Effect of restricting energy intake in growing-finishing pigs

Posted in: Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 1, 1994 | No Comments

Growing-finishing pigs with average lean growth potentials generally consume more energy than what is required for body maintenance functions and to support maximum lean tissue growth rates. These pigs deposit more body fat than what is considered the minimum amount of (essential) body fat. As a result, carcass value, and sometimes feed efficiency, is reduced at high levels of feed intake. Carcass value, and possibly feed efficiency, can be improved when energy intake is restricted, then variation in feed intake and growth rates between pigs within pens may change. Under commercial conditions, this variation in performance should be considered. For example, an increase in variation in growth rates generally results in a reduction in the number of pigs produced within a production unit. Throughput within a facility is not determined by the average days to market but by the days to market of the last pig from the original group that leaves the facility.
The objective of the current studies were to determine the effect of energy intake on performance and carcass value in growing-finishing pigs and to determine the effect of feed intake restriction on variation in performance of group housed growing-finishing pigs.
The results of these trials indicate restricted feeding can improve carcass lean yield in pigs with average lean growth potential. However, caution is advised, as severe restrictions in feed intake were needed to demonstrate improvements in carcass value. The accompanying increased feed costs per tonne (to indicate that, for most pig genotypes, restricted feeding provides limited financial value to the producer. The current study suggests that there is no effect of degree of energy restriction on variation in animal performance.

Effects of lighting treatment on the productivity, health, behaviour and sexual maturity of heavy male turkeys.

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Pertes par volatilisation apres epandage de lisier sur prairies permanentes

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Tests realized with swine manure showed that ammonium losses could be reduced from 43,2% to 12,6% and finally 3,1% respectively for conventional spreading, spreading followed by incorporation and direct injection. The other treatments were realized with cattle manure.

Gestion des engrais de ferme: comprendre les attitudes des eleveurs pour batir des actions de conseil

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When considering the preparation of advisory programs, the mental attitude of the farmer or the manager of the farm has to be taken into account in order to adapt to the different management style. The Institut de l’Elevage (extension organization dealing with livestock) has been study the attitude phenomena and can out with 3 different profiles when it comes to manure as a whole, its role in the nutrient cycling and its relationship to water pollution. The “technical” farmers consider themselves as being modern and rational mostly consider manure as a waste; as for the “independent” farmers and the “affective” farmers, they consider manure positively but are generally not open minded toward change. This diversity has to be taken into account as well as the constraints associated with different farming systems and practices in order to prepare an effective advisory program. For the first group of farmers (“technical”), attention has to be focused on the nutrient cycling process and the mineralization evolution in the soil; for the second group (“independent”) the processes are have to be well presented and concrete results have also to be showed (demonstrations, testimoniesa

Farmer's Option to Optimize Nutrient Efficiency and to Reduce Odour and Ammonia Emissions from Landspreading of Slurries and Manures

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Optimization of manure application can have 2 economical incentives which are to obtain optimal yields of high product quality and to save money by reducing mineral fertilizer inputs. On an ecological point of view manure application optimization can avoid ground and surface water pollution, excessive nutrient enrichment in soil and excessive ammonia and odour emissions (particularly as odour emissions related to manure application can be smell further than odour emissions from building of manure storage). The most important options to optimize nutrient efficiencies and to reduce odour and ammonia emission are the following: fertilization done according to the crop requirement for N, P, K by limiting the application rate to the first element satisfied (generally P for swine manure) and using mineral fertilizers to complete the other elements requirements, land application shortly before the time of the crop’s main nitrogen requirement, using favorable weather conditions (no frozen soil or snow cover, wet and cold), when possible rapid incorporation after spreading finally the use of application techniques which reduce odour and ammonia emissions.

General information is given on ways to optimize manure application economically and ecologically. These considerations are basic elements to be considered in landspreading. However some of the information given has to be applied to European conditions where the winter is in many areas more mild than in North America.

Efficiency of feed utilization and carcass quality of market pigs

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Barley is the grain base for pig production in Western Canada. Its successful use depends upon appropriate supplementation. Good barley contains only 90% of recommended digestible energy (DE) for growing-finishing pigs. Barley is highly variable in DE, protein and amino acid content, being affected by varietal, agronomic and climatic factors. High fibre content is associated with reduced DE contend (Perez et al., 1980; Just, 1982). Bell et al. (1983) reported that energy digestibility declined from 84 to 64% as the crude fibre content increased from 2.5 to 11.0%, equivalent to a hull increase from zero to 30%.
The partial or total substitution of high-energy grains such as wheat, corn or hulless barley results in increased levels of DE in pig diets but has not always resulted in improved pig performance (Hollis and Palmer, 1971; Kromann et al., 1976). Barley was equal to wheat when fed at the same lysine: DE ratio (Walker, 1989).
The choice of protein supplement may also affect DE level in the diet. Canola meal and soybean meal, the most commonly used supplements,, differ in that soy contains more protein (44% vs 37%) and more DE/kg (3490 vs 3100).
Carcasses of pigs fed wheat have long been penalized in Canada because of excess fat but recent developments in pig breeding, housing and nutrition justify re-examination of the potential effects of various combinations of barley with high-energy grains and the interactions of these grain blends with the type of protein supplement used in terms of pig performance and carcass quality.

Social rank and feeding behaviour of group-housed sows fed competitively or ad libitum

Posted in: Welfare by admin on October 1, 1993 | No Comments

Animals naturally develop a hierarchy amongst group members. This hierarchy becomes especially apparent when there is competition for food. When food is limited in a group sow house, low ranking sows often suffer from lack of food and this impacts their growth and reproductive abilities. This experiment examines the effects of social hierarchies and competitive feeding and how it impacts live weights and feeding behavior. The pigs were put into groups of twelve and either floor fed 3.0kgs/sow or fed a high fiber diet ad libitum. In order to determine social hierarchy the researchers put two sows in a pen and had them compete for a small feeder, it was recorded which sows were able to dominate over the others and after all pairings had been tested the sows were ranked in order of dominance. The sows social interactions were then observed by video camera for the weeks 2, 5, 9 and 13. It was noted where pigs would eat (left, middle or right side of the feeder), if there was other pigs at the feeder (0, 1, or 2), time spent at the feeder, how they approached the feeder (waiting for the feeder, displaced another pig or walked up to an empty spot), and finally how they left the feeder (voluntarily, displaced, or displaced another sow). In the pens with a feeder there was preference for the right side of the feeder but it was not determined why. Sows preferred to feed when there was no one else at the feeder, and almost never when there was 2 sows already at the feeder. Food was defended when there was food in the feeder, and during floor feeding. It was found that sows which weigh more were more likely to hold dominance over the others and when feeding was competitive in the floor feeding pens sows that weighed less were unable to eat as much and gained less weight. In the ad libitum feeding system lighter pigs were able to adjust their feeding habits to avoid confrontations and still attain sufficient nutrients.

To read this complete article please visit: http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/applan/home

The Resistance to Air Flow of Farm Building Ventilation Components

Posted in: Air Filtration, Pork Insight Articles by admin on June 18, 1993 | No Comments

This study looks at static air pressure change for a variety of ventilation comp0nents used in agriculture buildings. Ventilation is very important in agriculture as it must remove harmful aerosols and not let the temperature change inside the barn even though seasonal changes can be extreme. This study used twenty-one ventilated wall claddings and ten roof ventilation arrangements for tests. To measure the rate of air pressure change, the air was recorded on the speed at which it moved per meter. The pressure drop characteristics of the items measured were able to be described as a pressure lost coefficient, k. The paper provides the values of k for the various items tested and describes how the use of k simplifies the calculation of pressure losses in complex ventilation paths.

Alternative Low Energy Pig Housing

Posted in: Energy by admin on January 1, 1993 | No Comments

Using swine dust to verify a lumped-parameter model in a ventilated enclosure.

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Pig dust was used as a test dust to verify a lumped-parameter model derived for predicting airborne dust concn at any location within a ventilated airspace. Average equilibrium airborne dust concentrations were predicted as a function of ventilation and dust generation rates. Time-dependent airborne dust concentrations at a designated location (or control volume) were also predicted from ventilation and dust generation rates. The model calculation, solved as a 3-D lumped form of control vol., represented conservation of air mass flow rate. Pig dust used in this project had an av. aerodynamic diam. of 2 mum, 95% of the dust particles were less than 5 um in diameter and approx. 45% of the particles were 2 um in diameter. Both ventilation rate and dust generation rate have a significant effect on airborne dust concentration. The lumped-parameter model is shown to be capable of predicting the ventilation rate required to maintain acceptable levels of airborne dust in animal housing. The accuracy of the model is influenced by the test dust particle size uniformity.