Measuring Water-Extractable Phosphorus in Manure as an Indicator of Phosphorus in Runoff

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

Feed Processing and Nutritional Quality among Wheat Classes Fed to Weaned Pigs

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

Summary
Feed processing and nutritional quality for CPS and Durum wheats have traditionally been expected to be lower than for Hard Red Spring (HRS). Performance of weaned pigs was compared among six wheat classes, whilst considering particle size and diet pellet quality. Results indicated that feed processing quality and growth performance did not differ among wheat classes. Weaned pigs fed various classes of wheat including CPS and Durum may grow similarly.

Introduction
The processing and nutritional quality of wheat is expected to vary among classes; CPS and Durum wheat are currently segregated. A range in wheat protein and fibre or non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) content may partly cause quality variation. The present study was designed to test whether wheat class by itself impacts feed processing or nutritional quality.

A low protein diet and oil sprinkling to reduce ammonia emissions from pig barns

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

Ammonia concentrations in swine barns have an adverse impact on the health and safety of workers and animals. Ammonia also has the potential to cause eutrophication and acidification of water and soil. The impact of raw canola oil sprinkling and a low protein diet with fermentable carbohydrates (FC) on ammonia emissions of grower-finisher rooms was investigated. Ammonia emissions were reduced by 42% with the low protein diet with FC, and oil sprinkling did not affect the ammonia levels. Reducing the protein level and including FC in pig diets is an effective way to decrease ammonia emissions of swine buildings

Foreign Animal Disease: Is there a threat? What can we do?

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

The outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in the UK has producers worldwide worried about foreign animal disease (FAD). The biggest impact of FMD in the UK was on sheep, which are raised for meat, wool, and subsidy. Eradication requires restriction of movement of animals, identification of outbreaks, strict culling, carcass disposal, biosecurity, epidemiology, and enforcement of practice.

Of all the FADs threatening the pork industry, FMD is the most concerning due to its ability to infect any animal with a cloven hoof. Measures need to be taken with any FAD, which include maintaining an adequate biosecurity program and reporting disease outbreaks to authorities. The outbreak of FMD in sheep or cattle in Canada would impact the pork industry due to animal movement restriction. The most common methods of disease transmission include direct contact, infected objects, and some aerosol transmission.

The use of a risk analysis program shows an increase in risk in the past few years. The most common risk of infection is the illegal importation of livestock or products. The producer has responsibility for biosecurity at the barn level, but it is the CFIAa

Effects of ketoprofen alone in combination with local anesthesia during the castration of bull calves on plasma cortisol, immunological, and inflammatory responses.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Castration of male beef cattle is a routine practice in many countries. This procedure reduces management problems with aggressive and sexual behaviours. The provision of local anaesthesia before castration is a legislative requirement in some countries as a mean of improving the welfare of animals. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of the anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen, alone or in combination with local anaesthesia, on cortisol, acute-phase proteins, performance, and immune response following the castration of bull calves. 40 Friesian calves were used in the study. The calves were tested with following treatments as follows; 1) control calves (no treatment), 2) surgical castration, 3) surgical castration following ketoprofen, 4) surgical castration following local anaesthesia (lidocaine hydrochloride), or 5) surgical castration following local anaesthesia and ketoprofen. Total cortisol response was greater in treatments of surgical castration, surgical castration following local anaesthesia and surgical castration following local anaesthesia and ketoprofen calves than in control calves and was not different between control and surgical castration following ketoprofen calves. Overall, this study demonstrates that ketoprofen and local anaesthesia were both effective at reducing the peak cortisol response following castration; the castration associated total response was suppressed by the administration of ketoprofen, but not local anaesthesia. Therefore, systematic analgesia using ketoprofen is more effective than local anaesthesia during castration to alleviate the associated stress response.

Feeding strategies for managing heat load in feedlot cattle.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

This study was conducted during the early summer months in a feedlot in Nebraska. The average temperature (including night readings) was approximately 23 C, and humidity averaged approximately 85%. Three dietary regimes were used: ad lib, or 75% ad lib for the first 21 or 42 days of the 63 day study. Tympanic temperatures (ear canal) were used as indicative of deep body temperature and thus heat stress. Limiting the amount of feed resulted in reduced tympanic temperatures, but as much as 0.5 C, indicating a reduction in heat stress. Although average panting and bunching scores (indicative of heat stress) were similar among treatments, the proportion of animals that were panting was higher for the ad lib fed animals. Dark coloured cattle had higher panting scores and higher tympanic temperatures (up to 0.2 C) than did light coloured cattle, indicating that solar radiation was a significant contributor to heat stress. These results suggest that restricting feed intake during periods of hot weather will reduce the severity of heat stress. Using light coloured cattle would also reduce the severity of heat stress, as would the provision of shade.

How reliable is temperament assessment in the domestic horse (Equus caballus)?

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Behavioural differences among animals of the same species are often attributed to differences in temperament. Animals with different temperaments may have different welfare states as they differ in their ability to adapt to environmental challenges. Some species have been classified as either active or passive copers. Previous methods for measuring temperament have been criticized as they were considered subjective and did not measure consistency over time. The current study attempted to address these concerns when measuring the temperament of horses. Three tests were used to record the behaviour of 33 horses: an arena test, response to a person and response to an object. The tests were repeated three times in order to determine if the results were consistent. The horses were consistent in their responses during the arena test. The horses responded similarly to the person and object test, but did not show consistency in their responses over time. Responses during the arena test were not found to predict responses during the person or object test. The horses could not be classified as either active or passive based on the results of these behavioural tests. The responses during the behavioural tests could not be used to predict responses during a startle test or during reintroduction to the group after testing. Their responses were not correlated with their status in the group or with behavioural ratings given by the farm team leader. Due to the high variability in the results of the response to person and object tests, the only test that could be used to reliably assess temperament in horses was the arena test.

A Socio-Cognitive Basis for Strategic Groups: Cognitive Dissonance in Swine Genetics

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

This paper is divided into four parts. The first part provides a review of the psychologist (Festinger, 1957, 1963; Comegys,1976; Cummings and Venkatesan, 1976) and economic interpretation (Akerlof and Dickens, 1982) of the notion of cognitive dissonance, in which Strategic Group theory (Caves and Porter, 1977; Carroll and Swaminathan, 1992; Dranove et al., 1998 ; Tang and Howard, 1992; Thomas and Venkatraman, 1988)), Information Economics (Arrow, 1974) and Structural Hole theory (Burt, 1992) are also examined such that a synthesis of these theoretical perspectives provides a model of a

Production Tools to Reduce Variation and Improve Throughput

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

There are basic statistical methods that producers could use to measure and reduce variation. Line graphs and scatter graphs can be created in Microsoft Excel and the regression tool can be used to measure variability of 2 variables (more sophisticated statistical programs can handle more than 2 variables). Standard deviation and especially the coefficient of variation (CV) are the most important tools for measuring variability in a production system. CV can be used to measure variability between 2 unlike processes (such as average daily gain and litter size) and can be calculated also using Microsoft Excel. Process behavior charting (a.k.a. Statistical Process Control, SPC, Control Charts) is one of the most effective tools available for monitoring farm performance and variation simultaneously. Process control charts allow demonstration of average performance and variation, for any production parameter. By doing so, they allow the farm management to focus their resources on the real problems. On process control charts, data points that deviate from average performance by a significant amount are called “signals”. Signals reflect events that have a true positive or negative impact on performance, and need to be investigated. Examples of the most functional charts for reducing variation and improving throughput includes reproductive performance, nursery and grow/finish performance, feeding programs, AI studs, feed mill performance, marketing, condition scoring, and industrial experimentation.

Merchandising Pork to the Retail Market

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

In 2002, consumers were looking for (in regards to purchasing meet): 1) Quality; 2) Food Safety; and 3) Price. Branding the food with guarantees can enforce food quality. Pork can be branded with moisture enhancement, added products, and frozen boxed meat. Food safety assurance can be potentially reassured by genetically modified organisms and by process such as irradiation. With current diet trends and the perceived negative health effects from pork, it is suspect that the poultry industry will grow in the future and the red meat industry will decline.