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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:
Odour Prediction for Hog Operations Using Computer Dispersion Modelling
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1999 | No Comments
Diurnal and Annual Variation of Odour Emission from Animal Houses: a Model Calculation for Fattening Pigs
Posted in: Environment by admin on | No Comments
Odour emission from livestock buildings adjacent to residential areas may constitute an environmental
nuisance and dispersion models are of interest in the regulation of air pollutants. To apply dispersion models to odour emissions, the odour concentration and the volume #ow of the outlet air must be known. In this paper, the odour concentration of the outlet air is determined by combining a steady-state balance model to calculate the outlet air temperature and the volume #ow with a simple model for the odour release inside the livestock building. The results show a distinct diurnal and annual variation of the odour concentration due to the variability of the volume #ow. The mean odour concentration during daytime in the summer months lies in a very narrow range close to the overall minimum. Odour concentration derived from odour emission and the maximum volume #ow of the animal house is useful for model calculations. During a clear-sky summer period, the model predicts a nighttime odour concentration of about 4)6 times the daytime concentration due to the
reduced volume #ow at night. To improve the calculation of odour concentrations by dispersion models, the annual and diurnal variation of the odour release has to be taken into account. The model suggests that long-term measurements of the odour emissions of animal houses are necessary for regulatory and legal purposes.
Factors Determining Voluntary Feed Intake in Swine
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Factors that influence voluntary feed intake
Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on | No Comments
Environmental, social and immunological stressors affect voluntary intake of pigs. The DE content of feed appears to determine feed intake of grower-finisher pigs within limits. In poultry, factors other than dietary energy content predict feed intake and subsequent performance better.
Mixing induces long-term hyperthermia in growing pigs.
Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments
Behavioural and physiological responses of calves to dehorning by heat cauterization with or without local anesthesia.
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Calves (4-6 week old) were observed during an initial sham dehorning (handled but not dehorned) and then again during and for 4 hours after actual dehorning using a heated iron. Physiological measurements were also obtained. The calves were assigned to three treatments related to anesthetics. One group received a local anesthetic (lidocaine), another group received saline injections, and the third group received no injections (Control). Both the Control and saline injected animals demonstrated more frequent tail wagging, head moving, tripping, rearing, abnormal backward-locomotion, and head shaking than did the calves receiving anesthetic. Plasma levels of vasopressin, ACTH and cortisol were elevated in the Control and saline injected animals. Dehorning calves using heat cauterization is accompanied by considerable pain and distress, which can be significantly alleviated during and for up to 2 hours afterward by local anesthesia
Multiple Trait Selection for Pork Improvement
Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments
One of the most important decisions breeders make is choosing which traits to improve in their herds. Breeders must decide among numerous traits of economic importance and determine whether to improve performance a small amount in several traits or make larger amounts of improvement in fewer traits.