Observations on behaviour and skin damage of slaughter pigs and treatment during lairage.

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Effect of space allowance during transport on the behavioural and physiological responses of lambs during and after transport.

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Water Delivery Equipment – How it can Impact Overall Water Use and Wastage Within a Facility

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This article looks at the impact of water delivery equipment on overall water use and wastage. Nipple drinkers, wet/dry feeders and total manure volume are linked with regards to water usage and waste. Drugs added to water should not be altered if water use is reduced compared to expectations due to equipment selection. Pigs consume the same amount of water regardless of delivery device.

Survival of Specific Pathogens in Material and Leachate from Composted Swine Carcasses.

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The ability to survive of several pathogens was measured in the compost material and leachate produced by composting swine carcasses. The survival of the bacterium, Serratia Marcescens (similar by its characteristics to Salmonella but non-pathogenic) have been studied throughout composting process. The results obtained showed that under most individual farming conditions the composting of carcasses do not present biosecurity risks. In case of serious health outbreaks other measures may be necessary to protect the herd.
The tests were done as part of the broader experiment on composting ( see: The Effect of Sawdust and Straw on Composting Swine Carcasses by the same authors). As mentioned in the other article, the sawdust seems to more adequate as the temperature is higher, conditions more appropriate for pathogen killing. On the other hand leachate may cause problems as results showed that some of the pathogen could survive for at least 5 days. The control of leachates would than be important in order to prevent contamination.

Anaerobic Decomposition of Swine Manure and Ammonia Generation in a Deep Pit

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The drive to stiffle odor

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As livestock odors are not currently regulated by federal statutes and generally not regulated by state air pollution control agencies, many states and local government units have established regulatory guidelines for new livestock facilities constructions. Guidelines may include information about minimum distances, restricted use of anaerobic lagoons or control of manure disposal areas. More attention should be given to manage the lagoons: recycling the waste material on the land (as fertilizer), making sure the bottom of the lagoon is sealed, limiting the amount of material stored (limiting the water used for waste processing) (from P. Goodrich, professor Univ. of Minnesota). Additives to reduce odor are also discussed by R. Miner (bioresource engineer Oregon State Univ.) and P. Goodrich. Data on manure reduction from additives are not always conclusive and Miner mention that it would be unrealistic to anticipate that even noticeable odor changes obtained from additives to fresh manure or changes in diet would persist during manure decomposition and anaerobic storage. J. Van Horn (dairy scientist at Univ. of Florida) adds that as some additives may reduce the concentration of a specific odorous compound in the manure, but this additive doesn’t reduce the overall odor intensity making the product’s effectiveness very limited and its use economically uninteresting. Lagoon and feed additives are being studied by many scientist in Iowa State Univ. North Carolina State Univ. and Univ. of Florida. At North Carolina State Univ. researchers are also studying improved methods to utilize animal wastes and control odor and a project is done to find ways to reducing odor (preliminary findings point trees, barn cleanliness slurry aeration and liquid-solid separation as factors in the odor solution) and determine when odor become a nuisance. Researchers at Purdue Univ. and Penn State Univ. are studying dietary manipulation for odor reduction.

This article contains a lot of information. As some researchers question the ability of additives to control and reduce odor we can see that many teams in different U.S.Univ. are currently working on those additives. Solutions may lay in a combination of different practices to realize significant odor reductions.

Review of the Use of Swine Manure in Crop Production: Effects on Yield and Composition and on Soil and Water Quality

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Housing and Behaviour of Gilts Around the Time of Farrowing

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Behaviour of untethered horses during vehicle transport.

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Characterization and investigation of aggressive behaviour in the pig.

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