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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:
Use of buffered Swiffer cloth for collection of PRRSv from the snout and face of growing pigs
Posted in: Air Filtration, Pork Insight Articles by admin on January 27, 2012 | No Comments
It can be difficult and expensive to collect serum samples from pigs while they are still alive. Although these samples are crucial for testing if pigs have been infected with the PRRS virus. Researchers have tried using a Swiffer cloth to collect samples and have had relative success. This has potential to be a cheap alternative to rope which is currently used. Pigs who were PRRS negative were split into herds of 1000 pigs in an all-in all-out system. The pigs were regularly wiped on the nostril and mouth with a swiffer pad dampened by phosphate buffered saline. Results of the study showed that PRRS can be collected from the snout and mouth of pigs. Using the swiffer pad made collecting samples easy and accurate. It is also a cheap alternative to rope testing. Sometimes pigs choose not to chew on the rope making sample taking inconsistent.
Prediction Of Lysine Content And Availability In Corn DDGS Samples Based On Sample Color Measurements
Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on January 25, 2012 | No Comments
Today many hog diets can consist of 20% distilled dried grain with solubles. DDGS, if mixed properly, can reduce feed costs while not impacting growth performance. Although, there still remains some variability in DDGS as lysine content comes in wide ranges. Color is one determinant of lysine content with dark colored grains having less lysine and light colored grains having more lysine.This study sets out to explore techniques and use of co-products color for predicting the nutritional value of DDGS for swine, particularly focusing on lysine. Samples were collected from ethanol plants in Ontario that provide DDGS. Samples were tested for, among other things, dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, lysine, fat, and each sample was given a color score from 1-100 (0=black, 100=white). The results showed that there was a considerable amount of variation in the nutrient profiles of the samples. The limited number of samples were able to be made into a model that can rapidly estimate lysine content and predicted and available amino acids. One observation made was that lysine did not move with protein content and other amino acids especially when the lighting score was low (below 45).
No Adverse Effects of Genetically Modified Maize
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A long term study found no adverse affects to using genetically modified corn. Sows were fed the corn in short-term, long-term and generational lengths and the health of piglets were tested. No difference in piglet health was noted. The corn was modified to be able to withstand pesticides. Researchers believe pigs are good models for humans, expecting similar results would occur in human consumption of the corn.
Review of the impact of pre‐slaughter feed curfews of cattle, sheep and goats on food safety and carcass hygiene in Australia
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This article is an abstract about how withholding feed from animals before slaughter helps fight carcass contamination. When an animal is fasted before slaughter there is a lower chance of fecal contamination and less visble contamination on the animals hide which makes for cleaner slaughter conditions. The conclusion states that feed should be withheld for 24s to reduce trailer defication and no more than 48 hours to reduce foodborne microbial growth.
Reducing Boar Taint through Breeding: Pork Quality
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on January 23, 2012 | No Comments
Typically pigs are castrated after weaning to avoid a boar taint in the meat which lowers the meat quality. Boars are known to produce leaner caresses and be more efficient users of feed than barrows, but are not raised because of the boar taint. Androstenone and skatole are the two main compounds that cause boar taint. It was found that breeding to reduce boar taint has had some success.
Clinical Presentation, Case Definition and Diagnostic Guidelines for Porcine Periweaning Failure to Thrive Syndrome
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Until recently little has been know about porcine periweaning failure to thrive syndrome (PFTS). The disease was often identified as several different diseases. A recent study found that there is a striking difference between infected pigs and non-infected pigs. Also finding that there are several similar infectious agents among affected pigs. Diagnosis for PFTS should be based on age, clinical signs, and also the ruling out of other diseases.
Effect of Varying Light Intensity on Welfare Indices of Broiler Chickens Grown to Heavy Weights
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on January 20, 2012 | No Comments
A study was done that tested the effects various lighting conditions had on chicks and chickens. There were no differences between treatments for either ocular weight relative to body-weight, ocular assessments, gait scoring test or tonic immobility responses, suggesting that these levels of light intensities did not compromise welfare of the birds.
Investigating Losses from Smothering in Commercial Poultry Flocks
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Research Watch by admin on January 18, 2012 | No Comments
Smothering has been an issue for chicken producers for a long-time. It causes suffocation and death and is very difficult to predict and therefore manage. Studies that looked at several different barns found that there were three types of smothering occurring, panic smothering, nest box smothering, and creeping or recurring smothering. The researchers were able to find trends in when certain smothering types would occur. More research is being done that looks into behavior leading up to smothering and environmental and managerial conditions that cause it.
Effects of Air Quality on Broiler Performance Investigated
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Fuel costs have led some chicken producers to decrease the amount of ventilation in barns to save fuel costs. This has come at the expense of higher carbon dioxide levels in barns. A test was done on 4 different groups of birds who were exposed to varying levels of CO2. Researchers observed no differences in body weight, body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion – or processing yields between the treatments. However, they did observe that broilers in the variable temperature treatments tended to have numerically higher body-weights, body-weight gain and feed intake. The researchers noted that to remove moisture, ventilation levels exceed those required to remove CO2, which is recommended to be around 4500ppm-6000ppm.
Questions and answers around sow claw trimming
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In an attempt to explain the importance of claw trimming Dr. Salel Van Amstel gives a detailed description of the sows claws and how to deal with them. Van Amstel goes into detail about five parts of the foot 1. Third Phalanx 2. Corium 3. Basement Membrane 4. Epidermis and 5. White line. The article also goes into detail about claw trimming procedures and the growth rates of different claws.