Reducing H2S Exposure Through a Water Spray Method and Monitoring
Hydrogen sulphide is a dangerous gas that is commonly found in swine operations. Reducing the amount of this gas is of great interest in order to keep the workers and animals safe. Hydrogen sulphide is water soluble so theoretically, spraying water during agitation may allow...
Manure Scraper System Reduces Hydrogen Sulphide Levels in Swine Barns
Manure management tasks such as pulling pit-drain plugs put workers at risk of hydrogen sulphide exposure. In order to reduce the production of hydrogen sulphide, an in-barn manure handling system that provides more frequent and complete removal of manure from production rooms was investigated. Gas...
Measuring Ammonia Emissions from Urine Puddles
Ammonia is a common gas found in pig barns that has a strong odour and can irritate the workers exposed and have environmental consequences. The main sources of ammonia in pig housing units are the urine puddles and slurry pit. Barn floors have plenty of...
Feeding and Social Behaviour of Finishing Pigs in Fully Slatted Large Groups
Smaller group sizes have been studied much more than larger ones which are now more common in North America. Pigs may adapt differently in large social groups which could alter their behaviours and feeding activity. Changes in behaviour could lead to lower productivity and welfare...
Effects of Housing Finishing Pigs in Varying Group Sizes and Space Allocations
Crowding has been shown to have a negative impact on welfare and productivity of pigs in small groups. Large groups of pigs may be better at using space more efficiently. Space requirements were assessed in large and small groups to see how the pigs were...
Response of Growing Pigs to Graded Levels of Flaxseed
As a way to diversify rations and reduce cost or to alter the final pork product, alternative ingredients for pig diets are often investigated. Flaxseed is of interest as the amount of acreage for flax is increasing so the quantity available will rise. A nutrient...
Developing Weaning Pig Programs Based on Age and Weight
Needs for less antibiotic usage, lower costs, improved performance and reduced variability make feeding the newly weaned pig challenging. Diets were monitored on pigs of different weight and age to see what they respond to better in order to reduce body weight variability after the...
Interaction of Net Energy Concentration and Feeding Level in Weaned Pigs
Growth is restricted in weaned pigs due to energy intake possibly because of restrictions in gut capacity. Energy intake and growth should increase when dietary energy concentrations increase, but recent findings do not support this. Weanling pig performance was not improved because feed intake declined...
Increasing Diet Tallow and Dietary Energy on Performance
The most expensive nutrient in pig diets is energy. Previous research has shown that diets with differing energy concentration led to equivalent performance in pigs. Dietary energy was investigated regarding its impact on carcass quality, uniformity of growth and its relationship to pig performance. Grower-finisher...
Effect of Wheat Quality and Xylanase Supplementation on Weaned Pigs
Variation in nutritional quality of feed is common and impacts the pigs performance. Protein and fibre content influence nutritional quality between wheat samples. A fibre degrading enzyme supplement may reduce quality variation of wheat on pig performance. The variation was partially reduced by xylanase supplementation...