Farrowing and Savaging in Wild Boar Sows
Behaviours such as savaging have sometimes been attributed to the domestication process. In order to decrease loss of piglets due to aggression, savaging behaviours should be further understood. Farmed wild boar sows of three genetic lines were videotaped during farrowing. Sows were aggressive towards 33%...
Effect of Increasing Group Size on Grower-Finisher Pigs
Housing grower-finisher pigs in larger pens while increasing group size has been increasingly of interest. Group sizes of 10, 20, 40 and 80 per pen were observed in the aspects of health and production. Group size does not significantly differ the health and production of...
Motivated for Movement – What is the cost of sow exercise?
Preliminary sow performance measures suggest exercising stall-housed gestating sows for 10 minutes, once per week has minimal effects on the productivity of younger sows, but may have a positive effect on older parity sows - increasing the number of live born and reducing stillborns. With...
by
Ken Engele
Water Intake and Wastage from Nipple Drinkers
Among nutrients, water is required in the greatest amount but has received the least attention. Water intake of grower/finisher pigs has been reported to range from 1.9 to 6.8 l/d, depending on body weight and feed intake. However, most ‘water intake’ reported in the literature is water disappearance from drinkers,...
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Ken Engele
Effects of Enrichment Objects on Piglet Growth and Behaviour
The purpose of this study was to perform an initial evaluation of pigs’ preferences for several enrichment objects and examine their effects on piglet growth and welfare during the nursery period. Thirty litters were selected at farrowing and assigned to three treatments: enrichment provided post-weaning (EN), enrichment provided both pre- and post-weaning...
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Ken Engele
Practical Alternatives for Managing Castration Pain in Piglets
The objective of this project was to evaluate drugs and administration procedures to help identify effective and practical pain control strategies for piglets at castration across three different studies. Results indicate the analgesic, ketoprofen, has a positive effect on reducing pain following castration when given 30 minutes to 1 h before...
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Ken Engele
Group Sow Housing
The National Sow Housing Conversion Project (NSHCP) was a Canada-wide project with the purpose of providing group sow housing information to swine producers and industry partners. For more information please click on the image below. ...
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Ken Engele
Practical Environmental Enrichment Strategies for Piglets
Pigs are intelligent and curious from birth, and the lactation and nursery periods are critical for their mental and physical development. Despite this, research on suitable enrichments for piglets is lacking. Research that has been done found that piglets given enrichment had increased play and exploratory behaviours...
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Ken Engele
Temperatures Within a Truck Transporting Pigs During Winter and Summer Months in Western Canada
Transportation, which is an unfamiliar to the pig - is one of the most critical periods in pig handling before slaughter. It possibly involves economic losses due to deaths, ‘suspect’ animals on arrival at the processing plant, and reduced meat quality. Losses are reported to be higher in...
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Ken Engele
Impact of Prod Use on Highly Stressed Pigs
Pigs were subjected to three different handling treatments as we moved them through a 300m handling course. Despite traveling the same distance as the others, pigs moved at a moderate pace with only a board, quiet voice and gentle slaps, were essentially unstressed by the procedure. Pigs handled aggressively,...
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Ken Engele