Milk feeding systems for dairy calves in groups: effects on feed intake, growth and health.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2003 | No Comments

The rearing of dairy calves in groups is rapidly replacing the once common practice of raising the calves individually. Some farms have chosen to raise the calves in small groups. Group housed calves are fed by bucket or a small container that may or may not have teats. In larger groups (25-30 calves) the easiest way to feed the calves in ad libitum from a container with a teat or from automatic feeders, as computerized feeding systems are becoming quite popular. There are some negative consequences associated with feeding the calves ad libitum. One problem is the decreased growth performance after weaning, as giving the calves ad libitum access to milk tend to decrease the amount of concentrate they eat, thus the conversion from a liquid to solid diet after weaning is much more difficult. Also when feeding the calves ad libitum there is an increase in the cost of feeding due to the higher amounts of milk consumption. Another problem associated with the group housing of calves is the increased chance of contacting an infectious agent, thus promoting infection in these calves. According to a survey of farms, respiratory disease in becoming an increasingly common problem in calves housed in groups, fed from a computerized feeding system. Little research has been conducted on the housing of calves in large groups, so there are many questions that are yet to be answered. Producers are wondering how to prevent larger calves from disturbing the smaller calves in the group when they are at the feeder. Another area in which more research needs to be conducted is at what age and by what method should the calves be introduced to the feeding system. Finally producers want to know how to detect if an animal is ill based on the feed intake records generated from a computerized feeding system. Thus, there is a need for more research to be done in this novel form of dairy calf management.

Individual differences in behaviour and in adrenocortical activity in beef-suckler cows.

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A stable herd of beef-suckler cows was studied to learn more about individual behavioural strategies. Furthermore, these strategies were studied in relation to basic activities, adrenocortical activity, and degree of consistency during social competition. For three months, the social interactions of 19 beef-suckler cows were recorded. The cows were classified as either agonistic dominant (AD), non-agonistic (NA), or agonistic challenging (AC). Lying, standing, feeding and walking (basic activities) and the concentration of faecal cortisol metabolites were compared between groups. Increased social competition was created by reducing the number of feeding places, such that consistency in social strategies could be evaluated. In undisturbed social situations, the most agonistic interactions were initiated by AD animals. Social licking was received the most, and performed the least by AC animals. Agonistic interactions were initiated the least by NA animals, but they performed more social licking than AC animals and the most head play. The dominance values were highest for AD animals, but did not differ between NA and AC animals. The highest frequency of walking, standing, feeding and drinking and the lowest frequency of lying was recorded for AC animals. NA animals had higher concentrations of faecal cortisol metabolites than AC animals. The social competition test confirmed the social strategies that were initially identified. The authors concluded that the identified social strategies were consistent in situations of low and high social competition. The three strategies differed in social behaviour, basic activities, and adrenocorticol activity. The NA and AC animals both have a low ranking status, but use different coping strategies to deal with being subordinate.

The effect of a gradual separation from the mother on later behavioural, immune an dendocrine alterations in artificially reared lambs.

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Lambs were assigned to one of four treatment groups: DS (control dam-suckled), GRAD (gradually separated from their dams to reduced the time spent with the mother over ten days), SUB (abruptly removed from the dam 24 to 30 hours post-partum and provided with a milk substitute), and EM (abruptly removed from the dam 24 to 30 hours post-partum and subjected to a gradual transition from ewe milk to milk substitute over ten days) in order to compare lamb welfare and weight gains. The lambs’ behavioral response to isolation and to an inanimate stimulus (a hobby-horse) was measured at 12 and 32 days of age. Blood samples were collected immediately before, 10 minutes after, and 60 minutes after the isolation test to evaluate cortisol concentrations. The weight gain of the lambs was recorded weekly, and cell-mediated immune response and antibody titers were also determined at set points. The GRAD lambs performed less frequent climbing attempts than the DS lambs when isolated in a novel environment. After introduction of the hobby-horse, GRAD labs took longer to move than the DS, SUB, and EM lambs, and they had quicker movements than the DS lambs. A higher cortisol release was exhibited from the GRAD lambs. They also showed a lower cell-mediated immune response than the other three groups. The GRAD lambs had lower antibody titers than the EM and SUB lambs. A lower growth rate was exhibited among the GRAD lambs than among the other treatment groups. The results of the study indicate that gradual separation of a lamb from its mother negatively affects behavioral, immune, and endocrine responses of artificially reared lambs.

Influence of dietary ß-glucan on growth performance, lymphocyte proliferation, specific immune response and haptoglobin plasma concentrations in pigs

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Immunomodulatory feed additives might offer alternatives to anti-microbial growth
promoters in swine production. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of
b-1,3 ⁄ 1,6 glucans, i.e. of specific yeast cell wall components, on immune function and
growth performance in pigs. After weaning at 4 weeks of age, 75 piglets were allocated to 3
different groups for 4 weeks, the diet was supplemented with 0, 0.015 or 0.03% of
b-glucan, respectively. All animals were vaccinated against porcine reproductive and
respiratory syndrome (PRRS). After 4 weeks, average daily gains (ADG) of b-glucan
treated pigs were not different from the controls. Feed intake was tendentiously (p < 0.1) increased at 0.03% b-glucan, without alteration of feed efficiency. Serum haptoglobin concentrations at the end of the 4 week treatment were increased in all groups when compared to the initial levels (p < 0.001), without differences between the groups (p > 0.05). Haptoglobin levels were inversely related to ADG. Lymphocyte proliferation
indices were not different in control and treatment groups. Specific vaccination responses,
as quantified by the PRRS antibody titres occurred in all animals, but no relation with
b-glucan feeding was observed. Our results indicate marginal benefits of b-glucan
supplements for growth performance and no effect on the immune parameters tested. The
observed trend towards increased feed intake needs further elucidation.

FARM SPECIFIC CONTROL OF THE INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF SALMONELLA AT FINISHING PIG FARMS

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Nursery Management Strategies

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Successful nutrition of the nursery pig should begin with as heavy a pig as possible, feed as simple diets as possible, and focus on nursery feeding management. Pigs at a lighter weight at weaning are at a higher risk of death and disease. Weaning weight is important with all ages of pigs but is not as important as the weaning age of pigs. Younger pigs gain less than older pigs at the start of the nursery phase. The newly weaned piglet needs a lot of energy so thus needs low-cost, high energy, highly digestible diets. Two feeding options for soybean meal are: 1) Use a low amount and steadily increase it over time and 2) Use soybean meal as a partial replacement for more expensive specialty proteins. Adding fibre and/or restricting feed intake are not good for controlling diseases. Ingredient selection should be based on lowest cost, maximizing intake, and digestibility. The piglets digestive system is undeveloped right after weaning so ingredients must be used that can be digested and that help the digestive system grow and develop. After weaning, 25 to 50% of the feeding pan should be visible for the first few days. As the piglets discover this and begin to adjust to it, the level should be rapidly reduced to 25%. This does not reduce the average daily gain and feed efficiency/daily gain both improve because of decreased wastage and the continuous access to fresh feed.

“The Mexican Hog Industry: Moving Beyond 2003”

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For many years, Mexican hog producers benefited from favorable prices.
Being among the highest in the world and certainly the highest among the
NAFTA countries, prices usually were large enough to compensate for the
very high costs of hog production in Mexico as well as certain institutional
barriers. Today, however, the Mexican hog industry is facing a diverse set
of economic challenges that threaten the very survival of many producers.
These challenges include:
Competition with cheaper meat alternatives, such as chicken;
Changes in consumer preferences due to public perceptions that health
problems are associated with pork;
Delayed implementation of sound eradication campaigns for Classical
Swine Fever, Aujeszky’s Disease, and other swine diseases; and
The lasting consequences of the recurrent financial crises that Mexico
has suffered over the past 25 years.
Despite the many benefits that NAFTA is bringing to the Mexican economy,
the agreement’s impact on hog prices is leading some Mexican producers to
treat NAFTA as a scapegoat for all the problems that the industry faces. The
purpose of this paper is to show how Mexican hog producers can take
advantage of NAFTA in order to increase their competitiveness. In
particular, lowering feed costs, improving transportation facilities, and
establishing greater control over swine diseases would go a long way
towards increasing the competitiveness of Mexican producers.

Interstate Livestock Movements

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Pork Policies in Japan

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Plant remediation of soil beneath an abandoned animal waste lagoon

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In the 21st century, remediation of the soil beneath animal waste lagoons will become an important issue, as they are closed due to environmental regulations. Methods to remediate abandoned lagoons to prevent environmental degradation have not been developed. One remediation method might be to grow plants in the contaminated soil. They would stabilize the soil and prevent erosion. No work has been published to see if plants will grow in abandoned animal waste lagoon soil with its high level of ammonium N. Thus, the first objective of this experiment was to determine under greenhouse conditions if barley (Hordeum vulgare ‘Weskan’), the most salt tolerant of commercially important crops, would grow in the lagoon soil. A second objective was to determine if plant residues (oat (Avena sativa) straw and maize (Zea mays) cobs) added to the lagoon soil would tie up N, because of their high C:N ratio. The lagoon soil came from the bottom of a closed swine lagoon. The high concentration of ammonium N in the swine-lagoon soil (1349 mg kg-1) did not inhibit barley emergence and growth. The lagoon soil with no residues sustained barley growth. Plants grown in soil amended with oat straw grew as well as plants grown in the soil with no residues, but barley grown in lagoon soil with maize cobs grew poorly for two reasons. First, the maize cobs provided an inadequate seedbed and emergence was low. Second, water moved through preferential paths in the soil with maize cobs and was not retained in the pot for plant growth. More N remained in the lagoon soil with both types of residues than in the soil without residues. Results showed that the physical characteristics caused by the residue were of most importance in permitting sustained barley growth in swine-lagoon soil.