Piglet Health and Welfare in the Nursery
Weaning causes piglets to experience acute stress due to sudden changes in the social group, the environment and in diet. It often leads to aggression, weight loss, diarrhea, belly nosing and disease. Weaning in intensive farm units is much different...
Compounding Iron Dextran with NSAIDs at Processing
NSAIDs are often given at processing along with iron dextran and it is tempting to given them together to reduce the number of injections to the piglet. Mixing these products is not allowed under the Canadian Assurance program, though it...
Using Exploratory Behaviour to Increase Pre-Weaning Creep Consumption
Previous experiments showed how feeder type but not enrichment resulted in a greater frequency of visits to the tray feeder and a higher rate of disappearance for creep feed. Creep feed is important as it may help with the stressful...
Managing Sows in Groups from Weaning: Are There Advantages?
Stall housing has received lots of criticism for being so restrictive. It has been demonstrated that sows in groups can perform as well as those in stalls, so gestation stalls are being banned in many countries. An area that needs...
Can Flaxseed Replace Antibiotics in Nursery Diets?
Social, nutritional and environmental stressors are involved in weaning and can activate an immune response in piglets. To solve this, they are often fed a low level of antibiotics. This is being phased out by Health Canada so alternative strategies...
Geothermal Systems for Heating in Pork Production
Energy costs are increasing over the years and costs can be very high, especially in cold climates. 80% of the energy used in swine barns in Saskatchewan is for heating and ventilation costs. A geothermal system uses ground heat and...
Effect of Grouping Sows by Parity in ESF Housing on Welfare and Productivity
Grouping of sows is important to have increased fitness and freedom but if done improperly, limited access to feed and aggression can be apparent. Electronic feeding systems (ESF) decrease aggression by sows having limited feeding competition, but young sows may...
Successfully Feeding Lentils to Finishing Pigs
The world’s leading exporter and second largest producer of lentils is Saskatchewan. If 10% of lentil production is not acceptable for export, there would be plenty to feed pigs. Nutritional values were measured and diets were formulated for growing and...
Assessing Daily Exposure Risk of Pig Barn Workers to Airborne Contaminants
Airborne contaminants such as gases (ammonia and hydrogen sulphide) and dust, when exposed to pig barn workers increase the risk of respiratory symptoms and health problems. Occupational exposure risk was assessed when workers were doing their daily barn tasks in...
Stimulating Exploratory Behaviour in Piglets: Effects on Pre-Weaning Creep Consumption
The abrupt change from a liquid to solid diet causes stress at weaning, along with a new environment and a different grouping of pigs. This often reduces intake for a few days and increases risk of mortality and disease susceptibility....
Feeding Mycotoxin Contaminated Grain to Swine
In Western Canada, moulds commonly produce chemical mycotoxins in grains and grain by-products. Over 400 different mycotoxins are known, though not all of them affect pigs. Mould in a sample does not always mean a mycotoxin is present, and mycotoxins...
Dietary Omega 6 to Omega 3 Ratio Impacts Nursery Pigs More Than Omega 3 Intake Alone
Weaning is a stressful time for the piglet as there are environmental, nutritional and social stressors along with an undeveloped immune system. Post-weaning growth lag is commonly seen with reduced growth rates and increased susceptibility to pathogens that can trigger...
