Welfare is a Science

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Welfare by admin on April 28, 2014 | No Comments

Animal welfare in swine farming is a growing field, and studies are ongoing on topics such as group size and mixing, housing, and equipment use. Behavior and research studies don’t just benefit the animals, it has been shown that the conclusion of the majority of the studies can also contribute to reduced cost of production. A National Chair in Swine Welfare was proposed, and funding is being raised to support further ethology studies.

Sow Lameness, Longevity and Temperament Workshops

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Workshops for lameness, longevity and temperament of sows were held in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. Dr. Laurie Connor presented on the economic and welfare impacts of sow lameness, Dr. John Deen presented a two-scale scoring system and discussed why lameness is often underestimated, and Dr. Sabine Conte and Dr.Nicolas Devillers introduced the force plate as a way to quantify lameness. Dr. Jennifer Brown spoke about different temperament types and housing systems, and Dr. Yolande Seddon discussed hoof trimming for sows.

Economic Costs of PEDv

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PEDv has been a growing concern in the last year, and can have negative effects on reproduction and growth performance. However, there is also a major economic impact in PEDv management and the loss of production. Comparing a best case scenario vs. worst case scenario the best case scenario took 6 weeks to return to baseline productivity, and had 4 weeks of piglet loss. The worse case scenario took 10 weeks to return to baseline productivity, and had 7 weeks of piglet  loss. Pre-weaning mortality also increase to 46% for the best case, and 66% for the worst case scenarios. By also taking into account the impact of PEDv on pre-weaning mortality, farrowing rate, born alive and finisher performance it can be estimated the best case scenario would have a cost of $216 per sow place, but the worst case scenario would have a $338 cost per sow case.

Force Plates Assessment

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Lameness accounts for 25% of the culling reasons for sows, but the current evaluation method is mainly through observation. Therefore, the accuracy of detecting lameness varies greatly. The use of force plates has been used to detect lameness in cattle, and this study tries to determine whether force plates can be used for sows as well. The objectives were i)to develop a scale to measure weight distribution per limb ii)to validate the use of force plates for measuring lameness in sows and iii)to determine the effect of analgesics on weight distribution in lame sows.

Results were calculated by measuring the percent of body weight on each limb, measuring the ratio of weight between left and right limbs, and recording the frequency and amplitude of weight shifting between left and right limbs. Weight shifting frequency was found to be significantly different between lame and sound sows in front legs (score 0:22.5 ± 1.64, score 1: 24.77 ± 1.86, score 2: 33.3 ± 1.94, P<0.001), and hind legs (score 0: 20.4 ±1.80, score 1: 21.89 ± 2.04, score 2: 31.3 ± 2.13, P<0.001). The lameness score was measured by observing gait: 0 being normal strides, and 4 being no movement due to lameness. The ratio of body weight distributed between rear legs was also significant with a decreased ratio with increasing lameness score (score 0: 0.72 [0.67-0.76], score 1: 0.71 [0.66-0.75], score 2: 0.62 [0.57-0.68], P<0.05).

Overall, it was found that there was more variation in weight distribution, and increased weight shifting in the lame sows. While force plates seem to be able to detect lameness the precision and thresholds need to be studied further. As well, the force plates cannot detect gait disorders, so it is recommended to still use visual observations.

On-Farm Experience with Swine Liquid Feeding: Grow-Finish Pigs

Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on April 5, 2014 | No Comments

Van Ryswyck farm installed a liquid feeding system and evaluated their experience with the systems. There were initial problems when starting with high moisture corn as it was processed in a way that was unsuitable for the system, and also later when adding condensed whey permeate which increased backfat too much. After modifying the feed supply and the mixing and feeding program, both ingredients were used without further problems in the system or carcass characteristics. The system is susceptible to power surges and acid damage from whey, but labour is reduced, feed intake is excellent, and performance comparable. As well, the initial system installation is economically feasible, and the system provides a savings in feed expense. Van Ryswyck farm was overall satisfied with the feeding system, although it does take some initial modifications and adjustments.

Feeding the Pigs’ Immune System and Alternatives to Antibiotics

Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on April 3, 2014 | No Comments

Removing antibiotics from pig diets can often result in more health problems and reduced performance, especially immediately post-weaning. Three ways to compensate for the lack of antibiotics are to modify management strategies, nutritional strategies, or use alternative feed additives. One nutritional strategy is to lower the crude protein in the diet. Protein increases fermentation, and presents a substrate for pathogen growth. Protein also requires more energy to digest, and fermentation can produce compounds that can damage the intestinal walls. Post-weaning diets can be lowered to 18% protein and maintain performance with supplemented amino acids. Protein can be lowered further, but performance may be less, although this could be worthwhile if performance was predicted to be lowered by diarrhea anyways. Feeding cooked white rice and animal protein rather than higher fibre grains can also reduce diarrhea post-weaning. Rice is mainly digested in the small intestine, so pathogens in the large intestine receive less nourishment. However, contradictory studies have shown barley and oats to reduce post-weaning diarrhea, even though they result in hindgut fermentation. Restricted feeding is another option, as is adding functional proteins like spray dried plasma. Spray dried plasma is thought to improve performance by providing immunoglobulins, so other sources of immunoglobulins including protein whey from dairy milk and egg proteins should work as well. A final nutritional strategy is to liquid feed, and fermentation of the liquid diet before feeding will further reduce intestinal irritation.

One of the dietary additives that can reduce post-weaning diarrhea is an acidifier. Organic acids, possibly some inorganic acids, and acid salts have been added to diets with varying positive results. Probiotics are live bacteria cultures that are intended to colonize the intestinal tract, and positive performance results have been seen post-weaning with the inclusion of lactic acid and yeast cultures. Prebiotics, like non-digestible oligosaccharides, promote beneficial bacteria growth in the intestines, and certain essential oils have antimicrobial properties that may be useful against pathogens. Finally, the addition of minerals including selenium, copper sulfate, zinc oxide, chromium, and reducing limestone and inorganic phosphate can all have a positive impact on intestinal health and growth performance. By using a combination of nutritional strategies and dietary additives, post-weaning growth performance and intestinal health can be maintained without the use of antibiotics.

Improving Feed Efficiency

Posted in: Nutrition, Pork Insight Articles by admin on March 27, 2014 | No Comments

Improving feed efficiency does not necessarily mean reducing costs, but more likely involves getting pigs to market weight faster and gaining barn space. Various additives can be used to improve feed efficiency, with the most effective being antibiotic growth promoters followed by organic acids. Feed form can improve efficiency if feed is pelleted or if particle size is reduced, although too fine may increase ulcers. Increasing nutrient density will improve feed efficiency, and this can be done by feeding more energy or by the addition of enzymes.  Amino acid supplementation can be used create an ideal balance without wasting energy. Many co-products offer a decrease in feed costs, but they may also be able to maintain feed efficiency. When formulating diets with co-products, producers should strive to also maintain the feed efficiency.

Profitability Indicators

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Profitability indicators can be used to monitor production, financial, or business relationship performance. The Ontario Data Analysis Project (ODAP) is an ongoing benchmarking project. It compares financial and production performance, and often uses the top 50% of producers as a comparison point. Although the ODAP is a large-scale project, benchmarking can be done on a smaller scale using only a few producers and several variables. When starting with benchmarking, consistency and simplicity are important.

Spotting Problems Early

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All-in all-out management allows for better sanitation and age separation, which reduces pathogen spread and allows for easier data collection for benchmarking. By using online databases, data from different producers and areas can be evaluated, which allows for a more comprehensive view of the data. One of the useful variables to measure is water consumption, as it can be measured automatically and a sudden change can indicate a problem. Noise monitoring can also be measured to detect diseases like influenza. Electronic collection, storage, and analysis of data like these can be used to develop precision agriculture.

Water Sprinkling Market Pigs in a Stationary Trailer Pre- and Post-Transport: Effects on Pig Behaviour, Gastrointestinal Tract Temperature and Trailer Micro-Climate

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Pigs are susceptible to heat stress, so transporting in extreme conditions can lead to increased incidences and increased mortality. Water sprinkling is used in barns to reduce body temperature, and it could potentially work within a trailer as well. This study examined the effect of water sprinkling on behaviour, internal temperature, physiological changes, and meat quality. The microclimate of the trailer was also recorded. The results show sprinklers reduced the temperature increase and humidity decrease in the trailer, and had no effect on ammonia levels. During lairage, pigs with sprinklers had fewer drinking bouts and spent more time lying. All pigs experienced an increase in gastrointestinal temperature, but it appears to be more related to exercise than external temperature. However, pigs with sprinklers had a greater reduction in internal temperature at arrival. Overall, sprinkling gave some improvement in body temperature, and results could possibly be more significant with the use of active ventilation as well.