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Industry Partners
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:
Evaluation of a simple method for assessment of rising behaviour in tethered dairy cows.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments
Danish Friesian cows in their first, second, or third lactation (early or late lactation), and some dry cows were divided between the age groups and scored for rising behaviour while in tie-stalls three times per day for five consecutive days. Scoring occurred at 11:30 h, 15:00 h, and 17:30 h. The cows were encouraged to rise using increasing levels of encouragement while minimizing the amount of force used. Scores for rising were between 1 and 5, with 1 meaning the cow rose normally and smoothly, and 5 meaning the cow rose front first. The level of encouragement required was also scored. Video recording of behaviour was recorded to assess total lying time, lying frequency, maximum lying bout length, time to lie down, time for preparatory phase of lying, time to rise and time for final phase of rising. Video records of rising were also scored. The stage of lactation affected total lying time, number of lying bouts, maximum bout length and rising behaviour while lactation number had a minimal effect on lying behaviour. Using the proposed score for rising reliably showed whether cows in tie-stalls had difficulty rising when at least 3 observations were included. The proportion of cows in different stages of lactation and of different parities should be included in assessments of rising behaviour because the stage of lactation and parity significantly affected rising behaviour.
Variation in behavioural responses of ewes towards predator-related stimuli.
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Wild sheep are pronounced flock animals, shy, attentive and have quick flight reactions, while defending their offspring when necessary. Furthermore, they show strong antipredatory behaviour. In this study the differences in antipredatory behaviour among the following breeds, Old Norwegian, Spaelsheep, Norwegian fur sheep, Suffolk, Steigar, and Dala was experimented towards seven stimulus regimes. Tests were performed on 2-5 years old ewes with lambs inside standardized and fenced home pastures. The stimulus regimes were: man in rain poncho, trolley, ball on trolley (blind stimuli), stuffed wolverine on trolley, stuffed lynx on trolley, stuffed bear on trolley, and man in a rain poncho with a dog on leash (carnivore stimuli). Carnivore stimuli caused longer recovery times and longer flight distances than the blind stimuli which indicates that the sheep are able to distinguish between dangerous and less dangerous stimuli. In summary, the results of this study show that lighter sheep breeds display stronger antipredatory reactions than heavier breeds.
Group size and perching behaviour in young domestic fowl.
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The objective of this investigation was to determine the impact of group size and age on the perching behaviour of young domestic fowl kept under indoor housing conditions with equal resource availability across group sizes. White Leghorn pullets were reared in groups 15, 30, 60 and 120 at a constant density of 5 birds/m2. Each pen contained perches 20, 40 and 60 cm above the ground. Perch space per bird per perch level was the same for all groups. The proportion of 3- to 18-week-old birds roosting on perches during scans throughout the photoperiod decreased with increasing group size, from 41 A
Calves' responses to repeated social regrouping and relocation.
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Group housing calves is becoming more popular. This type of housing addresses welfare concerns and increases labour efficiency. However, calves are frequently regrouped according to growth rate in order to reduce live weight variability within groups. This study evaluated the consequences of repeated regrouping and relocation on calf welfare. Thirty-two pair-housed male Holstein calves were evaluated. Half the pairs were regrouped (placed in a new pen with a new pen-mate every week for 14 weeks). The other pairs stayed in the same pen with the same pen-mate. Following the first regrouping, calves increased their interactions with their pen-mate and their general activity compared to the non-regrouped calves. By the ninth regrouping, this increase in interactions and activity was not observed. More activity was observed at the end of the day and less at night by regrouped calves after they were all relocated to new pens. Regrouped calves had higher cortisol responses to exogenous adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) than non-regrouped calves. There were no differences between regrouped and non-regrouped calves in basal cortisol levels, ACTH responses to corticotropin-releasing hormone, activities of catecholamine-synthesizing enzymes (tyrosine hydroxylase and phenylethanolamine N-methyl transferase) and the incidence of health problems and growth rates. There were fewer abomasal ulcers found in regrouped calves. Overall, repeated regrouping and relocation did not appear to stress the calves. The calves rarely fought, and seemed to habituate to repeated regrouping.
Diet Manipulation to Reduce Nutrient Content in Swine Manure
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Nutrient management is becoming increasingly important for sustainability of the swine industry. Diet manipulation to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus content will be discussed. For example, effects of particle size, dietary supplement enzymes, dietary protein and fermentable fibre, and dietary phosphorus content on nitrogen or phosphorus content of feces and urine were determined in performance or metabolism studies. Together, the results indicate that nitrogen and phosphorus excretion patterns can indeed be altered by diet manipulation.
Economics of Variable Swine Growth
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Succssul Siting of New and Expanding Intensive Livestock Operations – The Alberta Experience
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In 1998-98 Alberta had 471 livestock applications. 446 (94.7%) of these were approved. This is a significant statistic, however, in spite of this approval rate, there are significant issues facing ILO development in the province. In 2000 there were several large development applications which received substantial community oppostiion and genrated a lot of media coverage. This wave of oppoistion continues to effect development applications, to varying degrees across the provincce and reflects and increasing trend of the countryside being regarded as a common resource with public increasingly a say in how it is managed.
Nutrient and Heavy Netal Content of Soil Nutrient Status and Surface Water Quality
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It is well-known that the application of hog manure to land is an economical and environmentally sustainable method for the utilization of the nutrients and other components in the manure. Manure application can increase soil quality and productivity, at least in the short term, on most soils. However, soil quality and productivity can severely reduced in the long-term unless precautions are taken with respect to the loadings and frequency of application of manures. Sustaining the hog industry, through good manure management, is one method to ensure the continued growth of the hog industry in the province. Excessive accumulations of phosphorus, metals such as copper and zinc, sodium and other soluble salts can reduce soil quality and productivity. The loading rates and period of time a soil or parcel of land can be used for manure application depends on soil properties and the concentration of various constituents in the manure. Manures vary in the concentrations of metals (such as opper and zinc), depending on the type of hog operation (feeder, sow, nursery or farrow to finish barns) because of the varying concentrations of these minerals used in the feed. Soils with pH values of less than 6.5 are sensitive to metal loadings of copper and zinc, and crop yield and quality may be reduced if metal applications are high. sodium and other soluble salts found in the manures, also depend on the mineral supplements in the feed, as well as the source of water used to operate the hog facility. any soils in Manitoba are highly sensitive to sodium and salt applications. Another concern is the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in the manures. If the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio in the manure is much less than the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus removed by crops, and the application rate of the manures was based only on available itrogen, phosphorus will accumulate in the soil. The build-up of phosphorus in the long-term can result in phosphorus runoff to surface waters (a decrease in water quality) and may cause yield reductions.
This investigation was an exploratory study to determine whether or not decreases in soil quality
and productivity were likely to occur due to the long-term applications of manure to Manitoba
soils. Several types of hog manures produced by various hog operations in Manitoba were
examined, and the effects of these manures on soil quality and productivity were assessed.