New and alternative sanitization procedures for antibiotic-free swine barns
Certain barns that switched to antibiotic-free production observed increased prevalence of pathogens after a few years on the program. Developing improved sanitization and disinfection procedures is an important step to reduce the pathogen load in antibiotic-free barns, which was the goal of this study. This project identified...
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Ken Engele
Effects of gestation sow grouping practices on aggression and production
A concern with any type of group housing is the aggression performed when mixing unfamiliar sows into a group, as they compete to form a social hierarchy. Ongoing aggression is another related concern. It is important to understand how different grouping practices influence sow aggression,...
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Ken Engele
Dietary nitrogen content affects lysine requirement and nitrogen utilization and retention in growing pigs
When dietary protein is reduced by more than 3%, non-essential amino acids or total dietary protein may become limiting for maximum nitrogen (N) retention (i.e., lean gain) and growth performance. It has been suggested that the ratio of essential amino acid-nitrogen to total nitrogen (E:T)...
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Ken Engele
Inclusion of non-protein nitrogen and lysine in grower pig diets on growth performance
Results from our previous study demonstrated that inclusion of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) in a diet with a high essential amino acid-nitrogen:total nitrogen (E:T) ratio (i.e. limiting in total nitrogen [N]) increased the Lys requirement and maximum N retention in growing pigs. A growth performance study...
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Ken Engele
Inclusion of non-protein nitrogen in grower pig diets on lysine requirement for maximum nitrogen retention
Low protein diets have improved nutrient utilization while maintaining animal performance. However, these diets may be limiting in nitrogen (N) content to meet non-essential amino acid (NEAA) requirements, potentially altering essential amino acid (EAA) utilization and requirements. Inclusion of a source of non-protein nitrogen (NPN)...
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Ken Engele
Non-essential amino acids affect nitrogen retention in pigs
Low-protein diets supplemented with essential amino acids (EAA) can improve growth and performance. However, the dietary amount of non-essential amino acids (NEAA) may be a limiting factor in these diets. This may ultimately affect the efficient utilization of the dietary EAA for maximum nitrogen (N)...
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Ken Engele
Application of nanotechnology for mitigation of DON in wheat grains
A series of laboratory-scale experiments were conducted to determine the most promising nanomaterials and to optimize its operational requirements for appropriate application in mitigating mycotoxin contamination in feed grains and formulated swine diets. Three candidate nanomaterials were selected for testing based on a comprehensive literature...
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Ken Engele
Can slat-compatible enrichment influence the behaviour and response of pigs to a disease challenge?
Rearing pigs in highly enriched environments with a greater space allowance and provision of substrates (straw, mushroom compost, sawdust, wood branches) for rooting and chewing has been found to reduce the disease susceptibility of pigs to co-infection with PRRSv and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, increasing the speed...
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Ken Engele
Road and disease-challenge tests with a modified prototype livestock trailer
The overall goal of the work conducted was to assess the performance of an improved prototype livestock trailer with ventilation, heating, misting and air filtration systems in maintaining a welfare-friendly and pathogen-free environment during transport. The testing and evaluation comprised of road tests and disease-challenge...
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Ken Engele
Weaned piglet mortality during long transport events is affected by season
Limited information is available on factors associated with piglet mortality during weaner transport events. This study aimed to identify transport characteristics associated with the occurrence of in-transit mortality or increased rates of mortality (≥1 piglet found dead on arrival) using records of weaned piglet transport...
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Ken Engele
Response of growing pigs to the inclusion of hybrid rye in low or high energy diets
This experiment was designed to determine if increased dietary energy content will compensate for the reduced feed intake previously shown in pigs fed diets with hybrid rye substituting for wheat. We hypothesized that pigs fed 40% hybrid rye would perform better on the high than...
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Ken Engele
Testing of a rapid detection kit for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv)
Significant economic losses can result from outbreaks of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED), a serious disease currently circulating in North American swine herds. Accurate and rapid detection of PEDv is essential to expedite implementation of control measures for the disease. A rapid PEDv test kit is...
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Ken Engele