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 water flow meter, and an...
by
Ken Engele
Design criteria for enhancing cleanability and welfare characteristics of pig transport trailers
Various aspects of trailer design and construction significantly impact the cleanability and welfare characteristics of the trailer, such as surface smoothness, exposed screws and weld joints, and presence of structures and hard-to-clean areas that may be prone to dirt accumulation. In this project, design criteria...
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Ken Engele
Investigation of enhanced sanitization and disinfection measures applicable for antibiotic-free pig production system
This project aims to develop enhanced biosecurity measures that can eliminate or reduce the proliferation of disease-causing pathogens in antibiotic-free pig production as well as in conventional barns for all-inclusive disease prevention. Specifically investigating alternative sanitization and disinfection measures that are effective for control of...
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Ken Engele
Enhancing biosecurity and welfare of pigs during transport
A previous project examined the development of a new prototype trailer design aimed to protect animals (such as high-value breeding stock) from airborne transmissible diseases during transport. This design tried to integrate as many features as possible identified by stakeholders. This initial prototype was a...
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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
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,...
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Miranda Smit
Modification of the Prototype Air-Filtered Trailer to Enhance Biosecurity and Welfare of Pigs During Transport
The development of a prototype trailer was aimed to address emerging biosecurity risks and enhance animal welfare during transport through the optimization of a current prototype trailer design. Trailer improvements were focused on enhancement of environmental control and data logging systems as well the addition...
by
Miranda Smit
Investigation of enhanced sanitization and disinfection measures applicable for antibiotic-free pig production system
This project aims to develop enhanced biosecurity measures that can eliminate or reduce the proliferation of disease-causing pathogens in antibiotic-free pig production as well as in conventional barns for all-inclusive disease prevention. Specifically, this will investigate alternative sanitization and disinfection measures that are effective for...
by
Miranda Smit
Evaluation of impact of antibiotic-use reduction measures on the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and pathogen abundance in pig production barns
The goal of this project is to compare the effect of the adoption of a RWA (raised without antibiotics) approach with non-RWA operations on the overall prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and pathogen abundance in pig production facilities. We conducted surveillance of AMR and pathogens...
by
Miranda Smit