The environmental impacts of the production of concentrated feed: the case of pig feed in Bretagne

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

Nutritional value of corn and wheat distiller's dried grain with solubles: digestibility and digestible contents of nutrients and growth performance of grower-finisher pigs

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments

Summary
Nutritional value of corn, wheat+corn (4:1) and wheat distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for grower-finisher pigs was evaluated. Corn DDGS had the highest digestible energy (DE) and ileal digestible lysine contents but the digestible phosphorus (P) content was similar among DDGS samples. Following characterization of its digestible nutrient profile, DDGS still resulted in reductions in growth performance, suggesting that either the reduced average daily feed intake (ADFI) or other nutritional factors for DDGS deserve further investigation to ensure a successful implementation of DDGS in swine diets.

Introduction
DDGS is primarily a by-product from the cereal grain-based ethanol industry. With the growth of the ethanol industry, increasing quantities of DDGS are available for livestock rations. However, the potential of DDGS in swine industry is not fully realized because of the scarcity of information on its nutritional value for swine. In general, DDGS has higher concentrations of nutrients such as protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and fibre than its parent grain. These nutrients are concentrated due to the removal of most of the cereal starch as ethanol and carbon dioxide during the fermentation process. Wheat and corn DDGS are potential feed ingredients for the swine industry, although DDGS is presently not an important ingredient in western Canada.

Experimental Procedure
Digestibility Study: Digestibility and digestible contents of energy, amino acid (AA) and P in DDGS were determined, using 12 barrows fitted with ileal T-cannulae. Pigs were fed a wheat-based control diet or one of three diets with 40% corn, wheat+corn or wheat DDGS in two periods in a controlled cross-over design. Diets were fed twice daily at 2.6 x maintenance. After a 6-d acclimation, feces was collected for 3 d, and ileal digesta for 2 d.
Performance Study: A total of 100 grower pigs in 20 pens were fed a wheat-pea control diet or one of three diets with 25% corn, wheat+corn or wheat DDGS for 5 wk. Average daily gain (ADG), ADFI, and feed efficiency (G:F) were determined on weekly basis, for a total of five observations per diet.

Results and Discussion
The chemical and nutritional properties varied among the three DDGS samples. Despite the equivalent or higher total nutrient content, nutrient digestibility was lower for the DDGS than the wheat, except for P, which had a digestibility higher for DDGS than wheat. Nevertheless, the digestible contents of nutrients of interest were higher for DDGS than for the wheat. Finally, DDGS inclusion reduced growth performance of pigs, without affecting feed efficiency.

Conclusion
Overall, the results of this study indicate that the complex carbohydrate profile appears to be a major constraint to the nutritional value of DDGS for pigs due to its influence on feed intake, retention time, and the digestion of energy and other nutrients. Further, the nutritional value of DDGS might be enhanced by improving the AA balance through supplementation with limiting AA like lysine, in synthetic form and concomitant reduction of high fiber level with supplementary enzymes.

Acknowledgments
Program funding was provided by Sask Pork, Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork and Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Development Fund. The Agriculture Development Fund of Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization funded the project.

Performance of hydrogen sulphide monitoring devices and a water-spray method to reduce worker exposure in swine barns

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The performance of commercial hydrogen sulphide (H2S) monitoring devices was verified by comparing readings with a reference analytical method using a gas chromatograph (GC). A spray treatment method was also evaluated for reducing worker exposure to H2S. Spraying with water was effective in reducing the levels of H2S released from agitated manure. An additive mixed with spray water did not help in reducing H2S levels.

Energy Efficiencies Strategies for Reducing Utility Cost in the Barn

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Energy resources should be efficiently managed to reduce expenses, pollution, and improve barn air quality. New lighting systems in barns allow for customizable lighting intensity and duration to be barn specific (for example, dimmer switches). $600.00 per year can be saved by using T-8 4’ vapour proof fluorescent lights as opposed to incandescent. Incandescent lights are obsolete, as they waste energy and have a short life. Convective heat systems are used to heat air itself. The drawback from the combustion is the CO2, carbon monoxide, and oxygen consumption. This is why ventilation is required, but with proper settings this can be minimized, or alternatively using a hot water heating system. Radiant heaters work much like microwaves because they heat the objects in the barn (i.e. – the pigs) directly. Of the gas tube heaters, catalytic/open flame brooders, and in-floor radiant heaters the in-floor has the best attributes. CFM/W (cubic feet of air per minute per watt) should be looked at when purchasing fans. The higher the CFM/W, the more efficient the fan is. This indicates how much air is moved throughout the day and how much it cost to move that air. Fans should be sized to match the stage requirements and they should have adequate hoods for optimum airflow. Monitoring equipment is used to monitor the quality of the environment. Some of this equipment can be used to measure general airflow, temperature and relative humidity, static pressure, inlet management, and gas detection. Gases of particular importance include ammonia, hydrogen sulphide (H2S), carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide.

Lying down and rolling behaviour is sows in relation to piglet crushing (review).

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The crushing of piglets by the sow has always been a problem, but it has become increasingly prevalent in farrowing systems that loose house the sows. This article, reviewed papers pertaining to piglets crushing related to sows’ lying down and rolling behaviours. Very little research has been conducted on the rolling behaviours in sows. It is known that sows will roll more frequently when they are housed on concrete versus plasticized floors. Also the more quickly a sow rolls over, the higher the risk of piglets being crushed. Considerably more work has been done on the lying behaviour of sows; for example, the sequence of movements made during the process of lying down has been clearly broken down into five stages. Once again the speed of the movements, especially when the sow lowers her hindquarters, could possibly be related to piglet crushing. However, if a sow leans against a surface or if performs pre-lying behaviours (moves around, paws, roots, and gathers the piglets to in an area opposite of where she will lie) the risk of piglet crushing is reduced. As well, how responsive the sow is to a piglet that has become trapped underneath her affect the incidence of crushing, which may be influenced by the piglets’ responses to crushing (vocalizations), how long after parturition the incident occurs, the amount of space provided to the sow and bedding. Various factors such as domestication, breed, muscle control, previous and current housing may impact the methodology and how quickly a sow lies down. Piglets’ responses to crushing and space allocated to the sow may impact the exhibition of pre-lying behaviours. The authors believe all these factors should be taken into consideration when designing and managing the farrowing environment of the sow to help reduce the incidence of piglet crushing. However, the authors also call for more research in this area, as they believe a better understanding of these behaviours is needed.

Effects of specific noise and music stimuli on stress and fear levels of laying hens of several breeds.

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The tonic immobility duration and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio were measured in laying hens that were exposed to specific sound stimuli. In the first experiment, 36-week-old hens of four different breeds were studied. The treatments consisted of a control: 65 dB (background chicken vocalizations and fans) and 90 dB (background noises plus truck, train, and aircraft noises), which they were exposed to once for one hour. There was a significant difference between the noise treatments for the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio. Hens that were exposed to the excessive noise had significant heterophilia and had longer durations of tonic immobility. The results did not differ among the breeds. These results suggest that hens exposed to excessive noise were more stressed and fearful than the control hens. In the second experiment, 36-week-old birds from two different breeds were either maintained as the control (exposed to 65 dB of background noise) or were exposed to classical music and background noises at 75 dB for five hours per day for three days. There were no differences in heterophil to lymphocyte ratio between the control and treated hens. However, there was a difference in tonic immobility. The hens treated with music had longer durations of tonic immobility than the control hens. This suggests that treated hens were more fearful than control hens. The authors concluded that excessive noise is stressful and causes fearfulness in laying hens, and that the addition of classical music to the background noise also induces fear.

The effect of reward duration on demand functions for rest in dairy heifers and lying requirements as measure by demand functions

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The strength underlying a heifer’s motivation to lie down during a 24h period was examined in two experiments. In the first, eight heifers housed in tether-stalls were provided the freedom to lie down for 9 hours a day, and had to work to lie down for 6 per day. To earn the ability to lie down, a heifer had to press a panel 10 to 50 times and were rewarded with the ability to lie down for 20, 30, 50 or 80 minutes. The heifer were prevented from lying down by a strap around her midsection that was hooked up to a release mechanism. The amount of time offered as the reward affected how hard the cow was willing to work for the ability to lie down. When the reward duration was 20 minutes, the harder the cow had to work, the less likely she was to press the panel. During reward period that were longer in duration, the heifer would not lying down the entire time. When the reward was 50 minutes access to lying time, the cows tended to work for 4 extra hours of lying time. In total this provided the cow with 13 hours of lying time per day. In the second experiment the cow was only given 6 hours of free lying time and had to work to be able to lie down for 12 hours a day. The reward duration was kept constant at 50 minutes. Cows were observed to lie down for 5.5 hours of the 6 hours of free lying time. During the test period, cows would work for another 7 hours of lying time. In total cows spent 12.5 hour lying per day. The consistency of working towards the ability to lie down for approximately 13 hours/day illustrates that cows have an inelastic demand (willing to achieve that level regardless of cost) to rest lying down for that amount of time.

Behavior, physiology, and performance of bulls mixed at the onset of finishing to form uniform body weight groups.

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Young bulls were finished over a period of 8 months. They were either mixed or unmixed and were grouped with similar or non-similar BW at the beginning of the finishing period. Social behavior following mixing and throughout the finishing period, stress measurements (cortisol concentration, adrenal weight, catecholamines-synthesizing enzyme activity, and pain sensitivity), and production traits such as growth rate, homogeneity, feed efficiency, and carcass measurements were analyzed. Frequency of social interactions among the bulls increased after mixing. These included agonistic and nonagonistic interactions as well as sexual interactions. Agonistic and sexual interactions were more frequent among bulls in the similar BW groups. During the finishing period, synchronization of activity tended to be lower among mixed bulls. At slaughter, the activity of the catecholamines-synthesizing enzyme, tyrosine hydroxylase, was increased in mixed bulls, possibly indicating chronic stress. There were no differences noted in ADG or carcass traits among treatments. Body weight variability within groups increased in groups that initially had similar BW, but decreased in groups that initially had nonsimilar BW. Conclusions stated that mixing young beef bulls at the beginning of the finishing period did not have detrimental effects on health and production but mixing did increase stress levels, possibly due to decreased cohesion within the groups. The authors did not confirm that there was any benefit to mixing bulls at the onset of finishing in order to create groups of similar BW. This was because BW similarities within groups were not maintained throughout the finishing period.

Socio-spatial criteria are important for the establishement of maternal preference in lambs

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To enhance the relationship development between the ewe and the dam at lambing, it is believed that the ewe will isolate herself from the herd. After lambing, the ewe and her lamb return to the flock and the lamb begins to interact with other lambs. This study examined the importance of the social isolation at birth and other social and spatial factors that affect the maternal recognition of lambs. The ewes lambed in individual 2 m2 pens, which allowed the lambs to freely interact with the dam. The role of isolation was examined in the first experiment. The control treatment left the ewe and her lamb were left isolated in the birthing pen for the first 24 hours following birth. The experimental treatment progressively provided the pair with more space and increased contact with other pairs during the first 24 hours after birth (0-6h 1 ewe, 1 litter, 2 m2; 6-12h 2 ewes, 2 litters, 4 m2; 12-24h: 4 ewes, 4 litters, 8 m2). The lambs also underwent a choice test, in which they had to choose between their mother and an unfamiliar lamb. Twelve hours after birth, the lambs allowed social interaction displayed a preference for their mother, while the isolated lambs did not display this same preference. Even after 24 hour, the isolated lambs did not display any maternal preference. A second experiment investigated the importance of social interactions within each of the two groups previously studied. The isolated treatment received an increasing amount of space during the first 24 hours after lambing, similar to what the social treatment underwent. Twelve hours after lambing, lambs from both treatments displayed a preference for the dam, but was seen much sooner in the isolated mother-lamb pair. Data from both experiments suggests that lambs that were remained only with the dam during the first 24 hours after birth, also displayed a preference for their dam from a distance. The results from this study demonstrated that increasing the exposure to other flock members following birth, encourages the lamb to develop an attachment to the dam, and this bond is even stronger when they are provided increased space. Therefore, the development of the mother-lamb bond is socially and environmentally complex.

Extensive bedded indoor and outdoor pig production systems in USA: current trends and effects on animal care and product quality

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