Panel Presentation: Managing the Nursery Environment

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Quadra runs a new 7-week nursery program. Four different feeds are fed to the nursery pig over the course of the 7 weeks. Two are fed in the first week by hand. Over the next 6 weeks, two separate chain disk or cable drive systems provide automated feed delivery. The feeders are Crystal Springs stainless steel dry feeders. The flooring is totally slatted plastic flooring with PVC plank penning. Water is supplied to the pigs through stainless steel nipple drinkers and adjustable drops. Ventilation is designed as a negative pressure system. The inlets are installed on the bottom of ducts that lead from a pre-heat plenum. For summer time ventilation, flaps on the top of the duct are opened to allow air directly into the duct and increase the make-up air supply capacity. Heating is primarily provided through gas-fired unit heaters or radiant tube heaters. Two facilities use Hydronic heating systems. One is fired with a coal boiler. All walls are at least 2 feet above finished floor height on a concrete grade beam. All ceilings are 10’ high. Typically the ceiling is painted plywood with either PVC planking as walls or fiberglass covered plywood.

Design of a manure handling system for air quality laboratory in a swine barn

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Two manure-handling systems are currently being tested to determine which system best eliminates all manure contamination from the air in a air quality laboratory. The two systems include a washing gutter and an inclined, washed conveyor belt. Both systems can be adjusted to run at various frequencies and are currently being tested to find out how often they need to run to eliminate contamination from the manure.

Maximizing Growth Rate – Weaning to Market

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Throughput is important for maximized production. Faster growth rates do not hinder the quality of the pork produced. The relationship between growth rate, feed intake, and feed conversion contributes to the overall growth rate. Pigs gain muscle mass with increased protein in the diet as long as sufficient energy is available. It has been estimated that only about one-third of the protein consumed in the diet will be retained in the body as protein. Minerals, protein, and energy are all needed for growth. Excess protein will be used for energy, and excess energy will be deposited as fat. Genetics have allowed for different options when purchasing breeding stock. Current genetic improvements have resulted in an increase in the lean growth rate of up to 3% per year. As the lean content of the pig increases, feed efficiency improves. In order to support this increased growth, the supply of nutrients must also increase, through either increased feed intake or the use of more nutrient dense diets. Environmentally, pigs need to be in their thermal comfort zone to maximize feed intake without hindering growth rate. Heat emission from basic pig metabolism should be taken into account so that pigs do not get too hot in warm temperatures. The environment should successfully balance the heat loss with the heat production of the pigs. Newly weaned pigs should be in a room with a slightly higher temperature to make up for pigs that are not eating and losing heat. Typically, lower average daily gains and higher feed intake occurs among pigs in a cold environment. As a thumb rule, one can estimate that for every degree C below the thermal comfort zone, growth rate will decline by 10 to 22 g/d. While crowding is known to reduce growth rate and feed intake, increasing the density of the diet to achieve equivalent daily nutrient intake is not successful in returning the performance of crowded pigs to that achieved by non-crowded pigs. A healthy animal is important because the immune system requires energy to operate. Diet composition must be adequate (not too dense yet not too thin). Particle size is important for maximizing feed intake and efficiency, and research is still going on to determine the optimal particle size.

Effect of social group size on aggressive behaviour of grower-finisher pigs in fully slatted-floor rearing system

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The impact of large group size on social behaviour of pigs is poorly understood. A study was conducted to assess the social aggression of grower-finisher pigs in large groups. Pigs with large social group experience displayed behaviour compared to those living in small social groups.

Group Housing: Alternative Systems, Alternative Management

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The type of group housing for sows should be selected based on the overall target of the herd. Three options exist for feed control: average feed intake for all sows, equal intake for all individuals, and different amounts to different animals. Floor feeding, the most basic form of group housing, has issues with aggression and can only really see an appropriate average intake. These problems can be reduced (but not eliminated) by increasing space allowance and putting skinny sows into separate groups. A trickle system can provide a relatively even distribution of feed. Sows enter small individual stalls while feed is trickled down at an appropriate rate. Individual confinement is the only way to control individual feed intake. This is possible with stalls that lock the sow in and electronically controlled gates to allow different groups access to the feeding stalls at different times of the day. Electronic sow feeders are an alternative that electronically monitors how much a sow eats in a feeding area. This amount is reset daily, which allows for a daily allotment of feed for each sow. Social management of sows considers frequency of regrouping, sorting, and group size. A static group of sows are grouped once and only once during gestation while a dynamic group adds new animals on several occasions. Dynamic grouping could be detrimental to the sows welfare and productivity. One of the main benefits of group housing is the ability of the sow to manage its own comfort. Fairly rapid estrus detection can be achieved by bringing a boar to a pen adjacent to the group for a short period each day. If several animals need breeding they can be penned in stalls for a short time. Research done at the Prairie Swine Centre show that there was only a 2% difference in productivity between a static group, dynamic group, and conventional gestation stalls.

The effect of starter feeding regimen on variability in bodyweight and performance in the nursery

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Variability in growth and performance is a concern to pork producers due to the associated negative impact on revenues and expenditures. This experiment was designed to determine the effect of starter program on the variability in animal weights at nursery exit. Treatments consisted of 4 starter programs, formulated and fed according to manufacturers’ specifications from weaning (d 0) to nursery exit (d 50). Overall ADG was similar between programs, however, the ADFI differed thus, feed efficiency was affected by the program used. Variability in pig growth, determined as the coefficient of variation, was not affected by starter program. This was true regardless of the starting weight of the group of pigs. Therefore, although performance may be affected slightly by the use of a specific starter program, the change in performance is uniform across a group; and the variability in body weight at nursery exit will not be affected.

Sorting Pigs: Why We Do It, and Why We Shouldn’t

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In swine management we have the opportunity to determine the social groupings of our animals. We determine which pigs are in the same pen, and which pigs are not. This process will be referred to as sorting. With increasing farm size, more pigs may be selected from in order to form a group, allowing the implementation of very effective sorting strategies. Within the industry there is a general consensus that sorting is important in order to achieve maximum productivity. However, in a more intensive production system there are many situations where a sorting strategy may not apply. Historical systems in which pigs were limit fed on the floor were subject to dominance related problems. Sorting by weight is a means of reducing dominance related variation in production. This practice will be effective if resources (such as feed) are limited and easily defendable. Such conditions exist in groups of gestating sows if they are not individually fed. Grower-finisher pigs are generally fed ad libitum and do not benefit from sorting by weight. Restricted space allowances do not lend themselves to defence, and so all pigs experience a reduction in growth within crowded pens. Sorting on the basis of nutritional needs can be effective, and leads to sorting grower-finisher pigs by sex, and newly-weaned pigs by size in order to provide the best diets to each group.

Soluble and insoluble non-starch polysaccharides on digesta passage rate and voluntary feed intake of grower pigs

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The effects of purified non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) fractions (soluble, guar gum (SOL) and insoluble, cellulose (INSOL)) NSP fractions on digesta passage rate, retention time and voluntary feed intake was studied in grower pigs. Compared to control, adding SOL + INSOL increased digesta viscosity, slowed digesta flow rate and increased retention time in the total tract. Voluntary feed intake and daily weight gain reduced with SOL + INSOL NSP, compared to pigs fed the control diet. Reduction in voluntary feed intake associated with feeding high fibrous diet in pigs may be a direct effect of the fibre fractions slowing the flow rate of digesta through the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, reducing the negative effects of soluble and insoluble NSP may enhance feed intake and improve grower pig performance.

Soluble and insoluble non-starch polysaccharides on nutrient digestibility and ileal bacteria populations in grower pigs

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Soluble (SOL) and insoluble (INSOL) NSP may influence gut bacteria populations, reflecting changes in fermentable material in the gut. Effects of purified (SOL, guar gum; INSOL, cellulose) NSP fractions on ileal bacteria populations and energy digestibility were studied. Pigs surgically fitted with an ileal T-cannula were fed four experimental diets (14% cornstarch basal [control]; 7% SOL +7% INSOL NSP [SOL + INSOL]). Diets were fed for 13 d, ileal digesta was collected under CO2, and bacteria were cultured on selective bacteria counts except for Bifidobacteria. Compared to control, addition of soluble and insoluble NSP reduced energy digestibility from 73 to 39% in the ileum, but only marginally across the total tract. Increasing dietary purified soluble and insoluble NSP reduces nutrient digestibility and subsequently, increases the amount of fermentable dry matter in the small intestine, thereby providing further substrate fro ileal bacteria proliferation in grower pigs.

Practical Aspects of On-Farm A.I.

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During the last decade, the use of Artificial Insemination (AI) has become common as producers wish to realize the benefits of AI within their herds. Among others, these benefits include the use of genetically superior boars, a reduction in disease transmission and lowered boar housing costs.

Careful attention to detail is required to successfully use AI in a production system. A successful AI program depends on effective heat detection, proper hygiene, correct handling and storage of insemination doses, and proper insemination technique.

Listed below are a few areas that can be trouble spots for a swine AI program and should be monitored closely.