Interaction Between Pig Density and Dietary Energy

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 29, 2015 | No Comments

Dietary net energy and stocking density independently affect performance, feed utilization and profits in the finisher barn. The objective of this experiment was to assess the interactions of stocking density and dietary energy, and determine how these interactions affect net income. When stocking density was increased, the performance of finishing pigs was reduced; however the income over feed cost (IOFC) was maximized when pigs were stocked at higher densities.  Furthermore, finishing pigs responded to increasing dietary energy by decreasing feed intake and improving growth rate, feed efficiency, caloric intake, caloric efficiency, and IOFC. However, the dietary energy which maximized performance and economics did not vary with stocking density. Thus producers should optimize both of these factors separately when determining optimal production.

View pdf

Water Availability and Crowding

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre by admin on January 5, 2015 | No Comments

Space allowance, or stocking density, is expressed in terms of pigs per floor area. Space allowance requirements are based on the body weight of the pig, which is proportional to surface area of the pig. The optimal space allowance is the minimum area per pig for maximal individual weight gain. Many experiments have arrived at the same conclusion: “a decrease in space allowance per pig reduces growth performance” because reduced floor-space allowance increases competition for water and feed, reducing feed intake and consequently body weight gain.  However, from an economic perspective it is clear that fewer pigs per pen means less kilograms of pork will be produced per pen, despite the improvement in individual weight gain.  Under conventional management in the grower-finisher period, pigs remain in the same pen for several weeks until they reach market weight. The maximum space requirement has to be calculated based on the day that the first pig is sent to market. Considering a target market weight of 125 kg, the first pigs would be typically sent to market when the average weight of pigs in the pen is around 105 to 110 kg.  According to the Canadian Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs (2014) the minimum space allowance per pig under these circumstances will be 0.75 to 0.77 m2 or 8.04 to 8.29 ft 2. According to the same publication, a decrease of up to 15% is allowed in the grower-finisher period if the higher

Effects of Water Availability

Impact of Various Parity Groupings on Welfare and Productivity in ESF Housing

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

Electronic sow feeders (ESF) provide an automated system for controlling the individual feed intake of group-housed sows. However, this system can prompt increased aggression, especially in the initial period following mixing, as sows compete for access to the ESF. The primary objective of this research was to compare different methods for grouping sows and their effects on feeding behaviour, sow injury and production. Sows were housed in groups of mixed parity (control), or uniform groups of low (parities 1-2), medium (parities 3-4), and high parity (≥ parity 5). Of specific interest was whether low parity sows experience less aggression and injury during gestation when managed in uniform groups than in mixed groups, and what effects these treatments may have on production measures.  Preliminary results indicate there are some benefits to housing sows in uniform groups, especially for younger sows. Sows in uniform groups had reduced lameness, and younger sows were able to increase backfat over gestation, as opposed to losing it. Younger sows in mixed groups lost backfat, suggesting feeder competition was more of a challenge for these sows in the mixed parity group. No production differences were found among the different grouping methods. Managing gilts as a separate group is already a common practice, and the results from this study suggest that parity 1 and 2 sows can also benefit from this practice. Maintaining uniform groups also reduced mixing injuries, in uniform medium and high parity groups with injuries sustained following mixing being equal to or lower than in mixed parity groups. However, the low parity uniform group had higher injury scores.  Greater injuries in younger sows is more likely related to the social ability of these animals, and management of gilts to improve sociability is a further management consideration that could be implemented.

PEDv Manure Sampling Protocol

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Press Releases by admin on | No Comments

PEDv can affect all pigs and is often fatal to newborn pigs. However, it does not affect any other species, including humans, and is not a food safety issue. 

Manitoba Pork has initiated a PEDv Manure Sampling project in 2014.

To participate in the project, producers can contact project coordinator, Darlene Meakin, at 204-897-0622 or dmeakin@manitobapork.com.

The following video produced by Manitoba Pork will take you through proper manure sampling procedure in testing for PEDv.

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.

Whey

Dietary ω-6 to ω-3 Ratio Impacts Nursery Pigs More than ω-3 Intake Alone

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

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.

Omega 6 to Omega 3 Ratios

Quantifying the Prevalence of Lameness and Hoof Lesions

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

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.

Lameness and Hoof Lessions

Increasing Creep Feed Intake by Stimulating Exploratory Behaviour using Enrichment

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

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.

Increasing Creep Feed Intake

Field Testing of an Air Filtration System for a Pig Transport Trailer

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

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.

Air Filtration Transport Trailer

Barn Integrity Assessment Checklist

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Press Releases by admin on | No Comments

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.

Barn Integrity Checklist