Effective piglet enrichment: effects on development and reduction of damaging behaviours
Tail biting is a behavioural problem that impacts pig welfare and the economics of pork production. Environmental enrichment can reduce damaging behaviours, but practical information on enrichments for young pigs is lacking. The project contained two studies to evaluate enrichment at two life stages to...
by
Ken Engele
Impact of antibiotic-free production on pathogen occurrence and prevalence of antimicrobial resistance
This study assessed the impact of Raised Without Antibiotics (RWA) production practices on on-farm antibiotic use, pathogen occurrence, and the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) through the whole genome sequencing and analyzing of samples (fecal, manure, sow nasal swab, soil). Some farms that provided...
by
Ken Engele
Long-term feeding of graded levels of deoxynivalenol in grower-finisher pigs
Mycotoxin-contaminated grains are commonly downgraded for use in livestock feed and, while the best strategy for producers is to avoid feeding mycotoxin contaminated grain altogether, this may no longer be possible. Therefore, strategies that allow the use of these grains in livestock feed are necessary....
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Miranda Smit
Examining the effectiveness of providing functional amino acids to enhance pig robustness
Pigs are continuously exposed to microbial pathogens and immune- stimulatory antigens that have a negative impact on productivity. Pigs exposed to immune challenge, without exhibiting any clinical signs of disease, show reduced appetite and growth and less efficient use of nutrients compared to healthy pigs....
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Miranda Smit
Infrared technologies for identification of market pigs at risk during transport
Digital infrared thermography (DT) is a non-invasive imaging technique that could be a valuable instrument for producers and packaging plants to identify compromised and diseased animals for isolation and treatment, as well as to implement management practices to reduce the prevalence of pale, soft and...
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Miranda Smit
Effects of long distance transport in the health and welfare of early weaned pigs
The Canadian swine industry relies heavily on the transport of weaned pigs. Recently, the maximum acceptable transport time for pigs in Canada has been decreased from 36 to 28 hours. Weaning is a stressful period for pigs and pigs are often transported at the same...
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Miranda Smit
Evaluation of a modified prototype livestock trailer through road and disease-challenge tests
This project set to develop an improved (prototype) trailer that addresses emerging biosecurity risks and enhance animal welfare during transport. The trailer incorporates an environmental control system that is versatile in nature and equipped with a data logging system capable of displaying data in real-time,...
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Miranda Smit
Creep feed source: What is effective and what do piglets prefer?
While creep feeding continues to be widely used in swine operations, the effectiveness of creep feeding to improve pre- and post-weaning performance is up for debate. We conducted a study to determine whether provision of creep feed is beneficial and whether this is dependent on...
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Miranda Smit
Assessing the impact of intervention measures for reducing antibiotic use
Previous activity in this study aimed to evaluate the impact of the Raised without Antibiotics (RWA) program on pig production focused on quantifying the overall antibiotics use both in participating RWA and non-RWA barns. Next steps involved the assessment of prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)...
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Miranda Smit
Alternative sanitization measures to control pathogen growth in antibiotic-free production
This project set out to develop and evaluate alternative sanitization and disinfection measures that may be effective for control of potentially antibiotic-resistant pathogens, as well as measures that might prevent or further reduce development of antimicrobial resistance in pig production. Various sanitation technologies identified and screened,...
by
Miranda Smit