Stratification of solids, nitrogen and phosphorus in swine manure in deep pits under slatted floors

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2002 | No Comments

Effect of Mineral and Manure Phosphorus Sources on Runoff Phosphorus

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The methionine requirement of pigs from 25 to 50 kg

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

In Western Canada, many protein sources such as peas and lentils which are lower in methionine (total methionine, tMet) than traditional protein sources are being used with greater frequency and in greater amounts. To ensure these diets are properly balanced, an experiment was conducted to establish the methionine requirement for 25-50 kg pigs. The requirement for female pigs was 0.25% of the diet and was slightly higher for barrows, at 0.29%. Ileal digestibility of methionine (d met) was 83%. The tMET requirement as a percent of lysine was 23% in females and 27% in males.

Quality Management, Auditing and Certification: Impacts on Product Quality, On-farm Food Safety and Animal Well Being

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Recent scares of diseases such as BSE, Salmonella, E. coli, etc. have led to a consumer need for quality control. HACCP and HACCP-type concepts have been developed in order to regulate quality control.

Pre-harvest food safety is the series of steps that need to be taken at the farm level that aim at preventing and/or minimizing the amount of food-borne health risks to humans carried into the food chain via animals and animal products. In the case of pigs, these a

Genotype-by-environment interaction with broiler genotypes differing in growth rate. 4. Association between responses to heat stress and to cold-induced ascites.

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Males and females, selected from a commercial line to represent its phenotypic variation for BW, were mated with similarly ranked mates to produce sire families representing a wide genetic variation in potential growth rate (GR). Following 5 wk of rearing at normal ambient temperatures, birds representing all sire families were exposed to cold (37 to 47, Trial 1) or hot (43 to 48, Trial 2) environments. Birds exhibiting ascites syndrome (AS) in the cold environment (Trial 1) were counted, and the incidence of AS (%AS) per family was calculated. Sire families’ least square means of BW at 37 d of age in Trial 1 and BW at 43 d of age in Trial 2 represented the families’ potential GR (i.e. GR under normal conditions). A significant positive correlation was found between potential GR and %AS indicating that families with higher potential GR under normal conditions are more likely to suffer from AS under cold stress compared to families with lower GR. Heat stress markedly reduced weight gain in all families. A negative correlation was found between growth under heat stress (Trial 1) and %AS (Trial 2), indicating that families whose GR is more depressed under heat stress are more likely to suffer from AS under cold stress. The results of this study suggest that the two stress responses may share similar control of the genetic variation in each trait and their negative genetic correlation with potential GR.

Effect of dietary supplemental levels of vitamin A on the egg production and immune responses of heat-stressed laying hens.

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In experiment one, two levels of vitamin A supplementation (3,000 and 9,000 IU/kg) were used to investigate the laying performance and antibody titer against Newcastle disease virus of heat-stressed hens. Results indicated that the higher supplementation level had a beneficial effect on the feed intake and laying rate of heat-stressed hens compared with the control group with the lower supplementation level. Antibody titers were not affected by the level of vitamin A. In experiment two, four levels of vitamin A were given (3,000, 6,000, 9,000 and 12,000 IU/kg) to test their effects on the antibody titer to Newcastle disease virus and the T lymphocyte proportion. The experimental birds were exposed to a high temperature (31.5 A?C) 15 days after vaccination against the Newcastle disease virus (Treatment 1) or immediately (Treatment 2). Results indicated that egg weight was increased in response to the high levels of vitamin A supplementation (6,000 and 9,000 IU/kg), but feed intake, laying rate, and body weight loss were not. Vitamin A had no significant effect on antibody titers against the Newcastle disease virus in normal or hot environments in Treatment 1, but the proportion of A?-naphthyl acetate esterase-positive cells increased. Vitamin A supplementation had significant effects on the Newcastle disease virus antibody titer and the A?-naphthyl acetate esterase-positive cell proportion in Treatment 2. Conclusions stated that vitamin A supplementation in commercial layer diets to layer chickens under heat stress was beneficial to laying performance and immune function.

Consistency of individual behavioural characteristics of dairy cows in their home pen.

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The objective of this study was to classify dairy cows based on their individual behavioural characteristics. Observations of their spontaneous behaviour and responses during behavioural tests were recorded. The authors hypothesized that reliable and distinguishing characteristics of dairy cows are consistent across time and situations. The daily uninterrupted individual behaviour of dairy cows kept in loose-housing was recorded for four days, every five minutes. Based on the outcome of agonistic interactions, an agonistic index was determined. Three behavioural tests were conducted, a visual obstacle test, a tail fixation test, and an air puff test, in order to determine the cows’ reactions to environmental stimuli. The tests were repeated once a month for three months. The behaviours that were found to be correlated between repetitions included: time spent lying, time spent locomotion/standing, the agonistic index and the reactions to the air puff test. The first and second repetition of the visual obstacle test was correlated, but the values decreased over time. The response to the tail fixation test was not consistent over time. All spontaneous behaviours were correlated except the agonistic index was not correlated with locomotion/standing. There were no correlations found between the behavioural tests or between the behavioural tests and the spontaneous behaviours. The authors concluded that measures of spontaneous behaviours are best for distinguishing among individuals.

Does Pig Density Matter for the Choice of Control Strategies in Classical Swine Fever Epidemic?

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Seeking Alternatives to Growth Promoting Antibiotics

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The growing public concern of antibiotics warrants research to find alternatives. There are several concerns involving this elimination of antibiotics, which include poor performance, increased scours (which was already seen in Europe), and an increase in therapeutic antibiotics. Although proposed antibiotic alternatives will likely not work via the same mechanism, some show promise by way of a different mechanism.

Acidifiers work by increasing the acidity of the stomach, which is proven to be a barrier to harmful bacteria, including Salmonella and E. coli. Addition of components such as organic acids will increase the production of fatty acids in the stomach, therefore increasing the stomach acidity.

Work can be done to increase the fermentation of feeds in the gut. This produces volatile fatty acids (VFAs) that are important in ruminants, and current research is discovering it may be beneficial to pigs as well. These VFAs also provide a readily available source of energy and metabolites for the gut.

Components can be added to the diet to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut such as Lactobacilli. This bacteria is involved in competitive exclusion, which means that it will win a spot in the gut over bad bacteria such as E. coli. Dietary components can also be added to improve the intestinal mucin barrier, which protects the gut from colonization of harmful bacteria.

Other possible alternatives to antibiotics include increasing immunity by way of enhanced vaccination protocols, improved genetics, and improved production practices.

Non-Surgical Embryo Transfer (ns-ET) in Pigs

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There has been a recent development of a non-surgical embryo transfer. The advantage to embryo transfer is it allows new genetics while maintaining a high health status, possibly upgrade the health status, allows national and international exchange of genetics, environmental adaptation, less intensive medication and vaccination, and more. Non-surgical also answers the potential question of animal welfare in regards to the surgical methods. However, further research is needed in the areas of making the system pathogen-free, better preservation techniques (cryo-preservation isn’t quite adequate), embryo sexing, and embryo collection (as of now slaughter is the only method, which is unacceptable). Collective research aims to get ns-ET into a usable form for a breeding system. Today it is targeted for complete genetic packages for the nucleus or sub-nucleus level.