PSC Elstow Grand Opening

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments

Feeding level affects barley DE measurements in grower pigs

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Feeding level and nutrient content of diets used in DE content measurement for grains do not reflect practical conditions and prevent measurement of voluntary feed intake. The DE content of three barley samples was analyzed using four combinations of measurements. The measured DE content was 2.5% lower using pigs with free access to feed than pigs with restricted access to feed, while diet composition did not affect barley DE content. Furthermore, voluntary feed intake was indicative of performance and tended to vary among barley samples.

Factors affecting the regional pig meat productivity of commercial pig units in Greece

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Performance and feeding behaviour of calves on ad libitum milk from artificial teats.

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The way in which dairy calves are offered milk or milk replacer after separation from their mothers can have marked effects on many aspects of their behaviour, performance and welfare. In this study, weight gain, milk intake, starter intake and number of days with diarrhoea were measured for individually housed Holstein calves offered milk twice daily by bucket at 5% of body weight per feeding or ad libitum from a teat from birth until 4 weeks of age. Mean weight gains during the first 2 weeks were 0.36 and 0.85 kg/day and during the next 2 weeks were 0.58 and 0.79 kg/day for bucket fed and teat fed calves respectively. These differences were probably the result of higher milk consumption by teat-fed versus bucket fed calves, which occurred in all 4 weeks. Starter consumption was negligible until 3 weeks of age for both groups, but the bucket-fed calves consumed more than teat-fed calves (0.25 vs. 0.11 kg/day) during week 4. No difference on the occurrence of diarrhoea was observed between the two groups. Milk drinking behaviour was studied in detail for eight calves over 24 h. Total feeding time was 47 min. All individuals took their largest meals after new milk was provided in the morning and after milk was added in the afternoon. Calves that drank more also drank faster. Intake rate varied little over the course of large meals, although it tended to decelerate towards the end of the meal. Calves consumed the first meal of the day in 13 min, during which they were attached to the teat for 80% of the time. These meals comprised, on average, 25 individual sucking events of 25 s duration, interspersed by gaps of 7 s. Calves occasionally butted the teat, normally during the middle of the meal, and the frequency of butting correlated positively with intake rate. In conclusion, feeding calves ad libitum from teats allows them to determine their own intake patterns while improving performance compared to conventional bucket feeding.

Behaviour, performance and health indicators of welfare for dairy cows housed in strawyard or cubicle systems.

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Objective methods are required to assess the welfare of livestock in different environments. Two experiments were conducted to determine comparative indicators of welfare in the two most common loose-housing systems for dairy cows, strawyards and cubicles. Experiment I examined the animals responses to the two housing systems with 16 high- and 16 low-yielding Holstein Friesian cows in a changeover design over two, 4-week periods. Experiment II was carried out over 17 weeks to assess the longer-term responses to the two systems with 24 Holstein Friesian cows. In experiment I cows in the strawyard system had a significantly greater lying time, ruminating time and synchronization of lying behaviour than the cubicle system. The cows were significantly cleaner in the cubicle system but there were no significant differences between systems in milk production, cell count or locomotion score. High yield cows had a shorter lying time but longer feeding time than low yield cows. The cows of different milk yield level responded similarly to the housing systems, indicating that cows of high milk yield do not require different housing systems from low yield cows. In experiment II there were no significant differences between housing systems in lying, ruminating or synchronization of lying behaviour. Milk yields were significantly lower in the strawyard than in the cubicle system due to a significantly higher incidence of clinical mastitis. Cell-counts were significantly lower and cows were significantly cleaner in cubicles. There were no significant effects of housing system on hoof dimensions, locomotion score or clinical lameness. It was concluded that total lying time, lying synchrony, milk cell count and locomotion score are potential indicators for the assessment of dairy cow welfare in different housing environments.

Reactions of calves to handling depend on housing condition and previous experience with humans.

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The behavioural reactions to humans and the behavioural and physiological responses to handling and short transport were assessed following exposure to different stockperson behaviour and housing conditions. There were 64 male calves studied. Half the calves were housed individually, and the other half were housed in pairs. In both housing conditions, half the calves received minimal human contact, while the other half were stroked for 90 s per day after milk meals. Following the treatments, it was observed that pair-housed calves took longer to interact and interacted less often than individually housed calves. Human contact with the calves resulted in the calves interacting longer with an unfamiliar person, showing less withdrawal responses when approached, loading easier onto a truck, and having lower heart rates than calves that had received minimal human contact. It took longer and was more difficult to load pair-housed calves onto a truck than individually housed calves. However, pair-housed calves had lower heart rates than individually housed calves during transport. There were no interactions found between housing conditions and human contact. Pair housing resulted in calves that were more difficult to handle and more wary of humans, compared to individual housing. Positive human contact resulted in calves that were easier to handle due to their decreased fear of humans.

The effect of confinement on motivation to exercise in young dairy calves.

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The objective of this research was to determine if confinement of 8-day-old calves for varying lengths of time is associated with an increase in motivation to perform locomotor behaviours. Forty-eight Holstein heifer and bull calves were used in a factorial arrangement with tow crossed factors. Factor A was housing with two levels (individual confinement versus group pens) and factor B was hours in confinement with four levels (6, 12, 24, and 48 h). Individual confinement was in 1.06 m X 1.06 m pens, while group pens had a 3.68 m X 6.09 m outside run and a 3.68 m X 6.09 m covered area that also contained a 3.68 m X 2.44 m area bedded with wood shavings. The calves were placed on treatment when they were 8 2 days of age. At the end of the treatments, a blood sample was taken for plasma cortisol determination and lymphocyte counts and the calves were open-field tested for 5 min. Walk, trot, distance traveled and behaviours performed while standing during the open-field test were higher in the calves kept in group pens, but were not influenced by hours in treatment. Valves confined for 48 h had greater incidences of kicking and falling. Lymphocyte count was lower in the calves confined for 12 h, but there was not a trend across hours in confinement that indicated a consistent effect. Housing or hours in treatment did not affect canter, buck, buck-kick, rear, stumble, vocalization and cortisol concentrations. The interaction between hours in treatment and housing was not significant for any of the variables tested. This study suggested that 2 days may not have been enough time for the effects of close confinement to influence motivation in young calves, or that calves averaging 8 days of age may be too young to display increased motivation for lomotor activity. Confinement of such young calves actually inhibits locomotor activity in open-filed tests.

Air velocity alters broiler performance under harsh environmental conditions.

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The effect of air velocity on weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency was studied in male broiler chickens exposed to a constant temperature of 35 oC, and relative humidity of 60%, and continuous illumination from 4 through 7 wk of age. In two separate trials, air velocity of 0.5, 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 m/s (Trial 1) and 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 m/s (Trial 2) were used. The fifth week was used for acclimation to the targeted environmental conditions. Weight gain was significantly higher in broilers exposed to air velocity of 1.5 and 2.0 m/s in both trials, which coincided with significantly higher feed intake and feed efficiency. Exposure to the low air velocity (0.5 and 1.0 m/s) resulted in weight gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency that were less than those of broilers exposed to high air velocity (2.5 and 3.0 m/s). In all treatments, broilers developed hyperthermia, but there were not significant differences in body temperature among the birds. It can be concluded that air velocity has a significant effect on broiler performance, the optimal air velocity was found to be 1.5 and 2.0 m/s.

It's Not "Waste" Anymore!

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The article profiles a Saskatchewan company that recycles hog slurry into heat and energy. Clear Green Biotechnologies promises to make traditional waste management methods obsolete. Minimizing lagoon construction, no danger of groundwater contanimation and quick startup are some of the benefits. The heart of the solution is Biorek, Bioscan’s organic waste refinery. Biorek’s plants convert hog slurry into usable energy, fertilizer components, and clean water. The waste separation and conversion system (Biorek) has been established through joint ventures in many countries.With Western Canada’s increase in livestock production, the companies process can play an important role. With the money saved over lagoon and other systems, farmers will have the capital to take an equity position in the plant and even earn returns from it. Perhaps this system could sell energy into the provincial power grid because as “green” energy it could market at a premium.

Economic impact of a ban on the use of over the counter antibioticsin U.S. swine rations

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