Management strategies for the farrowing sow and her piglets

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Welfare by admin on June 6, 2017 | No Comments

Outline
• Needs of the sow & her piglets
• Wild vs Domestic life…
• What can we do for the sow?
• What can we do for piglets?
– Basic care in farrowing
– Preparation for weaning
• Conclusions

Summary
• In farrowing: consider the sow- her feeding, comfort and behaviour
• For piglets: the farrowing room is an important learning environment!
• Increased experience of feed, social interaction and varied materials will reduce fear and help prepare pigs to grow

Novel Management Strategies for the Farrowing Sow and Her Piglets – Jennifer Brown, Prairie Swine Centre [Compatibility Mode]

Enrichment and Exercise for Swine!

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Enrichment and exercise are both currently required by the code of practice. This presentation outlines how to properly implement enrichment, different types of enrichment as well as the benefits of enrichment and exercise.

Enrichment and Exercise for Swine – Yolande Seddon, Prairie Swine Centre [Compatibility Mode]

Nutrition and Nursery Pigs: Are My Pigs Eating?

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Summary:

• Piglets who consumed some feed prior to weaning tended to be the smaller piglets, but they displayed improved growth and feed intake post-weaning
• Smaller piglets had improved feed intake and growth than heavier piglets in the litter
• Compensatory gain has been demonstrated in piglets who experienced a period of restricted growth
• But…we require more information before this is used as a feeding strategy

Nutrition and Nursery Pigs Are My Pigs Eating – Denise Beaulieu, Prairie Swine Centre [Read-Only]

Success with Group Sow Housing

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Production, Welfare by admin on June 5, 2017 | No Comments

Many producers, packers and retailers have been promising “stall free” pork and legislation banning stalls is being passed around the globe. Studies have been preformed in order to discuss the possible change in production levels and concluded that during the transitional period there will be a drop in production however once all the changes are fully implemented productivity will return to normal or rise above previous levels. Whether you are renovating or building a new structure planning is key, producers will have to take into account feed system selection which plays off of factors including herd size, management style and cost as well flooring and layout plays a key role in production in order to ensure adequate space and proper environment. Welfare is always a key consideration and the code of practice will continue to evolve so being proactive and looking at current research may indicate future trends in welfare requirements.

Success-With Sow Housing-D-Jennifer-Brown

THE NEW CANADIAN CODE OF PRACTICE

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Welfare by admin on May 11, 2017 | No Comments

Codes of Practice are reviewed and updated periodically, with a new swine code being released in March of 2014 (NFACC, 2014). The new Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs includes a number of changes that impact production practices and housing for Canadian pigs. The most significant changes in the new code are related to sow housing, pain control at castration and tail docking, space allowances and enrichment. For all aspects of production, the code includes both ‘requirements’, where the expected standards or outcomes to be met are clearly stated, and ‘recommended practices’, which describe practices over and above the requirements which can be implemented on-farm to further improve animal production and wellbeing.

RETROFITTING FOR LOOSE HOUSING

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Planning for group housing is perhaps the most important step in the conversion process. Regardless of the system implemented, the transition to groups requires a significant investment of time and money. Understanding what the options are, and imagining how these options fit within the long term goals of the operation, are critical steps in making the right choice. Good planning is also important to help maintain herd flow and generally ease the transition for barn staff and animals. This talk presents three main areas to be addressed when considering the transition to group gestation. First of all the type of construction project needs to be considered: will it be a renovation of current facilities; an addition to an existing building (e.g. providing space for loose housing or an increase in overall herd size); or is it a new build? The second question addressed is; what feeding system will be implemented? Unlike stall housing, where feeding and management options are limited, group housing includes a large number of options. Becoming knowledgeable about feeding options, including their strengths and weaknesses in terms of cost, barn layout, technical requirements and daily management inputs going forward, is crucial when selecting the right system for your operation. The third area to be considered is how the transition will take place. This will vary depending on the availability offsite barns, parity distribution and disease status, among other factors. Some options include keeping the existing herd intact; making a temporary reduction in the herd size; or doing a complete repopulation.Making decisions around barn renovations can be difficult but are extremely important. There are significant capital expenses and management changes- which will potentially impact farm production efficiency and economics for years to come. It is a good idea to consider this change as an opportunity to invest in the future, and to improve or properly size your business.

Major effects of mycotoxins on swine performance

Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on May 9, 2017 | No Comments

¹Decreased ADFI and feed refusals have been shown at levels as low as 0.5-1 ppm (Smith et al., 2005),  ² > 2-5 ppm is for decreased ADFI and ADG, vomiting and complete feed refusal at > 20 ppm (Haschek et al., 2002),  ³Pierce and Diaz, 2014,  ⁴JECFA, 2001,  ⁵Nibbelink, 1986,  ⁶Whitlow et al., 2014,  ⁷Friend et al., 1990          ,  ⁸Smith et al., 2005,  ⁹Osweiller, 1986,  ¹⁰Kidney damage occurs at levels as low as 0.5 ppm (Lippold et al., 1992),  ¹¹Performance is affected at levels of 2 ppm or greater (Lippold et al., 1992; Stoev et al., 2000),  ¹²Can occur when levels > 2 ppm are fed for longer periods of time (Harvey et al., 1992),  ¹³ADG reduced by 11% when 10 ppm fumonisin B1 was fed to starter pigs for 8 weeks (Rotter et al., 1996),  ¹⁴Strickland et al., 2011

Evaluation of the optimal space allowance for nursery pigs

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Production, Welfare by admin on May 5, 2017 | No Comments

2 studies were preformed to determine the effects of space allowance and group size on:

• Piglet growth and feed efficiency
• Behaviour and welfare

2.Compare the effects of controlled studies (Phase 1) and commercial trials (Phase 2)

• In grow-finish pigs a k value (space allowance coefficient) of 0.0335 is recommended below which productivity (ADG) decreases
• Relatively little is known about the effects of space allowance in nursery pigs

PHASE 1

-Lower space allowances resulted in pigs feeding more frequently and for a shorter duration, but did not have an obvious impact on growth or welfare

-Pigs at higher space allowances had higher cortisol levels, possibly as a result of higher activity levels

-Overlying was greatest at nursery entry and reduced over time

–No clear effect of density on growth

–Seasonal effects

-limited effects found in PSC trials

–Some effects of space on behaviour

–Effects of group size on behaviour

PHASE 2

• Commercial trials show density effects on growth and behaviour
• General agreement with Code values
• ADG reduced at lower space allowances

2017 Strathmore RK-April 12

25 Years of Swine Research

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This presentation outlines some of the major findings Prairie Swine Center has made through its history.

EVALUATION OF FEEDERS

• ADG and feed disappearance were greater with wet/dry feeders.
• Use of wet/dry feeders will enable pigs to be marketed 5 – 7 days earlier
• ADG increased by 5% or $1.85/hog

ERGONOMIC EVALUATION OF FEEDER DESIGN (Goal was to determine optimal feeder width, depth and lip height for different ages of pigs)

These were the optimal dimensions found

PRE-SORTING PIGS BY WEIGHT (Compared a all in/all out (AI/AO) or continuous pig flow management with and without weight sorting)

• ADG and behaviour did not differ between pigs in uniform and variable weight pens
• Rooms emptied 2 days faster in a AI/AO system
• Continuous flow – Uniform and variable weight pens emptied at the same rate
• AI/AO – variable weight pens emptied 6 days (104 vs. 110) faster than uniform pens

EFFECT OF ERGOT ON PERFORMANCE (The impact of ergot-contaminated wheat on performance of weaned pigs)

• Feeding high levels of ergot caused severe reductions in growth performance
• ADG was similar with diets up to .10% ergot
• Impact most pronounced in week 1 and 2
• .10% ergot allows for 10% wheat to be safely included in a nursery diet

IMPACT OF REDUCED NOCTURNAL TEMPERATURE ON PERFORMANCE

• Setpoint temperature reduced 6°C (18 to 12)
• Two trials showed increases in ADG in the RNT rooms increased from 2.1 to 5.2%

Nipple Drinker Height and Flow Rate on Water Wastage 

• Low nipple height increased wastage by 10% in growers and 20% in finishers
• Wastage was increased by 7% at higher flow rates (500 vs. 1,000ml/min)

CONCLUSIONS

• On average, PSC research projects return $4.10/hog back to producers
• Approximately 33% of all projects with economic return are considered easy to adopt
• PSC projects generate $4.00 for every $1.00 of industry contribution

25 Years of Swine Research

The Use of SprayDried Animal Plasma to Mitigate Negative Effects of Deoxynivalenol (DON) in Late Nursery Pigs (2012)

Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on May 2, 2017 | No Comments

Grain infected with Fusarium fungi is a widespread problem in Western Canada. A common mycotoxin is deoxynivalenol or DON, low levels of DON in the diet reduce feed intake and Agriculture Canada recommends swine diets not contain more than 1 ppm DON.

This study was to determine if adding sprayed-dried animal plasma (SDAP) and/or activated clays (binder) to DON contaminated diets would mitigate the effect of DON during the nursery phase of production.

Inclusion of SDAP improved ADFI and alleviated the negative effects of DON. In this experiment, SDAP was more effective than the clay binder at alleviating the negative effects of DON. Thus it can be concluded that SDAP animal plasma should be added to nursery diets if DON contamination is determined or suspected

The Use of SprayDried Animal Plasma to Mitigate Negative Effects of Deoxynivalenol DON in Late Nursery Pigs