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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Will Hogs Provided with Whey Compensate in Their Feed and Water Intake?
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on December 2, 2014 | No Comments
Minimizing feed cost is always important for improving profits in swine production and can sometimes be accomplished by utilizing by-products from other agricultural industries. Whey, a product of the dairy processing industry, has well-known beneficial properties as a feed additive and is typically fed to newly weaned pigs in dry form. The drying process however, increases the cost. Swine producers in close proximity to dairy processing plants may have access to liquid whey products. Th ere has been very little research conducted to determine how inclusion of liquid whey would affect nutrient intake in nursery pigs, which became the objective of this experiment. Overall, when liquid whey was fed to nursery pigs (via their water supply), they decreased feed intake to voluntarily control for total energy intake. Throughout the trial pigs remained in good health and no adverse effects were seen from feeding the whey. Th is decrease in dry feed intake means lower total feed costs depending on price and availability of the liquid whey.
Dietary ω-6 to ω-3 Ratio Impacts Nursery Pigs More than ω-3 Intake Alone
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Weaning is a stressful time in a piglet’s life. They undergo social, environmental and nutritional stressors at a time when their immune system is not fully developed. Th is can precipitate the ‘post-weaning growth lag’, which is characterized by animals going off feed, reduced or negative growth rates and increased susceptibility to pathogens. These stresses can trigger an inflammatory reaction in some piglets. Although a certain degree of an inflammatory response is beneficial, an over-production of inflammatory cells may become detrimental to the animals, leading to reduced muscle synthesis or even muscle degradation, characteristic of the post-weaning growth lag. Over the years, there has been a high degree of interest in nutritional modulation aimed at helping piglets cope during this time period. Omega 3 fatty acids have many potential health benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties. Previous research however, has shown conflicting data in terms of inflammatory responses and animal performance when ω-3’s are fed. We hypothesize that different concentrations of ω-6 fatty acids in the diet among the different studies may explain some of these contradictions. In fact, it has been suggested that it may be more beneficial to reduce the dietary ω-6 to ω-3 FA ratio when feeding pigs than to simply increase the ω-3 amount, in order to see benefits.
Quantifying the Prevalence of Lameness and Hoof Lesions
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Th e aim of this survey was to collect information on the prevelance of lameness and hoof lesions on genetic nucleus herds, to help provide baseline information on the prevelance of lameness and hoof lesions in Canadian sows. Six genetic herds were visted, located in AB, SK, MB, ON and QC. Results found a wide variation in lameness across the herds, ranging from 8 – 46%. Combining data from all herds (1,139 sows in total), 20% of sows showed signs of lameness. although much of this was mild, with only 5% showing signs of more severe lameness. In all barns surveyed, a high percentage of sows were observed with hoof lesions, with 74 – 97% of animals affected. Heel erosion was the most common hoof lesion observed, being present in > 50% of sows in four barns. These results suggest that leg and hoof health problems exist, and could be added to sow evaluation or selection criteria. The fact that some barns had much lower levels of lameness suggests that some herds may carry beneficial genetic traits that help reduce lameness. The baseline information gathered from this survey presents useful information for industry and researchers alike, and demonstrates that greater emphasis may be needed on sow robustness, especially as group housing for sows becomes more common. Further work to determine characteristics of sows with good leg health and hooves, along with genetic links related to leg and hoof health is of interest, and would help improve the welfare and longevity of sows, and aid in the development of more robust sows for use in group housing.
Increasing Creep Feed Intake by Stimulating Exploratory Behaviour using Enrichment
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Th is project examined whether increasing exploratory behaviour in piglets by providing enrichment in the farrowing pen can stimulate creep intake in piglets. If successful, this concept would be a simple way to reduce stress at weaning and increase growth rates. Four treatments were tested in a 2 x 2 factorial design comparing presentation of creep in a standard feeder (SF) or a large tray feeder (TF), to encourage social interaction around the creep, combined either with enrichment (E) or without enrichment (C). Enrichment consisted of cotton ropes hung in the farrowing pen. Results found that feeder type rather than enrichment increased the frequency of piglet visits to the feeder, with a greater frequency of visits to the TF on days 12 and 26 of age. Litters supplied with the TF also had a greater daily creep disappearance. However, litters supplied with the SF had a greater birth to wean ADG (kg). Aft er weaning, piglets with the SF and enrichment had a significantly greater growth check within the fi rst 24 hours of moving into the nursery, while the ADG of piglets in all other treatments did not diff er. At weaning, groups that received a TF did not show a negative ADG in the fi rst 24 hours post-weaning, while groups with the SF had negative ADG values for this period. There were no treatment differences in ADG values for any other time period. The increased creep disappearance found with the TF suggests piglets were interacting with the creep. However, birth to wean growth rates did not reflect any benefits of increased creep consumption suggesting, that feed wastage may have been greater with the TF. We conclude that providing pigs with a larger feeder that encourages social feeding and rooting had a greater infl uence than rope enrichment at attracting them to creep feed. Effects of the TF on feeding behavior needs to be studied further to understand how exposure to the TF in farrowing prevented weight loss on day 1 post weaning as was found in groups provided the SF.
Field Testing of an Air Filtration System for a Pig Transport Trailer
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Th e spread of airborne transmissible disease such as PRRS continues to be a serious threat to the Canadian swine industry as this disease causes significant economic losses to infected herds. Th is project aimed to develop an additional line of defence against infection of airborne diseases by designing an air filtration system for a swine transport trailer to maintain a pathogen-free environment inside the trailer
during transport. Testing and evaluation of the prototype air filtration system showed that the use of antimicrobial filters (i.e., MERV 16 and
fabric bag filters) can effectively capture bioaerosols in the air and prevent their entry into the animal compartment of the trailer.
Barn Integrity Assessment Checklist
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On the third week of March 2014 pork producers saw something they had never seen before – individual pigs sold for more than $300 each. The fact that this coincided with moderating grain prices meant that margins had never been better in recent memory (last 7 years). Now what? Although there is plenty of debt to soak up these margins, there is a noticeable change in perceptions on the future of the pork industry. A new future could be imagined that included facility and equipment renewal. Over the next 2 years there will be plans and purchase decisions made to address pent up demand by facilities and their managers to address the repair and maintenance concerns of pig barns. Nationally we have an aging ‘fleet’ of barns, with the last big building effort concentrated between 1991 and 1998; these barns have seen more than half their productive life, even with good maintenance. This is complicated by the fact the maintenance and repairs over the past 7 years have been well below the level required to keep the ‘fleet’ in tip top shape. Some barns have passed their ‘best before date’, but for those barns we want to remain operational for the next 20 years we need to consider reinvestment. The challenge, there are many demands and few resources so how do you decide where the first dollar should be spent?
It would be nice to “have an app for that” but the complex considerations of capital vs operational investments, people vs infrastructure, and short-term vs long-term return on investment make analysis of this ‘apples and oranges’ comparison very challenging. We challenged ourselves to consider what kind of a tool might assist in making these decisions logical and a good contributor to profitability. We also saw this challenge of barn reinvestment choices being influenced by personal preference, and rather than money spent being a positive influence on future cash flow and profitability, they could be simply expenditures on ‘my favourite things’.
Here is a checklist approach to making objective barn investment decisions. We considered a simple approach using a combination of perceived risk of not making a change in each area, and the impact of a worst case scenario if catastrophic failure of that overlooked area was to occur. Our suggestion is you take a walk around and through the entire barn; you may want to have someone accompany you since perception of risk and impact is subjective and the exercise could benefit from a second opinion. You will also want to take a few tools with you to poke and prod and assess equipment and structure. This is where the title of this article comes in, “Shining a light…” is a direct reference to your need to have a high intensity flashlight with you to inspect below slats, in attics and behind pillars and equipment. We recommend at least 200 ft candle power (as little as $50) and better yet 800 ft candle lights, an inexpensive investment that will bolster your judgment with greater clarity in important areas such as assessing concrete cracks and rafter strength. The other tools you will need include a ladder tall enough to allow you to get on the roof, a small ladder in the barn for accessing attic hatches, and in the tool belt a screwdriver and knife for scrapping and digging, perhaps a can of fluorescent paint to mark areas for re-inspection in the future.
The following Risk Assessment Checklist looks at four areas of consideration (Biosecurity, Structural, Utilities, Operational), certainly more could have been added but in balancing the need for brevity and ease of use against being all encompassing we opted for a quick tool that will reveal the areas of greatest need and allow you to pursue an action plan or seek professional structural or other engineering and construction advice. A special note regarding safety for people working in barns; the structural and utility sections of the checklist identify safety considerations, for example marked exits, emergency egress exits and fire separation to increase time to exit the building, these may not have been part of the original barn plan but should be considered essential upgrades as we evaluate our barn structures.
A special thanks to Murray Elliot, of FGC Limited (Stratford, Ontario) for his valued input into this project.
To view the full document and assessment check list please click on the following link.
Centred on Swine Volume 20
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on November 25, 2014 | No Comments
Individual articles within Centred on Swine can be found in the PorkInsight database.
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Volume 20 Number 1
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Volume 20 Number 2
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National Sow Housing Conversion Newsletter
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Press Releases by admin on November 20, 2014 | No Comments
“Barn conversions and new builds for group housing represent a huge cost to the pig industry”, says Dr. Brown. “Our goal is to put together the best possible information, in terms of barn layout, sow management, and cost of construction, to help Canadian producers who are considering this investment.” While countries in the EU have banned stall use except during breeding and early pregnancy (embryo implantation) as of January 2013, the new Canadian Code of Practice encourages the use of group housing systems, but does not totally ban their use. The EU deadline resulted in reports of poor implementation in some countries, with last minute renovations resulting in lost production and poorer welfare in sows. By not having a deadline, Canadian producers can properly consider their options, and chose the right time for them depending on market demands and financing.
The project participants include leading researchers in the science of sow management, and will draw from barn design and management concepts developed in European countries over the past 20 years. “Due to poor market conditions, very little barn construction work has been done in North America over the last 10 years”, says project participant and CEO of the Prairie Swine Centre, Lee Whittington. “By documenting top-notch barn conversions here in Canada, we will develop new expertise and can provide builders and producers with the information they need for successful conversion to group housing.”
In addition to funding from AAFC, the project is supported by provincial pork organizations, Alberta Pork, Sask Pork, the Manitoba Pork Board and Ontario Pork. By taking a consistent and science-based approach on this issue, the Canadian pork industry demonstrates a pro-active approach to sow management that will have long-term benefits to sow welfare and production, while strengthening domestic and export markets.
The full version of the newsletter can be found here.
Can Group-Housed Sows be Raised at Lower Temperatures to Reduce Barn Heating Costs?
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In this project, an operant mechanism that will allow sows housed in a group system to control their own environmental temperature was developed. The mechanism was configured with a manual control switch that the sows can access and operate, which in turn activated the supplementary room heating system, as well as a localized radiant heater above the location of the switch as an immediate reward. Testing of a prototype system installed in a controlled-environment chamber with two sows showed that the mechanism functioned satisfactorily to allow the sows to control their environmental temperature. Preparations for subsequent tests in group-housed sow gestation rooms to assess overall heating cost savings, associated sow behavior, and optimal dietary requirements when raised at lower temperatures are underway.
It was hypothesized that sows housed in groups can be maintained at lower environmental temperature because the sows have the opportunity to exhibit thermoregulatory behavior such as huddling when the barn temperature is lowered, thereby saving on energy to heat the barn. As such, the objective of this project was to develop a mechanism that will allow group-housed sows to operate the heating system in their airspace and maintain the environment at their preferred temperature. An operant mechanism comprised of a manual control switch that operated the existing supplementary heating system for the sow room as well as a small radiant heater placed above the area of the switch as an immediate feedback reward was developed. Th e underlying principle for this operant mechanism has been successfully implemented in a study to assess the temperature preference of nursery pigs (Bench and Gonyou 2007).
Are My Pigs Eating?
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on November 3, 2014 | No Comments
Recent trials conducted at the Prairie Swine Centre, Inc. have confirmed the importance of feed intake by the piglet immediately post-weaning
and/or consumption of creep feed in the farrowing room. We have also demonstrated that more than half of the piglets may not consume either creep feed, or the starter diet immediately post-weaning. However, in commercial barns, where producers typically measure feed disappearance, piglets are maintained in groups, which makes it difficult to determine which piglets are actually consuming feed. In order to estimate which piglets consume some of the food offered during a specified time period, we have developed a technique where we incorporate non-toxic, food grade dye into the ration. We then used this technique on commercial farms, to demonstrate to participating swine producers, and swine producers in general, that a proportion of pigs in a pen may not be accessing feed during a 24 to 48 hour period. Producers may adopt and use this method periodically on farm to determine if management changes affect the proportion of piglets accessing the feed.