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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:
Mucosal Bacteria Associated with Periods of Reduced and Compensatory Growth in Pigs
Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Production by admin on January 29, 2014 | No Comments
Reduced diet quality or the removal of antibiotics in starter diets has no overall effect on growth performance to market, but it may affect the ileal bacterial profile. Nursery pigs were fed either a high or low quality protein source, and with or without chlorotetracycline. Bacterial profiles were more affected by the week of nursery than by diet. Pigs fed the low quality diet had an increase in Clostridium paraputrificum between nursery week 2 and 8, and Clostridium leptum decreased. The proportion of Sarcina genus bacteria declined in low quality diets, but increased in high quality diets. Overall, this suggests an increase in beneficial bacteria and decrease in potentially pathogenic bacteria in pigs fed low quality diets, which may help to explain the compensatory growth these pigs experience post-nursery.
An Investigation into the Effects of Zinc Oxide in Pig Starter Rations on the Persistence of Antibiotic Resistance
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Zinc oxide can inhibit E. coli, and is an alternative solution to antibiotics for preventing post-weaning diarrhea. Some bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), have ZnO resistance and are also carrying the genes for multidrug resistance. Therefore, feeding high levels of ZnO in starter diets could actually be putting pressure on selection for antibiotic resistance in bacteria. A herd colonized by MRSA was used, and at weaning pigs were fed a diet with either 100 or 3,000 ppm of ZnO. Neither group experienced diarrhea during the trial, but the 3,000 ppm group had a significantly higher level of MRSA. This suggest selection for drug resistance in MRSA could be caused by high levels of ZnO.
Spatial Trend for PRRS in Swine Herds in a Control Area
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Spatial distribution of PRRSv was recorded in Watford, Ontario and demographic, biosecurity, and geographical information was collected as well. A clear cluster of positive PRRSv facilities was found, which can be used to develop disease surveillance and strategies for regional elimination.
Development and Field Trial of Producer Driven PRRS Area Regional Control and Elimination Projects (PRRS ARC&E)
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The PRRS Area Regional Control and Elimination (ARC&E) project will help to manage the most economically expensive endemic pork disease in Ontario. As well, it can be a model for other disease elimination programs, brings transparency and cooperation into importance for disease control, and create solutions that are not available when looking at an isolated farm. Completed developments in the project include confidentiality agreements, data collection, sampling protocol, and communication systems. Areas have been identified, and meetings held to set goals. This has been a producer driven project, and shows the willingness of producers to cooperate towards the common elimination goal.
National Swine Traceability Program
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Traceability of pigs can help traceback and traceforward in the event of a disease outbreak, and minimize the economic, social, and environmental impact. The Canadian Pork Council developed the system PigTrace, which was built on the identification of farms, the identification of animals, and tracking of animal movement. So far producers have registered into the system , been assigned unique tattoos, and been given breeding tags when animals are exhibited. As of July 1, 2014 PigTrace will become mandatory in Canada to further increase traceability.
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Update
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One of the greatest risk of PEDv transmission is the use of contaminated trailers from the USA. 11.4% of trucks were found to become contaminated when unloading at a US slaughter house. To prevent the spread of PEDv it is important to wash and disinfect trailers between use, and it is recommended that transporters have dedicated wear when working in the US. Sow culling assembly yards are another risk for spread of PEDv. Biosecurity visits and load/unload protocols can reduce the risk of contamination in the yards, as well as at other facilities.
Identification of Anorexic Piglets During the First Week After Weaning
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Weaning is a stressful period for pigs, and even with optimal conditions some pigs still seem to fail to eat adequately. By understanding the reason behind this behaviour it could be corrected and nursery performance improved. In this study, fasted pigs were observed to have behavioural changes that did not occur in fed pigs. As well, ketone BHBA levels were raised. Once reintroduced to feed, BHBA levels returned to normal. Body condition scoring was ineffective at distinguishing between fasted and eating pigs, but BHBA levels could potentially be used in the future.
Entire Males for Commercial Pork Production
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Entire males are of increasing interest due to their increased feed efficiency, and the negative public opinion on surgical castration. Entire males have an increased feed efficiency and carcass lean yield compared to barrows, although their growth rate is slightly less. Entire males are currently not allowed in pork production due to boar taint, but immunocastration by the product ImprovestTM may allow similar feed efficiency to be achieved. After the second dose of ImprovestTM, fat deposition and feed intake increase, and carcass lean yield is lower than in entire males (but still higher than barrows). Other methods to control boar taint could be through selection, if the genes responsible for it can be identified. As well, controlling protein and fibre could control the level of androstenone and skatole – which are responsible for boar taint. The use of entire males could provide improved feed efficiency, but changes in pig management and feeding regimes would be required beforehand.
Benchmarking Ontario Swine Farms
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Knowing the benchmark for similar farms can allow producers to compare their facilities and set realistic goals for the future. Data from the Ontario Data Analysis Project and Ontario Farm Income Database was compiled to show production and financial values for the average and top performing farms.
Genetic Resistance to Disease
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Genetic markers for disease resistance are difficult to determine due to the complex relationship between environment, host, and pathogen. One theory is that disease susceptible animals have genetic defects in proteins involved in resistance – either in the amino acid sequence, or promoter and regulatory sections. One part of the research in this area identified SNPs on collagenous lectins, and in diseased pigs SNPs for low production/expression were found. A larger scope project looked at over 20,000 genes in the liver, and created a gene expression ratio between the highest and lowest expression groups. Gene variants were identified, and differences between healthy and diseased pigs examined. Identifying the genes responsible for the immune response would allow selection of naturally disease resistant pigs for future breeding.