Loading Facilities for Market Hogs: Saskatchewan’s Top 10
Loading facilities can result in longer loading times, increased incidence of rough handling and prod use if poorly designed. Stress associated with this can affect meat quality, carcass and also increase the amount of downer pigs and losses. Ten Saskatchewan barns were observed to see...
Evaluation of Methods for Controlling and Monitoring Occupational Exposure of Workers in Swine Facilities
Reduction of personal exposure to air contaminant levels including ammonia and dust in swine production facilities is possible through containment control studies but must be studied under swine barn conditions too. Selected management and engineering measures were studied, such as high level of cleaning, oil...
Porcine Circoviral Disease – From Inception to Successful Control
Porcine Circovirus Diseases (PCVD) were first described in the 1990's in Canada as Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome which affected grower and nursery pigs by respiratory disease, wasting, enlarged lymph nodes, pallor, enteritis and jaundice. It is caused by porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) which has...
Ractopamine Hydrochloride and the Environmental Sustainability of Pork Production
Ammonia has odour and environmental implications so the excretion of nitrogen is problematic as this is the main form. Paylean® with ractopamine hydrochloride as its active ingredient improves average daily gain, carcass lean growth and feed efficiency when added to finishing swine diets. Ractopamine may...
Ractopamine, at 5 or 10 mg/kg Increases Protein Deposition in the Carcass
Paylean® is used in the swine industry to increase growth rate, carcass lean deposition and feed efficiency. Its active ingredient is ractopamine hydrochloride. At 5 mg/kg, ractopamine improved carcass quality and growth performance. Paylean may also be able to reduce the environmental impact of pork...
Feeding Co-Extruded Flaxseed to Pigs: Effects of Duration and Feeding Level on Growth Performance and Backfat Fatty Acid Composition of Grow-Finish Pigs
Feeding flaxseed to pigs has been used to increase omega-3 fatty acid levels in pork as flaxseed is the richest oilseed source of omega-3. Health benefits to the consumer may be noted such as reducing risk of disease. Feeding flax co-extruded with field peas may...
Validation of Sampling Techniques for Assessing Stress in Pigs by Salivary Cortisol
Cortisol is often used as a measure of stress in pigs. Multiple samples are often taken to see how long it is elevated and when the peak of the stress response was. Adrenal function tests are used when studying long term stressors to see if...
Stress Response and Meat Quality of Pigs Transported in a Pot-Belly Truck During Summer and Winter
Transport of pigs involves a large number of potential stressors that could have an effect on meat quality and value of the carcass. Long distances and extreme weather conditions are often present in western Canada transportation. Dual purpose trailers can accommodate pigs or cattle, with...
Effectiveness of Various Methods of Deploying Nanoparticles to Reduce Odour and Gas Emissions from Swine Manure
Unique quantum properties are exhibited in nanoparticles as they have at least one dimension in the 1-100 nanometer scale. Nanoparticles have been of use for environmental pollutant treatment and remediation. They are non-toxic and benign environmentally while flexible in deployment and highly reactive due to...
Evaluating Energy Usage and Various Energy Conservation Strategies for Swine Barns
Substantial energy input is needed in temperate regions for swine production. As energy prices increase, so do the costs, with the third largest variable for swine production being utilities. Energy conservation measures were examined by looking at current energy usage in order to improve the...