How Pigs are Raised

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Farmers know that responsible and humane care is important to the well-being of pigs. They know from experience that a content and healthy pig also makes good economic sense. After all, raising pigs is a farmer’s livelihood, one that will support him and his family for years to come. Farmers follow recommended codes of practice, complete how-to manuals that help them provide all the important elements of proper animal care. Manitoba’s pig industry has been a leader in promoting welfare practices and researching new and better ways of doing things. Manitoba’s Animal Care Act requires farm animals and pets to be treated humanely. Regulations under the Act draw upon various codes of practice to protect livestock. Today, pigs are raised through their growth stages indoors in various kinds of specialized barns. A barn housing pregnant sows is called a gestation barn. A pregnant sow delivers her piglets in a farrowing room, which has supplemental heat and an appropriate floor surface for the sow and piglet. The piglets are raised in a nursery barn. Again, supplemental heat is provided. There are specialized feeders and drinkers for the small piglets. Once the piglets grow to be 27 kgs (60 lbs), they are moved to a feeder barn. They will stay there for up to 18 weeks or until they reach a market weight of 113 kgs (248 lbs). Some farmers raise hogs through the entire process in a “farrow to finish” operation; others simply buy weanlings or piglets and feed them to market weight. Most pigs today are raised with fewer diseases than years ago. In the past, when pigs lived outside, they had parasites and trichinosis. Now, pigs live in facilities that have biosecurity programs such as a shower-in policy. Barns are sheltered, the environment is computer controlled, and water is treated and tested. This means that minimal medications are needed to keep pigs healthy. These “high-health” farms have restricted access and employees in these facilities shower in and change clothes daily to maintain high herd health. It is in the farmer’s best interest, both economically and from a swine welfare standpoint, to keep animals healthy. Each sow is identified with a numbered ear tag. Health, reproduction, and breeding records are kept for each animal. Sow health is checked at least twice a day. Fresh water is available at all times; some pens are fed automatically, others by hand. When sows are brought to group pens, there may be some fighting as they establish a pecking order. Sows should not be further mixed with other groups during breeding. It’s important to keep the sows as stress free as possible to prevent litter loss. Producers keep floors clean by washing them down regularly with high-pressure hoses. Clean, dry, non-slip flooring minimizes injuries and helps keep the air fresh. Animals are moved in an orderly fashion through aisles with gates opened and closed to direct them. Individual dry sow stalls reduce competition for food and prevent fighting or tail and vulva biting. They also help in reducing stress to the sow during the early critical stages of pregnancy. In stalls, sows can easily be examined individually for health and treated if necessary. Pregnancy tests are conducted by ultrasound and, if found negative, sows return to the breeding area. The ability to pregnancy test greatly increases farm productivity. Cleanliness helps keep pigs healthy and thriving. Most hog barns collect manure in holding pits beneath the barn. Floors are slatted so liquids and solids fall through to the pit. Barn workers regularly sweep and shovel pens and stalls to push the manure into pits. Floors, pens and walls are pressure washed and disinfected between each group of pigs. The pits are emptied routinely to an outside storage facility. The liquid manure is held in storage and applied to fields to feed crops. Hog manure is a valuable organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. Farmers follow provincial regulations to ensure manure is handled in an environmentally acceptable manner. Western Canada’s hog industry looks to the future as both a challenge and an opportunity. Our producers have been leaders in responsible environmental stewardship and animal care initiatives. Farmers are innovators. They always find better ways of doing things. Current swine housing systems are continuously evolving to improve efficiency, herd health, and productivity. Farmers are committed to developing new alternatives and providing for increased welfare and comfort for their pigs.

COCCIDIOSIS: Effective treatment remains in limbo

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Studies are currently underway to determine the level of coccidial activity in swine herds in Canada, which in turn could form the basis for obtaining approval for a suitable anti-coccidial drug, hopefully Baycox, for pigs. Preliminary results from these studies by Dr. Andrew Peregrine and his research team at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, show that cocci is present and active in about 70 per cent of herds in Ontario, a level consistent with reported infection levels in many European and other countries around the world.
This level of cocci activity would also indicate that considerably more than the paltry two to four per cent of the pigs reportedly being treated with Baycox prior to its removal could benefit from treatment for cocci, a debilitating disease even at the subclinical level. So what can the producer do? Is there a suitable alternative drug for use against cocci? The first thing is to develop a plan of action. The plan can be laid out in a simple, straightforward, four-step format:
• Observe and recognize the clinical signs of cocci.
• Get a definitive diagnosis.
• Establish disinfection, hygiene and management procedures.
• Use an alternative treatment, if available.

The effects of handling and group size on welfare of pigs in lairage and their influence on stomach weight, carcass microbial contamination and meat quality

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Slaughtering animals with a full stomach is considered a high risk factor for meat safety, as spillage of gut contents, due to more frequent inadvertent puncture of the stomach during the dressing process, can lead to microbial cross-contamination between carcasses (Miller et al. 1997). To reduce the risk of puncturing the stomach, a feed withdrawal of 16 to 24 h before slaughter has been recommended to reduce stomach size (Chevillon 1994). However, industry reports and some studies have revealed a high variability in stomach weights at slaughter, even among pigs that were subjected to the same fasting interval before slaughter (Guise et al. 1995; Turgeon 2003). According to Enck et al. (1989), stress increases intestinal motility, resulting in a greater evacuation of the caecum and large intestine. It also increases the pH of the stomach contents, favouring the survival, proliferation and release of faecal bacteria (such as Salmonella), both towards the internal organs and the surrounding environment (Gregory 1998). Hence, the individual difference in the pig response to preslaughter stress might contribute to stomach weight variation at slaughter. The use of electric prods must be limited in pig handling given their detrimental effects on welfare (flight behaviour, higher heart rate and salivary cortisol level) and meat quality (Brundige et al. 1998; D’Souza et al. 1998; Jongman et al. 2000). Mixing unfamiliar pigs inevitably causes some fighting, which causes skin bruises and poor pork quality (Jones et al. 1994; Warriss 1996). To limit fighting and help pigs rest and recover from transport stress, the current recommendations are either to keep pigs in small groups (10 to 15 pigs) or to mix very large groups (up to 200 pigs) in the lairage pen prior to slaughter (Grandin 1990; Christensen and Barton-Gade 1997). Turner et al. (1999) showed that group size influences drinking behaviour, pigs in large groups (60) spending significantly less time drinking than pigs in smaller groups (20). Hence, it may be hypothesized that the difference in drinking rate between groups of pigs varying in size may contribute to stomach weight variation at slaughter. The aim of this experiment was thus to determine, under commercial conditions, the effects of gentle vs. rough handling practices and large vs. small group size in lairage on behaviour, stomach weight, microbial carcass contamination and meat quality variation of pigs. At unloading and on the way to stunning, 800 barrows were exposed to either gentle handling (GH: slowly with a plastic board or whip) or rough handling (RH: quickly with an electric prod). Pigs were kept in large or small groups (30 or 10 pigs) during lairage. Compared with GH, RH increased climbing, slipping and turning around behaviours during unloading, and climbing on the way to stunning. RH also reduced drinking behaviour during lairage. Pigs kept in large groups were observed more often standing and fighting than pigs kept in small groups, but, in contrast, had a slightly lower level of urinary cortisol at slaughter. Stomach weight and microbial contamination at slaughter were not affected by treatments. RH tended to increase skin bruise score on the carcass and produced more exudative meat. In conclusion, the response of pigs to the two specific stressors applied prior to slaughter in this study did not seem to contribute to stomach weight variation at slaughter, but it did influence pork quality.

Effect of “Skip-a-Heat” Breeding on Subsequent Reproductive Performance in First Parity Sows

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Recent work at the University of Alberta has shown that the performance of contemporary dam-line first parity sows is truly amazing! Even when primiparous sows are induced to lose large amounts of body tissues through imposed feed restriction during peak lactation, there is a relative lack of effect on many measures of post-weaning fertility. However, a second parity “dip” or lack of an increase in second litter size, is often observed in production. First and second parity sows subjected to “skip-a-heat” breeding (bred at the 2nd estrus after weaning, or “skipped”) exhibited an increase of two pigs born compared to sows bred at first post-weaning estrus but this increase in litter size also resulted in an accumulation of 21 non-productive days (NPD) and a 9% chance of sows not standing to be bred at 2nd estrus. Recent data on the changing reproductive characteristics of contemporary commercial sows suggested that the response to skip-a-heat breeding in first parity sow needs to be re-evaluated. This trial re-assessed the effect of breeding sows at 1st vs. 2nd post-weaning estrus on follicular development, size of the largest ovulatory follicle, ovulation rate and embryonic survival to day 30 in contemporary commercial sows. Results confirmed that under good management practices, high production performance is achievable: 95% of sows returned to estrus within 10 days; 98% of sows bred; 100% of sows “skipped” sows detected in heat; and a 92% conception rate. However, litter size at d 30 appeared to be limited because of lower embryonic survival in sows bred at first post-weaning estrus. The present study also confirmed that breeding first parity weaned sows at 2nd post-weaning estrus will negate the effects of the “second parity dip.” Alternative methods to increase second parity litter size without the accumulation of the 22 NPD associated with “skip-a-heat” merits further investigation.

Livestock sector development and implications for rural poverty alleviation in India

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The effect of gilts’ age on inactivity in a behavioural test

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By screening for maternal qualities before puberty, it would be possible to detect and exclude gilts with a potentially high occurrence of risky behaviour with respect to early piglet mortality, and solely use potentially good mothers for reproduction. Thodberg et al. (1999) showed, that gilts’ reactivity in different stressful test situations at 4–4.5 months of age could predict maternal quality to some extent. In order to perform such a test under practical conditions it would be more efficient, though, if gilts of a wide age span could be subjected to the test. However, a non-detected change in reactivity with age entails the risk of selecting ‘‘suboptimal’’ gilts for reproduction. If gilts are to be tested at different ages, consistency of the behaviour trait used for selecting potentially good from potentially poor mothers has to be demonstrated. The present study aimed at investigating whether gilts’ reactivity in an arena test changes with age. The present study investigated whether gilts’ reactivity in an arena test, developed for selecting prepubertal gilts for reproduction, changed with age. One hundred and twenty gilts were used in the study of which 60 were tested at 3 months of age and re-tested at 4.5 months of age and 60 were tested only at 4.5 months of age. During the 3 min arena test the duration of inactivity was recorded by direct observation. The results from the present study showed that gilts were less inactive, when exposed to the arena test at 4.5 months compared to 3 months. This change in inactivity was due to an effect of age and not to an adaptation to the test situation since no difference was found between the gilts in the group re-tested at 4.5 months and the gilts in the control group, which had never been exposed to the arena test before. The measure of inactivity shows some consistency across time. Thus if a selection of prepubertal gilts is to be made, based on the arena test, the results of the present study show that the selection should be carried out within gilts tested at the same age.

Responses to Delayed Estrus after Weaning in Sows Using Oral Progestagen Treatment

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Altrenogest is an orally active progesterone-like compound that can be used to effectively synchronize estrus in cyclic gilts. In sows, progestagen treatment can aid in maximizing farrowing crate utilization by reducing the variation in services per week, increasing the number of pigs weaned per week, reducing variation in weekly weaned pig output and increasing overall breeding herd productivity. A negative energy balance in primiparous sows at weaning is often associated with extended weaning-to-estrus intervals and the syndrome known as the ‘second parity dip’ in sow fertility. Feeding progestagen to weaned sows essentially extends the weaning-to-service interval and allows the sows additional time to recover after weaning. This has been shown to improve the percentage of sows in estrus within 7 days of withdrawal, increase ovulation rate and/or embryo survival, and litter size (Kemp et al., 2006. University of Alberta/University of Minnesota Leman Pre-Conference Reproduction Workshop). The duration of progestagen treatment after weaning needed to produce optimal sow productivity is still unclear. Periods of 3 to 5 days after weaning are traditionally used in batch-farrowing systems (Martinat-Botté et al. 1995. Journees de la recherche porcine en France 27:51-56). However, changing physiology of the weaned sow (Kemp et al., 2006) suggests that longer periods of progestagen treatment may produce results more analogous to the response to ‘skip-a-heat’ breeding. In this experiment groups of multiparous sows (n = 749) weaned in two consecutive three-week periods in June and July were organized into two breeding weeks using the following strategies: M0 (n = 250): Wean weeks 3 and 6 (no progestagen treatment); M7 (n = 250): Wean weeks 2 and 4 (progestagen treatment for two days before and five days after weaning.); and M14 (n = 249): Wean weeks 1 and 3 (progestagen for two days before and 12 days after weaning). The results suggest that feeding progestagen was effective in delaying and synchronizing the return to estrus in weaned sows, and the duration of the treatment affected subsequent sow productivity. Sows treated with progestagen for 12 days after weaning produced the highest percentage of sows bred within 10 days of progestagen withdrawal and pregnant at day 50 of gestation. Also, feeding progestagen resulted in an increase in the number of fetuses at day 50 of gestation similar to that seen in previous ‘skip-a-heat’ studies. These results suggest that a longer progestagen treatment period than the five days typically used in batch-farrowing systems, would be likely to produce the same benefits to sow productivity as seen in response to ‘skip-a-heat’ breeding.

“Protecting Animals, Food, and People”

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The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for discussing the future direction of
animal health and welfare, food safety, and veterinary public health programs and
services within the Province of Manitoba. It will propose a long-term vision that will
guide the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) over the next decade. It will also
propose a mission statement that will contain four strategic themes that will be
addressed in the short to medium term. These themes will form the basis for creating
three-year directional plans with measurable outcomes.

A concrete slatted floor system for separation of faeces and urine in pig houses

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In the experiments, four concrete slatted floors with one of two slat profiles and one of two gap
widths, and a steel wire slatted floor were studied to estimate their manure separation
performance under practical conditions. It was found that a slope gradient of 201 with a surface coated with fine cement performed best and is recommended for the slope bottom design in the concrete slatted floor system.

The effect of pre-weaning housing on the play and agonistic behaviour of domestic pigs

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In intensive pig husbandry, young pigs are typically housed in an extremely barren environment. Such an impoverished environment may have immediate negative effects on pig welfare (De Jonge et al., 1996; O’Connell and Beattie, 1999). It has been demonstrated that piglets in barren environments engage in more manipulative behaviour, such as biting, nosing and massaging of their pen mates compared to piglets in larger pens with straw bedding (Lammers and Schouten, 1985; Beattie et al., 2000; De Jong et al., 1998; O’Connell and Beattie, 1999). Furthermore, poor rearing conditions may disturb the development of important social skills, as it has been shown that piglets housed in such an environment behave more aggressively than pigs housed in an enriched environment (De Jonge et al., 1996; O’Connell and Beattie, 1999). Most of the researchers who have compared the influence of housing systems have focused on the period after weaning or during fattening (Beattie et al., 2000; De Jong et al., 2000; De Jonge et al., 1996; O’Connell et al., 2004; Olsson et al., 1999). Very few researchers have assessed the influence of pre-weaning housing on the behaviour of the piglets. Pre-weaning housing systems may not only affect the aggression that occurs immediately following the mixing of litters at weaning, but also the agonistic behaviour that occurs in the long term. If the social skills necessary for conflict resolution are underdeveloped in piglets from a poor environment, this will probably result in more intense aggression in certain situations, such as competition for food. The aim of this study was to assess whether three housing systems during the suckling period influence three aspects of piglets’ social behaviour: (i) the play behaviour of piglets before weaning, (ii) the agonistic behaviour caused by mixing of litters after weaning and (iii) the food related agonistic behaviour of pigs during the fattening period. Three pre-weaning housing systems were compared: poor crate (standard farrowing crate without straw), enriched crate (crate with straw, 20% larger), and, as a control, a farrowing pen (pen with straw, 60% larger than the poor crate). At the age of 1, 2 and 4 weeks, play behaviour (locomotor and social play) was recorded for 3h. Four weeks postpartum, piglets were weaned and two litters from the same housing system were mixed in a new pen, with the stocking density corresponding to density in the pre-weaning poor crate. During mixing, the frequency of agonistic behaviour and the proportion of abnormally ended fights (chasing and biting to the hindquarters of the opponent) were recorded for 3h, and after 6h, the number of wounds was counted. Four focal pigs from each litter were chosen (two female and two male) and their agonistic interactions were measured during a food competition test at the age of 3 and 6 months. Our results suggest that the enrichment of the pre-weaning environment through straw and enlarged space probably stimulate pre-weaning play behaviour and substantially reduces the tendency of pigs to behave aggressively during food competition later in life. However, aggression during post-weaning mixing of piglets does not seem to be affected by pre-weaning enrichment.