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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:
Impact of lameness on behaviour and productivity of lactating Holstein cows.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2003 | No Comments
Cows from two commercial dairy farms were studied to determine how lameness effects behaviour and milk production. Pens that were far from the milking parlour were used. Locomotion scores were given to each cow within the test pens. The cows were colour marked based on the severity of lameness. Return time from the milking parlour, whether the cows were standing or lying, and milk production/composition were recorded. The results indicated that the percentage of cows lying increased at an increasing rate, distance from the pen entrance was highest in intermediate locomotion score groups, return time tended to increase linearly, and milk and protein production decreased linearly as the locomotion score groups increased. A second experiment showed that the percentage of cows lying increased linearly, distance from the pen entrance decreased at an increasing rate and return time increased at an increasing rate, as locomotion score groups increased. Cows in the farthest pen from the milking parlour were lying the most, distance from the pen entrance decreased at an increasing rate, and cows return time increased as pen distance from the milking parlour increased. A higher locomotion score (greater lameness) and a greater distance from the milking parlour were found to have negative impacts on behaviour and productivity. However, the authors would not recommend that lame cows be housed in pens that are closer to the milking parlour, because they did not find interactions between locomotion score and pen distance.
Alternative Pork Production Systems: Overview of Facilities, Performance Measures, and Meat Quality
Posted in: Economics by admin on | No Comments
Intensive outdoor pig production systems have been considered in recent years in some
parts of the world. These alternatives to traditional slatted-floor indoor systems may become
more common as environmental and/or animal welfare regulations increase. The objective of this paper is to compare outdoor and indoor pig finishing systems. The results were variable. Some reasons for this variation include differences in pig birth environment, seasonal effects,
and quality of ground or bedding surfaces. Research from Texas Tech University indicates that
outdoor born pigs have higher growth rates but more backfat. A possible advantage for outdoor
rearing may be linked to increased a* values and decreased L* values of the loin muscle. Darker
colored pork is more desirable for export markets because of the increase in water holding
capacity. A careful economic analysis should be conducted to determine if increased backfat and
feed:gain that is associated with outdoor finished pigs could be offset by higher market prices for
meat products from pigs finished in an outdoor environment. Alternative nutrition research
could lead to decreased backfat levels of outdoor finished pigs. If consumers are willing to pay
more for products that are produced as “sustainable”, “natural”, or others, then these production
systems could be very successful in the future. There are some real differences in pork quality noted in the literature. However,
differences in pork quality vary among the different environments that were investigated.
Consumer perception is such that when they enter a retail environment they are willing to buy
pork products with social assurances. In some cases, consumers may believe the alternative pork
products will taste better. We can say quite clearly that alternative products do not taste worse
than conventional products. Pork produced from pigs born and reared outdoors was equal to or
better than pork from conventional systems under some circumstances in our experiences.
Success of alternative production systems will depend on many factors and consumer
“willingness to pay” for these products would certainly increase economic benefits for these
production systems.
A note on the use of odor manipulation to facilitate the adoption of alien lambs by ewes bearing twins
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Artificial odorants such as neatsfoot oil has been used to facilitate adoption of alien lambs by ewes bearing single natural offspring because the oil provides a common odor for the lambs. Use of cloth stockinette jackets to exchange natural odors between lambs has also aided this adoption. Both methods were tested on lambs within 12 hours of birth. On the day following birth, the jackets were exchanged between own and alien lambs, and the alien lambs were fostered. The incidence of acceptance and rejection behaviors of ewes was monitored using ten-minute acceptance tests. In 5 days, 85 % of the ewes had met the acceptance criteria of no butts or butt attempts directed at the alien lamb, and they allowed a sucking time of 20 seconds or more by the lamb in each of two successive daily acceptance tests. Thirsty-six percent of the ewes adopted the alien lambs immediately. The study indicated that alien lambs could be successfully fostered in Friesian x Targhee cross ewes with natural twin lambs using a combination of neatsfoot oil to establish a common odor between own and alien lambs, and cloth stockinette jackets to exchange natural odors between natural and alien lambs.
A systematic approach towards developing environmental enrichment for pigs.
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This study made use of 222 groups of 3 weaner pigs (~ 5 weeks old, ~ 12 kg) and 222 groups of 3 grower pigs (13-14 weeks old, ~ 50 kg). A comparison of 74 different enrichment objects and substrates were presented in four ways, depending on object/substrate use: 1) substrate in a metal box attached to the pen side, 2) object loose on the floor, 3) object attached to the wall, and 4) object suspended from a metal bracket so that the object appeared at eye or floor level. The aim of this study was to determine which enrichment device characteristics were favored, and which of those favored characteristics were age-dependent. The object interaction for both weaner and grower pigs varied from 0.1-11.9 % on day 1, and from 0.2-9.3 % on day 5. On day 1, growers spent an average of 22.3 % of their active time on object-directed behaviour, while weaners spent an average of 16.4 % of their active time on object-directed behaviour. On day 5, active time spent on object-directed behaviour was 8.6 % for growers, and 7.5 % for weaners. Growers had a tendency to interact with the objects more often than weaners, and had a lower latency to interact with an object than weaners on day 1. The mean length of time spent on object interaction was significantly higher on day 1 than on day 5, and was higher among growers. A pig’s motivation to explore, to forage, and to manipulate objects may explain the reason for objects with characteristics such as ‘ingestible’, ‘odorous’, ‘chewable’, ‘deformable’, and ‘destructible’ to be used so extensively among the pigs. A high interaction (6-9 %) with edible objects validates the statement. Furthermore, objects that were not only ‘chewable’ but ‘odorous’ as well, became even more attractive. Renewing a substrate each day also helped to hold a pig’s interest in the enrichment device. Pigs often lost interest in an object that became soiled, such as objects that were provided loosely on the floor. Presenting substrates and objects in a box reduced this problem. Pigs habituated to some objects as early as 3 days after their initial introduction. Analysis of the data in this study concluded that there were 2 different sets of characteristics required of objects on day 1 (day of object introduction) and day 5, indicating that there was a separation between initially attractive characteristics and characteristics that kept the pigs’ attention over a number of days.
Creating a Positive Impact in Your Community
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
Pork production is very scientific and the people who run it work very hard. Pork production begins with the insemination of the sow. Most common today is artificial insemination. The use of a boar in direct contact with the sows will initiate an “immobilization response†so that it can be bred. Because boars can be dangerous to use or expensive to house/feed, a product called Boar Mate can be used. This product contains boar pheromones and when sprayed in front of a sows nose, the combination of the spray and back pressure can bring her into a standing response. Cost and nutrition is the key to successfully feeding pigs. Feeding too many amino acids will cause some to flow over into the feces and urine. This is not a good thing for the environment. The large amounts of manure produced each day by pigs create a gas hazard. Without oxygen, some of the bacteria in the feces produce hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Odor can be controlled (although virtually impossible to eliminate) by the addition of certain enzymes or certain types of rocks to it to “eat away†the odor. People have a history of complaints on pesticides and their effect on human health. The use of pesticides is controlled and regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency. Before a pesticide can be registered for use it must be tested for its effects and long-term effects on the environment, people, etc.
Working with Variance: Hassle or Help in Developing Breeding Management Programs
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The demands of particular markets for pork products will likely result in specific genetics in specific production systems to meet these demands. Replacement gilts need a good growth performance for a good reproductive life. When it comes to genetics certain genetic lines are better for tissue deposition. This allows production systems to focus on depositing the correct amount of fat and muscle for maximum fertility of the gilt. Sow studies suggest that increased protein mass at farrowing can protect against the loss of condition during the gilts first lactation (target weights are being investigated). The object of gilt growth variability is bad for standardizing the gilt pool. To overcome the problems caused by this variation, it may be essential to sort gilts by weight and growth performance at an early age. Nutrition can then be customized to bring the pool into uniform condition. Weighing and measuring back fat is also essential to the process. After all of this though, it is still recommended that the variation be monitored in gestation to ensure uniformity at farrowing. Starting an estrus detection routine at about 160 or 180 days will help to identify the small percentage that do not respond to the boar stimulus. This is good to identify because there is data that suggest that late maturing gilts have reduced lifetime productivity (including the fact that late puberty induction will result in a heavier gilt at time of first mating). Genetic selection and sow nutrition can help meet the nutrient demands of lactation from adequate nutrient intake. Low variation in wean-to-estrus interval should be the focus of lactation feeding. Research is still ongoing in this area, but molecular genetics looks promising. Current ways to improve this is to improve estrus detection and an estimate of heat duration for farm. Several options exist for compensating for the first wean-to-estrus interval (WEI): “skip-a-heat breeding” (which may be financially justified), breed at the extended WEI, treatment with PG600 at or on the day after weaning, a Regumate feeding program, split weaning, and split weaning along with a Regumate program. Improved selection of AI boars and reducing the number of sperm inseminations can also be effective. This has obvious advantages in terms of boar stud management in that it can produce more breedings per boar stud per year.
Nutritional Value of Field Peas – Range of Digestible Energy content in 11 field pea varieties
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Recent research results indicate that locally grown feed ingredients express a high variability in nutritional value for growing – finishing pigs. The highest and lowest DE value differed 20% within twenty samples of barley collected from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Field peas are becoming an increasingly important protein and energy source for growing – finishing pigs in Western Canada. The range in nutritional value of field peas has been poorly assessed. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to characterize the DE content in samples of 11 field pea varieties. The DE ranged from 3098 to 3739 kcal/ kg; thus, the difference in DE between the highest and lowest value was 20%. Despite being grown under similar conditions, energy value for sample differed greatly among samples and variation in DE was greater than expected. Because nutritionists try to formulate diets within an accuracy of 1.5%, the issue of ingredient variability requires further study.
Balancing the Availability of Nutrients in Manured Soils
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Animal manures are a valuable source of plant nutrients in crop production in western Canada. Significant yield responses to nutrients added as swine manure and cattle manure have been reported in field trials in Saskatchewan. Increased availability of nitrogen in manured soils is the primary factor associated with reported yield and protein increases in these studies, particularly with liquid swine manure. In some instances, part of the yield response to manure addition may be attributed to the enhanced availablility of othernutrients such as phosphorus when soil availability of those nutrients is limiting. Thereofre manure addition can make a signifiant contribution to crop nutrition by increasing the availability of many nutrients in the soil. However, the amounts, forms, availability and therefore the balance of available nutrients in the soil following manure addition is controlled to a large extent by the compostion of the manure. This compostion is variable depending on factors such as the animal physiology, feed rations/additives, manure handling and storage as well as environmental conditiions which effect nutrient retention. As such, when manure is applied, nutrients are applied in proportion or balance thy are present in the manure source, hcih amy be different than the relative proprtions required by the crop to be grown.