Investigating novel biomarkers of welfare in swine
Biomarkers are objective and quantifiable characteristics of biological processes. There are many measures taken to evaluate acute experiences that influence animal welfare, such as measurement of cortisol, a hormone that increases in acute stress after aggression. There is currently a...
Evaluating the impact of early life management of piglets on lifetime welfare and performance
The first 12 weeks of a pig’s life is a critical period of development, and what a pig experiences during this period of time will shape how an individual responds to subsequent life events, leading to consequences for the overall...
A new method for improving animal welfare oversight: routine monitoring of pig carcasses
Animal care verification requires the accurate evaluation and quantification of animal welfare. Assurance schemes typically rely on farm audits for animal care verification, which are time consuming, incur cost for the producer and can pose a biosecurity risk. One approach...
Can hybrid rye replace wheat in swine diets?
Modern rye hybrids are less susceptible to ergot contamination than traditional rye, and has greater yield compared with wheat grain, which was a good incentive to evaluate feeding hybrid rye to grow-finish hogs. Rye is known to have greater fibre...
Effectiveness of functional amino acids in Salmonella-challenged low and normal birth weight pigs
We wanted to determine the influence of birth weight (normal – NBW vs. low – LBW) on pig response to a subsequent disease challenge and on the effectiveness of functional amino acid (FAA) supplementation in ameliorating this response. Weanling piglets...
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...
Play behaviour and its role to enhance pig welfare and production
This project is funded by the NSERC Industrial Research Chair program, a five-year research program focusing on emerging questions in swine welfare. Goal 2 will investigate whether play can be used as a tool to support positive welfare and beneficial...
Animal protein-based nursery diets and functional amino acids improve performance and health status of weaned pigs
Nutrition strategies in the post-weaning period are geared towards providing high quality diets (i.e., inclusion of animal-based protein sources) to mitigate the effect of weaning stress and immature digestive and immune systems. Some studies suggest that the inclusion of animal-based...
Assessing trailer cleanliness
A rapid, easy to use and reliable way of monitoring surface cleanliness of swine transport trailers is needed for practical industry applications. ATP bioluminescence has been demonstrated to be a good alternative tool for monitoring surface cleanliness in swine transport...
Pigs consume more water when stressed
Two novel technologies consisting of an individual water consumption system (IWCS) and infrared thermography system (ITHS) were installed in a finishing room. The individual water consumption system (installed in each pen) was composed of a nipple drinker attached to a...
Effects of long distance transport on early-weaned pigs
While transporting weaner pigs is a common practice in swine production, there is very little published research on how this process impacts piglet health and welfare. To address this gap, Dr. Jennifer Brown and colleagues at the University of Guelph...
Feeding canola meal or soy expeller at two feed energy levels to growout hogs
Previous research trials that we’ve conducted showed that we can feed reduced net energy (NE) diets (≤2.3 Mcal/kg) to growout hogs instead of traditional energy levels (≥2.4 Mcal/kg) as long as hogs can increase feed intake to compensate for reduced...
