Piglet Health and Welfare in the Nursery

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Welfare by admin on July 23, 2015 | No Comments

Piglets experience intense stress at weaning. The reason is the sudden change in their physical environment, social group and diet. Weaning under typical farm conditions can result in weight loss, aggression, belly nosing and the increased chance of diarrhoea and other diseases, which is connected with the reduction of the productivity.  The problem appears to be largely psychological, as young pigs are not prepared to handle so many changes at once.

Obviously the weaning age in the industry is earlier and more abrupt than natural it is important to prepare piglets for their big step of weaning. This is possible with stimulate the pigs with feed pre-weaning by using tray feeders, providing mash feed and the use of enrichment to encourage exploring. Next to an early start of feeding, all kind of increased social interaction before weaning helps to reduce weaning stress. To emphasize is the use of enrichment, especially for nursery pigs, because it can distract pigs from negative behaviour and increase the exploration activity and the feeding acceptance. The further research also has to look on alternative farrowing pens, flavored feed and use of enrichment to decrease the stress of the weaning process.

How Should the Canadian Industry Approach Swine Welfare?

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Animal welfare is a complex issue which becomes more and more important for the industry and the outside society. It is significant to know that the point of view on the animal welfare aspect distinguish a lot between the food producing industry and the society which is increasingly isolated from farming practice. It`s obvious, though sometimes not fully appreciated by those outside the industry, that good swine health is a prerequisite for good animal welfare. Unfortunately in the society, health and welfare are often considered separately. But good welfare is also not just good health, it is more than that. And this is a point the industry sometimes forget. The theme animal welfare has the ability and did already start debates and conflicts in the society. Those debates and conflicts can only resolved by objective scientific data, plausible to all, on how the animal itself perceives its welfare and the strength and importance of its different welfare needs. This should be the basic for an objective discussion between the different stakeholders about new animal welfare rules in the industry. A Canadian Industry Chair in Swine Welfare, based in respected academic institution, would allow the required scientific research programs to be developed through national collaboration, and offer an independent forum to facilitate debate and consensus.

The Science of Ethology

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Welfare by admin on September 22, 2014 | No Comments

The Science of Ethology provides a comprehensive overview of sow group housing options with a focus on the science-based reasoning behind sow behaviour in the various situations. The feeding system options and grouping strategies are discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages explained for each system.

National Chair in Swine Welfare

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Press Releases, Welfare by admin on July 3, 2014 | No Comments

Industry awareness and support continue to build for the NSERC Industrial Chair in Swine Welfare as the candidate to lead the program, Dr. Sandra Edwards, meets with industry groups across Canada. Dr. Edwards was the keynote speaker at the first Tim Hortons Sustainable Food Management Summit hosted at the University of Guelph (October, 2013). The one-day event showcased current research in animal welfare and sustainability of the food supply chain for retailers and food service industry representatives.  Dr. Edwards, a professor and Chair of Agriculture at Newcastle University, UK, has become a familiar face to Canada’s pork value chain in the development of the first National Chair in Swine Welfare.

“There is a huge need for research on methods to improve the welfare of pigs.  I strongly urge all sectors of the Canadian pork industry and major retailers to support funding the Chair in Swine Welfare”

Temple Grandin, Professor Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University

Resources:

National Chair in Swine Welfare Update Volume 1 No. 2

National Chair in Swine Welfare Update Volume 1 No. 2 (French Version)

National Chair in Swine Welfare Update Volume 1 No. 1

National Chair in Swine Welfare Update Volume 1 No. 1 (French Version)

Groups or stalls: Prairie Swine Centre weighs in

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Prairie Swine Centre, Welfare by admin on May 9, 2014 | No Comments

“Gestation stalls” — arguably no two words have become a greater lightning rod for controversy and passionate debate from many sides around the issue of animal welfare in livestock production. But no matter the viewpoint one element that can be consistently relied upon to cut through the emotion and support informed and productive discussion is the science.
The Prairie Swine Centre is among the latest to add valuable scientific perspective to the conversation, with the release of a scientific review of the “group or stalls” question led by researchers Dr. Jennifer Brown and Dr. Yolande Seddon.

Zephyr Piglet Gun

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

The Zephyr-E was developed to improve the blunt trauma method of euthanasia for piglets. It improves consistency and is cost effective, but staff using a CO₂ system should be informed on what to expect before changing euthanasia methods.

Welfare is a Science

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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.

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.

Investigation of the use of meloxicam for reducing pain associated with castration and tail docking and improving performance in piglets

Posted in: Pork Insight Articles, Welfare by admin on March 12, 2014 | No Comments

Animal welfare concerns and public opinion are bringing focus onto the pain involved in piglet processing procedures, and the possibility of using analgesics for pain management. Pain control has not been widely used by producers because of the economic and practicality problems in administering one. This study looked at the effect of meloxicam (a NSAID) on growth, mortality, and pain control. 30 minutes before tail docking and castration (in males) 0.4mg/kg of meloxicam was given to half of the piglets, and a placebo given to the other half. Pain was measured by recording vocalization, observing behaviour in a sample litter for 30 minutes after processing, and recording cortisol levels at 30, 60, 90 minutes, and 4 hours post-processing. Growth was measured by weighing at processing, and again at weaning. Mortalities, litter size, and sow parity were also recorded. There was no significant difference in maximum vocalization amplitude between meloxicam or placebo groups during processing. From behavioural observations, the only significant difference was a decrease in isolation behaviour in the meloxicam group. Other pain related behaviours differed between treatment and sex. Baseline cortisol levels varied, did not have a normal distribution, and were higher in males. Cortisol levels increased during processing, and decreased by 49.4 nmol/L (P=0.06) after 60 to 90 minutes post-processing. The meloxicam treated group had lower cortisol levels by 49.4 nmol/L (P<0.001) after controlling for time and gender.Meloxicam did not have a statistically significant affect on the overall growth or mortality; although, it was found that litters of sows with parities greater than 5 did have reduced mortality. Overall, meloxicam had no effect on growth rate, mortality rate, or pain control during processing procedures when measured by vocalization. It did, however, provide pain control following processing when measured by cortisol levels and behavioral observations.