Measures for the prevention and control of Taenia solium taeniosis and cysticercosis

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

Acceptable Phosphorus Concentrations in Soils and Impact on the Risk of Phosphorus Transfer from Manure Amended Soils to Surface Waters

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

Manure is a valuable source of P for crop production. However, applying too much manure P,
especially in the wrong place, is not only agronomically wasteful, but potentially harmful to the
environment. As a result of recent increases in Manitoba’s production of livestock, the risk of
transfer of manure P from agricultural land to surface water is probably increasing. However,
the amounts of P that are discharged from livestock production and other agricultural activities
are very difficult to determine due to a lack of hydrological data and, more important, a lack of
data on the transfer of P from soil to water. Part of this problem is due to the highly variable
impact of soil type, P management, landscape and climate on P retention and release by soil,
information that is not well documented for Manitoba conditions. Fortunately, livestock
producers have a wide variety of potential techniques for reducing P discharge from their
operations; however, the technical and economic merit of these techniques is generally not well
documented either, for Manitoba conditions. As a result of these challenges, legislation and
regulation regarding P management should be introduced cautiously to ensure environmental
protection without undue hardship to the agricultural industry.

Emission of greenhouse gas from livestock waste and wastewater treatment in Taiwan

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

Efficacy of Alum and Coal Combustion By-Products in Stabilizing Manure Phosphorus

Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments

The Importance of Feed and Feeding the Lactating Sow

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

Maintaining high levels of feed during lactation benefits both the current litter, subsequent letters as well as the sows overall productivity. Most problems arise in the first or second parity if the sow does not consume enough feed to meet energy requirements. If not enough feed is consumed milk production will decrease and body condition is lost as fat reserves are mobilized to synthesize milk. Loss of body fat can also compromise reproductive performance.
There are several management practises to help ensure sows are consuming enough feed during lactation to avoid weigh loss. Feeding levels and intake during gestation is unlikely to influence litter size unless feed intake is restricted significantly. The target for weight gain should be based on backfat thickness at time of weaning and her weight at weaning. All sows should have 18-20mm of backfat at time of farrowing and should be fed an extra 1kg/day at 100 days from breeding. Protein levels in the diet have shown to have an influence on feed intake as well as piglet weaning weight. For example, sows fed 12-14% CP consumed less than sows fed 16-18% CP. Several other factors have been shown to influence feed intake during lactation such as environment, number of daylight hours as well as the form in which the ration is fed. It is possible that the differences in sow productivity may be a result of feed and feeding programs over a sows reproductive lifetime.

Pre-planned segregation: The effect of grouping by weight at weaning on variability in body weight at nursery exit

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

Variability in pig growth costs producers due to sort losses at marketing and reduced barn utilization. This experiment was designed to determine if pre-planned segregation (PPS), the separation of the total population of pigs into sub-groups expected to differ in performance, could improve barn utilization. A total of 2080 pigs, weaned over 8 weeks, were divided into groups based on weight at weaning. Segregation had no effect on variability of the entire group, or percentiles of the lightest or heaviest subsets of that group at d 50. Since it is expected that the rooms housing the heavier pigs would turn over more quickly, PPS could therefore be used to improve overall barn utilization.

The effect of positive or negative handling on the behavioural and physiological responses of nonlactating heifers.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

The aim of this experiment was to determine the effects that positive or negative physical handling has on 5-14 month old non-lactating heifers. The behavioural and physiological responses to the handling were recorded from 48 Holstein-Friesian heifers. The cows were handled twice daily for a 2-5 minute period. During handling the heifers were moved down a 64m route in an outdoor area. Positively handled heifers were patted, stroked, and slowly moved down the corridor. Negatively handled heifers were slapped, hit with a plastic pipe on the rump and were moved quickly down the corridor. The negative handling of the heifers resulted in long duration to approach within 1 or 2m of a person. The negatively handled heifers also had larger flight zones when approached by a human. Whether the person approaching the heifer was familiar or unfamiliar did not have an impact on the amount of time it took the approach a person, however, there was a trend for negatively handled heifers to exhibited an even larger flight zone towards unfamiliar humans. In terms of the physiological response to negative handling, those heifers had higher free total cortisol in the 5 to 15 minute period following the handling event, and also had higher free cortisol levels in the afternoon of a subsequent handling event. This study shows that the manner in how heifers are handled does negatively impact their behaviour (response to humans) and physiology (caused an acute stress response that may become a chronic problem). What is yet to be determined, is the effect that fear brought about by negative handling has on the milk production and welfare of heifers.

Social stress in laying hens: Differential effect of stress on plasma dopamine concentrations and adrenal function in genetically selected chickens

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Two phenotypically distinct lines were created, selecting for high or low group productivity and survival. Each line developed unique behavioural and physiological characteristics, when housed in a multiple-bird cage system. This study examined how the variation in the adaptation of the two lines has affected the control of the plasma dopamine concentrations and how the adrenal gland responds to social stress. At 17 weeks-of-age, laying hens from the HGPS and LGPS lines were housed in single cages or cages that housed 10 hens. The effect that the genetics and housing had on the dopamine concentration and adrenal function was measured on the 24th week-of-age. When 10 hens were housed per cage, the HGPS hens had lower dopamine concentrations and heavier adrenal glands. There was not a significant difference in the cortisol concentrations of the two genetic lines. However, in the single cages system, both lines had higher dopamine and lower cortisol concentrations than those hens that were housed in groups. The increase in the dopamine concentrations was significantly larger in the LGPS than the HGPS hens that were housed individually. As well, the adrenal glands were lighter in individually housed LGPS hens. The experiment found that the hormonal response to stress is different in the two genetic lines. It was also proven that environment affects the stress reaction. Thus, hormones and the environment are likely what causes the behavioural and physiological differences exhibited by the two genetic lines.

The effect of milk flow rate and milk allowance on feeding related behaviour in dairy calves fed by computer controlled milk feeders.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of milk flow rate and milk allowance from a computer-controlled milk feeder on calves’ use of the feeder. Four calves each were assigned to one of four treatments: low milk allowance and normal milk flow rate (LN), high milk allowance and normal milk flow rate (HN), low milk allowance and reduced milk flow rate (LR), or high milk allowance and reduced milk flow rate (HR). Data were collected by the computerized feeder from day 15 until weaning. Findings indicated that the overall combination of high milk yield and low flow rate resulted in the most time spent in the feeder during rewarded visits. However, there were significant effects of breed. For the heavy breed calves, a reduced milk flow rate resulted in a longer duration of rewarded visits and a longer duration of all visits. A high milk allowance resulted in fewer unrewarded visits, a shorter duration of unrewarded visits, and a shorter duration of all visits to the feeder. For all breeds, the reduced milk flow rate resulted in a longer duration of visits where the calves had access to milk but did not consume it. Calf behaviour was recorded on video for a 24 hour period. Recordings showed that heavy breed calves that fed at a reduced milk flow rate occupied the feeder more than the calves fed at a normal milk flow rate. When offered a high milk allowance, the heavy breed calves entered the feeder less often and also entered the feeder less frequently when it was empty. Calves of all breeds, when offered a low milk allowance in combination with a reduced milk flow rate, tried more often to get access to an occupied feeder and displaced other calves from the feeder more often. There were no effects of treatment on the occurrence of cross-sucking. Results indicated that, for heavy breeds, a reduced milk flow rate increased the mean occupancy of the feeder due to a longer duration of rewarded visits. Also, a higher milk allowance reduced the mean occupancy through a reduction in the duration of unrewarded visits for the heavy breed calves. The hypothesis that a high number of unrewarded visits to a computerized milk feeder being likely due to hunger, was supported by the results of this study. The results further suggest that the time the calves occupy the feeder may be reduced by a high milk allowance. The combination of a low milk allowance and a reduced milk flow rate may result in an increase in the competition for access to the feeder.

Analysis of Economically Optimal Nutrition and Marketing Strategies for Paylean Usage in Hog Production

Posted in: Economics by admin on | No Comments

Under historical average prices, feeding Paylean appears to be a profitable innovation
for many producers. Regardless of whether Paylean is adopted or not, the highest returns
accrue to production systems with superior management and growing environments. In
addition, a phase-feeding program makes a substantial contribution to increasing returns.
Paylean requires increasing the dietary lysine percentage to obtain the full potential
benefit. The optimal Paylean concentration and net return from Paylean adoption
increase with the ratio of lean value to fat value. It is optimal to initiate Paylean supplementation
for CF hogs at a lighter weight and feed Paylean for a longer period compared
with SEW hogs.
Based on results of the sensitivity analysis, the optimal Paylean concentration is
sensitive under payment schemes 3 and 4 only, and the length of the optimal Paylean
supplementation period is relatively stable. In addition, the returns from hog production
are not sensitive to the price of Paylean, but are highly sensitive to finishing hog and
feeder pig prices.
Future work should examine additional strategies for managing Paylean. Ideally,
these approaches will be coupled with live animal studies that evaluate the biological
responses to a broader range of Paylean supplementation strategies-including step-up
programs where the Paylean concentrations are increased over time. Additional research
is also needed to assess the effect of Paylean on the within-barn variability in hog
growth. Ultimately, a stochastic model of hog growth should be developed that permits
fme-tuning of herd-level marketing strategies and allows evaluation of Paylean’s effect
on herd variability and its impact on producers’ net returns.