Nutrient Management for Swine Facilities – French Version

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 1, 1998 | No Comments

The Importance of Feed Intake

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

Surveys have shown that feed intake varies by at least 25% among commercial farms. This may under-estimate the problem, since accurate data on feed intake is not readily available on many farms. Some of the data which is available, if estimated from long-term averages or calculated on an inventory basis, fails to identify short-term deviations from this average. Once feed intake has been identified as a problem, the next step, obviously, is to resolve it. Where does one look and what does one do to assist farms? Different genotypes are suspected of having different capacities for ad libitum feed intake; however, actual comparative data is very rare. One must be bvery careful in not ascribing too much of the a

Actual and perceived welfare problems in horses.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Effects of environmental enrichment and space allowance on agonistic behavior in growing pigs.

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Welfare aspects of the transport by road of sheep and pigs .

Posted in: Welfare by admin on | No Comments

Predicting stockperson behaviour towards pigs from attitudinal and job-related variables and empathy.

Posted in: Production by admin on | No Comments

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus: a persistent infection

Posted in: Air Filtration, Pork Insight Articles by admin on August 23, 1997 | No Comments

This study attempts to expand on the knowledge we have about the PRRS virus especially about the shedding patterns of PRRS. Four week old PRRSv antibody-negative pigs were instranasally inoculated with PRRSv. Serum samples were taken until 213 days post inoculation (PI) also fecal samples were taken. Turbinate, tonsil, lung, parotid salivary gland, spleen, lymph nodes and serum were collected postmortem on day 220 PI. Evaluation of the samples found that no PRRSv was isolated from fecal matter, but 3 of 24 samples were PCR positive. Viruses were isolated in oropharyngeal samples, and all tissues collected postmortem were VI negative and postmortem tonsil samples were also negative. An important element in the transmission of PRRSV is the duration of virus shedding. This study provides evidence of the persistence of PRRSv. It also explains how the long term herd infection and transmission happen through the purchase of clinically normal but PRRSv infected pigs.

Characterizing Protein Deposition Curves in Growing-Finishing Pigs of a Commercial Genotype

Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on July 28, 1997 | No Comments

Precise feeding can allow the maximum growth, without excess feed waste. However, determining the exact requirements depends on factors including environmental aspects, age, sex, and genetics of the pig. The protein deposition rate can help determine the amino acid requirements. This study aimed to determine the upper protein deposition rate (PD) limit, create PD curves, and trace the change in feed intake and efficiency in gilts and barrows grow from 24 to 120kg. Pigs were slaughtered at 24, 56, 72, 88, 104, and 120kg to analyze carcass composition. Maximum PD for barrows was 150 g/d between 43-52kg body weight, and for gilts was 133g/d between 68-74kg. PD curves were created using the Richards function, and it was found in this study that below 90kg the PD for barrows was higher, but over 90kg body weight gilt PD was higher. Understanding where the maximum protein deposition rate occurs for specific sex and genetic lines of pigs can allow the amino acid levels in feed to be manipulated, but similar studies should be continued on lean and lipid deposition to understand overall growth.

Prevalence of the PRRS virus in the United States

Posted in: Air Filtration, Pork Insight Articles by admin on January 27, 1997 | No Comments

PRRS virus has been the main health concern in the pork industry for a number of years. The disease impacts herd performance both in reproduction and growth. In 1995 farmers were allowed to send in 30 blood samples to see if they had PRRS positive pigs because the virus is difficult to detect visually. 8 038 samples were collected from 286 producer units. Looking at the samples found that about 75% of the operations did not vaccinate for PRRS and about 60 percent of the units had at least one pig test positive for PRRS. In the breeding herd over half the units had at least one PRRS positive sample. The average farm had 31% of its females with PRRS positive blood, while 12% of the farms had every female infected with PRRS. For the finishing herd, the average population had over half their samples test positive for PRRS, while almost 40% of operations had all there samples test positive for PRRS.

Estimates of Volumes and Exposed Surface Areas of Stored Animal Manures and Slurries in England & Wales

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1997 | No Comments

Estimates of animal manure (solid material) and slurry (liquid material) stored on farms are needed by
the Ministry of Agriculture , Fisheries & Food (MAFF) for compiling national inventories of gaseous
emissions . Data needed for this purpose include the total volume and surface area of stored manures and slurries from dif ferent livestock species . Existing sources of data were reviewed but have limitations in the context of an emissions inventory . Suppliers of prefabricated stores were approached for numbers and sizes of stores sold since 1970 . ADAS pollution control consultants made informed estimates of the geographic distribution of methods of storage in use in England & Wales for manure and slurry from dairy cows , other cattle and pigs . This information was combined with June 1992 census figures to provide estimates of volumes (raw and diluted) and exposed surface areas of stored manures and slurries . ADAS livestock consultants were used to interpret census data and provide estimates of the distribution of poultry manure handling methods . A computer spreadsheet was used to store and process this data and is available to allow future adjustments or sensitivity analyses . In this paper , these estimates are reported on a national basis but they were originally gathered separately for each of 15 areas and appended to a report produced for MAFF . These detailed figures are available on request . The majority of diluted livestock slurry is stored in earth-banked lagoons , with an estimated total volume of 15.5 Mm 3 and an estimated surface area of 7.0 Mm 2 . The total volume of stored solid manure is 14.9 Mm 3 with an estimated surface area of 11.9 Mm 2 .
The estimates were compared with data from other sources and show an acceptable level of agreement