of 175 lg of cloprostenol and 20 IU of oxytocin, n ¼ 55; group 3: 175 lg of
cloprostenol and 35 lg of carbetocin, n ¼ 56). Initial blood samples were taken from each piglet at birth and 2 h later. The results show that the different protocols have no negative influence on the initial pH value and the compensation of neonatal acidosis until the second hour post-natum.

Critical checkpoints for a swine production system

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In order for a hog operation to run efficiently there needs to be an unbiased outline of essential checkpoints. Dr. Barry Kerkaert has identified six critical checkpoints that he finds deserving:

Ownership structure needs to be understood. What kind of company is it? What runs the company (e.g. – partnership, board, etc.)? Do members all share the same profit ideas?

Financials need to be checked. This includes sales, feed, labor, breeding herd replacement cost, and cash flow.

The system and logistics needs to be monitored. This includes pig flow, genetics, staff, etc.

Obviously, production needs to be checked. This includes monitoring the sow herd, grow-finish herd, and the entire farrow-to-finish system.

Different types of insurances need to be in place. This includes Business Interruption Insurance, management company insurance, and insurance on the pigs themselves. Details should be understood thoroughly.

Health and biosecurity are essential to any operation. This includes health, PRRS control, and biosecurity measures for disease prevention.