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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:
The effect of stimulus height on visual discrimination in horses.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2003 | No Comments
The ability for horses to perform visual discriminations is thought to be influenced by the height at which the stimulus is presented. The objective of this study was to determine if horses could visually discriminate based on the height the stimulus was presented. The test involved a two-choice, black/white discrimination with stimuli presented at two heights: ground level or at a height of 70 cm above the ground. The results indicated that the horses could visually discriminate better when the stimulus was at ground level. This information is important when training horses to accomplish tasks that involve visual discrimination. Also, it emphasizes the importance of the effect that the ground surface can have on a horse’s performance, which is important in both management and training.
The effect of increasing the salt intake of pregnant dairy cows on the salt appetite and growth of their calves.
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An increased sodium appetite has been demonstrated in cattle following supplementation with sodium in the neonatal period, but it is unclear whether the sodium appetite of calves can be influenced in utero by the dam’s sodium intake during pregnancy. Twenty-two non-lactating, pregnant dairy cows received either a diet of silage and concentrates or the same diet with 70 g NaCl per day added to it for the last 2 months of pregnancy. The sodium supplement increased the birth weight of their calves but after 6 weeks there was no difference between treatments in calf weight. In addition to milk, calves in both treatments were offered a choice of concentrates with normal or high sodium concentrations (5.8 and 10.8 g/kg dry matter, respectively). Calves from the cows that had received supplementary sodium during pregnancy ate more of the high sodium concentrate than calves from cows without the sodium supplement, demonstrating that sodium appetite could be entrained by the sodium intake of the dam during late pregnancy.
Detrended fluctuation analysis of behavioural responses to mild acute stressors in domestic hens.
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Behavioural analysis has an important role in the assessment of stress in animals. Fractal analysis provides a novel measure of behavioural complexity and has previously revealed subtle alterations in behaviour under biologically costly conditions, such as parasitism or disease. The analysis is based upon the temporal pattern of behaviour that, although rarely considered in behavioural studies, may provide information in addition to standard measures of duration and frequency. Such information could be useful in assessing the welfare of confined animals. The objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that fractal analysis reveals novel behavioural alterations during stress using ISA brown pullets. The behaviour of undisturbed birds in their home pen was compared to the behaviour of the same birds: (1) in a novel arena, (2) in their home pen following blood withdrawal and (3) in their home pen following 5 min of mechanical restraint plus blood withdrawal. Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) was applied to sequences of vigilance behaviour and walking. In summary, this study concluded that DFA provides a novel measure of temporal behavioural complexity in chickens. Acute stress caused an increase in behavioural complexity in the present experiment suggesting that DFA can reveal more subtle changes in behavioural organization during stress. If such behavioural alterations represent a non-specific stress response this methodology could allow objective comparisons of different stressors to be made.
Traceability of Inbred and Crossbred Cinta Senese Pigs by Evaluating the Oxidative Stress
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Previous studies on the oxidative stress in swine indicated a strong link between the values of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), the subsequent antioxidant adaptive response (OXY)
and the genetic selection. Such findings, mainly related to a cardiovascular inadequacy in lean, large muscle blocks and fast growing breeds, is associated with specific metabolic diseases
such as porcine stress syndrome and mulberry heart disease. In this study, we investigated the oxidative stress parameters to trace the genetics of Cinta Senese (CS) pigs, a historical breed free-range reared in Siena countryside. Sera from CS (n ¼ 24) and Large White · CS (LW · CS) (n ¼ 24)
groups around 120 kg body weight fed the same diet were sampled at slaughter. Sera from wild boars (WB) (n ¼ 24) hunted in the same district were also considered. ROMs and OXY were evaluated in the three groups of swine. Significant differences by one-way anova (P < 0.05) between groups were found for both procedures. ROM levels were lower in WB (9.79 ± 5.76 mm H2O2) and CS (18.02 ± 7.42 mm
H2O2), and highest in LW · CS (42.78 ± 8.61 mm H2O2). OXY values ranged from 271.37 ± 50.90 lm neutralized HOCl (WB) to 343.21 ± 57.45 lm neutralized HOCl (LW · CS). Results indicated that the evaluation of the oxidative stress can effectively trace the CS pigs, thus aiding in preserving the overall specific traits of such a historical animal.
A Facility for Controlled Exposure of Pigs to Airborne Dusts and Gases
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A facility has been developed for a study in which, for 6 weeks, groups of weaner pigs (960 in total) were exposed to controlled concentrations of airborne dust (nominally 0, 25, 5 or 10 mgm3 inhalable fraction) and ammonia (nominally 0, 10, 20 or 40 parts per million, ppm) and the effects on production and respiratory disease measured. The facility comprised five rooms, each holding 24 pigs. Each room was ventilated mechanically at a constant rate of either 30 or 40 air changes per hour in the Winter and Summer, respectively, to minimise the background concentration of pollutants. An artificial pig dust has been developed, though setting the specifications for composition, particle size distribution and microbial content was hampered by the lack of published values for these parameters. The dust was manufactured from feed, barley straw and faeces, mixed by weight in the proportions 05:01:04. The ingredients were oven dried to inactivate microbes and remove moisture and oil binders, milled by a hammer mill and then an air classifier mill, and mixed. This dust
was then injected into the supply air of each roomvia a venturi nozzle fed froman agitated hopper. The size distribution of this dust approximated published values for piggery dust. The dust concentration was monitored with a tribo-electric sensor, which was calibrated against an aerodynamic particle sizer and gravimetric samplers. Ammonia was also injected into the supply air; its rate was controlled with mass flow controllers and its concentration was measured continuously with a NO chemiluminescence gas analyser after catalytic conversion of NH3 to NO at 7508C. The monitoring and control system was controlled by a computer, which included a safety system to terminate pollutant generation if set limits are exceeded. The facility has been used successfully and two batches of pigs have been tested satisfactorily.
Bugs, Drugs and You
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The concern with antibiotics is that the organism the drug is supposed to kill may develop a resistance to the drug and make it more difficult or maybe impossible to treat. This resistant disease can then be spread to others. Some microbes can even transfer from animal to man (called zoonosis). In Canada and elsewhere, we use antimicrobial drugs to treat sick animals, prevent disease, and to enhance production. This contributes to safe and wholesome food from healthy animals, reducing human exposure to pathogens, promoting health and well being of animals, and reducing the cost of food production. The increase in demand for food animal products will result in an increased demand for animal health management tools (including antimicrobials). The Veterinary Drugs Directorate is beginning to look past the chemical residues in meat to include microbial safety. Some needs include a coordinated surveillance system for antimicrobial resistance in the major pathogens affecting food animals, regulation of antimicrobials to consider the human health impacts of resistance, and to assess federal and provincial jurisdiction regarding the sale and use of antimicrobials in animals. An on farm food safety program should be designed to address antimicrobial issues. The Animal Nutrition Association of Canada has developed a HACCP based program that has audit controls for its members, commercial feed manufacturers. The CFIA is in the process of establishing a mandatory HACCP-based regulation for the manufacture of medicated feed on farm and in commercial mills.
Performancfe of Finishing Pigs in Hoop Structures and Confinement During Winter amd Summer
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Performance of finishing pigs in hoop or confinement during summer and winter was evaluated in Iowa. Hoops are large tent-like shelters with corn-stalks or straw for bedding. During summer and winter seasons for thre years, 1998-2001, six trials were conducted using three hoops strcutures or mechanicallly ventilated confinement barn with slatted floors. A total of 3,518 pigs started the trials. Summer trials were June to October and winter trials were Novemeber to April. Target stocking density was 1.1 sqyare meters for hoop strcuture, and 0.74 square meters for confinement buildings. Identical corn-based diets were fed adlibitum from 16-118 kg for 127 days. Pigs were scanned before harvest for backfat and loin muscle area. When seasons were merged hoop-fed pigs had more backfat, smaller loin muscle area, less lean percentage, than confinment housed pigs. When season x housing type interactions were observed, summer hoop-fed pigs had greater ADG, required fewer days to market had similar ADFI and gain:feed compared with confinement fed pigs. Lean gain/day and efficiency of lean gain did not differ between housing systems. During winter hoop fed pigs had similar ADG required more days to market, had greater ADFI, less gain to feed, lees lean gain/day than confinment-fed pigs. Percentage of culls and mortalities did not differ between housing system. During summer there was a trend for fewer ligh weight pigs at marketing from hoops than confinement. Bedding use in hoops was 92 and 122 kg/pig for summer and winter respectively. Performance of finishing pigs in bedded hoop structures depends in part on thermal environment.