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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:
Farrowing Room: The Ultimate Feeding Program
Posted in: Production by admin on January 1, 2006 | No Comments
The reproductive demands placed on sows today requires that feed intake be maximized during lactation. This will help to prevent mastitis, reduce farrowing difficulties, increase milk yield, prevent pig scours, maximize weaning weight, minimize sow body weight loss, and minimize wean to estrus interval. To maximize lactation feed intake, overfeeding should be avoided in gestation and pre-farrowing, water intake should be maximized, the room temperature should not be too warm, and feeder hygiene/feed freshness should be monitored. Sows need to eat 8.0 to 8.5 kg/day during lactation in order to avoid using their bodily reserves. To help achieve this, feed can be steadily increased from farrowing to 14 days, and kept on as much as possible up until weaning. Gilts require more lysine than sows, because they need the protein to continue individual growth.
Nutritional value of wheat and corn distiller’s dried grain with solubles: Digestibility and digestible contents of energy, amino acids and phosphorus, nutrient excretion and growth performance of grower-finisher pigs
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Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the nutritional value of distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) samples derived from corn, wheat and a wheat/corn blend (4:1). Specifically, the digestibility and digestible contents of energy, amino acids (AA) and P, N and P excretion, and growth performance were determined in grower-finisher pigs. In exp. 1, 12 ileal cannulated barrows (64.6 ± 6.4 kg) had restricted access (2.6 × maintenance) to
a wheat-control diet or one of three diets containing 40% DDGS sample of corn, wheat or wheat/corn origin that replaced wheat. For energy, apparent total tract digestibility was highest for wheat (85%; P < 0.05) and did not differ among the DDGS samples (77 to 79%; P > 0.10). Total tract digestible energy (DE) was higher for corn DDGS (4292 kcal kg–1 DM; P < 0.05) than wheat/corn DDGS, wheat DDGS and wheat samples (4038, 4019 and 3807). For lysine, apparent ileal digestibility (AID) was highest for wheat (71%; P < 0.05) and did not differ among DDGS samples (59 to 63%; P > 0.10). The AID lysine content was highest for corn DDGS (0.51% DM; P < 0.05), intermediate for wheat/corn DDGS and wheat DDGS (0.45 and 0.42), and lowest for wheat (0.37%). For P, total tract digestibility was lowest for wheat (15%; P < 0.05) and did not differ among DDGS samples (53 to 56%; P > 0.10). Total N excretion was highest for wheat/corn DDGS and wheat DDGS (55 and 58 g d–1; P < 0.05), intermediate for corn DDGS (44) and lowest for wheat (36). Total P excretion did not differ among DDGS (11 g d–1) and was lowest for wheat (8; P < 0.05). In exp. 2, 100 pigs (52.0 ± 3.3 kg) were fed a wheat-pea control diet or one of three diets containing 25% of the three DDGS samples (3.375 Mcal DE kg–1; 2.50 g SID lysine Mcal–1 DE) for 5 wk. Overall, average daily feed intake (ADFI) and daily gain (ADG) were higher for pigs fed the wheat control diet than the DDGS-containing diets (P < 0.05), but feed efficiency did not differ (P > 0.10). In summary, the digestible nutrient content of wheat DDGS is lower than corn DDGS and higher than wheat. Following pre-characterization of digestible nutrient profile, feeding DDGS reduced growth performance indicating that further research is required to improve the nutritional value of DDGS.
Pre-natal Programming of Variation
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To begin this review, the overall production advantages that might result from segregated production management will be briefly considered, and from a number of perspectives may have little to do with any inherent differences in the growth potential in individual pigs, or sub-populations of pigs. However, there appears to be a substantial area of conceptual overlap, in which the advantages of adopting segregated management of sows and their off-spring may be intimately linked to growing evidence for pre-natal programming of post-natal development. The origins of these programming effects may be very different and in the second part of this review we will address this topic from a biological perspective. Finally, we will return to a consideration of segregated management systems that takes full account of recent information on the biology of pre-natal programming effects. As reviewed by Moore (2005), the origins of segregated parity management systems vary, and have initially been directed to improving the management of the gilt and first litter sow. However, this trend has also simultaneously recognized the problems of co-mingling the progeny of different parity sows, and the advantages to be gained from adopting segregated nursery systems for at least the progeny of parity 1 sows, compared to the progeny of higher parity females. Therefore, there is good reason to think that segregated management of these offspring at the nursery level will bring overall improvements to a production system. Collectively, the aspects of segregated parity management may open a Pandora’s box of functional nutrients that will be cost-effective when applied to sows at specific stages in their reproductive life cycle. However, there should be as much focus on the quality, as on the quantity, of pigs produced per sow lifetime. This review hopefully provides the reader with an understanding of the very complex interactions that determine the development of a market pig from conception to consumption. In the new era of epigenetic regulation of pre-natal development, and expanding information on the mechanisms controlling various levels of IUGR, the profound influence that the environment of the sow can have on the phenotypic characteristics of her offspring are becoming evident. Clearly, simple selection of genetically superior sows and terminal line boars will determine the potential to produce a desired genotype in their terminal line off-spring. However, inappropriate management may interact with this genetic potential to produce a very different outcome. In this review, the profound effects of sow maturity, nutritional management, and their interaction have been considered. Observations from controlled experiments and from the analysis of the reproductive and developmental characteristics of existing commercial dam-line sows indicate the diversity of possible interactions. However, these studies start to provide a better understanding of the reported benefits of segregated parity management. Innovative approaches to addressing the problems, as well as the opportunities, presented by pre-natal fetal programming of post-natal performance will likely be the benchmark of the most profitable pork production systems in the next decade.
Coping with a Disaster in Your Barn
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PRRS and circovirus are devastating to herds. When such disasters hit, it is important to remember to accept humility, be realistic, control what you can, not to finger point, be confident, and build an understanding.
Ileal digestibility of protein and amino acids from canola meal in weaned piglets and growing pigs
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Two experiments were conducted to measure the apparent ileal digestibility coefficients (AID) of protein and amino acids from canola meal (CM) and a pelleted canola meal (PCM) and their effect on specific activity (SA) of pancreatic proteases in weaned piglets and growing pigs. In experiment one, 24 piglets weaned at 17 days and weighing 5.5 kg were used. Treatments were a reference diet with 200 g of crude protein (CP) kg−1 elaborated with casein (C) as the sole protein source, a diet containing C–CM and a diet containing C–PCM. These diets were obtained using the reference diet plus 100 g kg−1 of CM or PCM that substituted an isoproteic mixture of casein and maize starch from reference diet, so that the AID coefficients for their protein and amino acids could be calculated by difference. In experiment two, nine castrated pigs weighing 39.5 kg were used. Treatments were a reference diet with 160 g of CP kg−1 elaborated with casein (C) as the sole protein source, diet C–CM and diet C–PCM. These diets were obtained using the reference diet plus 300 g kg−1 of CM or PCM that substituted an isoproteic mixture of casein and maize starch from reference diet. In piglets, the AID coefficients for casein were highest (Pb0.05), those of PCM were intermediate, and those of CM were the lowest. In older pigs, the AID coefficients for casein were highest, and those of CM and PCM were similar (PN0.05). The SAs of chymotrypsin, trypsin and carboxypeptidases A and B were lower in piglets than in heavier pigs. Moreover, the SAs of trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidase B were lower (PN0.05) in animals fed casein. The results showed in piglets that whereas CM was less digestible, pelleted canola meal improved protein and amino acid ileal digestibility, resulting in similar AID coefficients to those of growing pigs.
PCVAD – What to Do in the Barn Today
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In the fall 2004 Ontario and Quebec swine producers started to see a significant increase in mortality generally beginning at four weeks into the finisher and lasting approximately six weeks. A diagnosis of PMWS with a subsequent name change to Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCVAD) in North America was made. The impact on mortality has been dramatic. Many different intervention strategies have been attempted through the ensuing two years and in our clinical experience have little to no value. In no particular order: feed medication, vaccination type and timing, water supplementation, nutriceuticals, ration formulation changes, water acidification, feed manufacturing changes, sanitation protocols, injectable antibiotics, and sorting affected pigs have produced no consistent results and will have cost the industry more money on top of existing losses. As always in a desperate situation there are those that market the “silver bullet”. At this point there are very promising vaccine results with pig vaccines and pending results but too early yet on sow vaccine efficacy. Madec’s 20 point control program is not applicable to the current North American pig industry structure; however, components of it address common sense management of the pig and population. This paper summarizes some principles of disease control that are applicable and sustainable within the North American industry such as: all in-all out (AIAO) groups, sanitation, not co-mingling, limiting pig movement within AIAO group, effective sow herd immunity, biosecurity, effective pig care, effective diagnosis and monitoring of diseases, control or eliminate primary pathogen circulation in S-N-F, and having an effective information system. Even if these principles are addressed there are still challenges to the North American industry. There needs to be an assessment as to how far we have strayed from long term effective large population management, what the lessons from this devastating disease are, and how effectively we apply those lessons in the future.
The potential of fonio (Digitaria exilis, Stapf) as feed for monogastrics
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