Introduction: Tail lesions are outcomes of tail biting behaviour and reflective of impaired welfare in pigs. It is possible that tail biting is associated with other behavioural problems such as ear- or flank biting. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential of carcass tail lesions to reflect other behavioural problems on farms and thereby act as an ‘iceberg indicator’ for pig welfare. Materials and Methods: Welfare...
Introduction: In Germany farmers are legally obligated to monitor animal welfare indicators, and based on that, improve their conditions. Besides the difficulties in defining indicators, the comparable assessment is another challenge. Therefore in the poultry industry, camera systems have been installed in slaughterhouses to evaluate the foot pad condition with a software. The results are open to farmers as feedback and partly to veterinary departments. Such a system has...
Brett Ramirez (Iowa State University) comments on his experience implementing a ventilation system, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Brett Ramirez (Iowa State University) highlights the importance of ventilation maintenance and information, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Brett Ramirez (Iowa State University) explains different aspects of ventilation and its costs, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Alex Alonso Wang (Big Herdsman) shows their poultry and swine equipment, explaining the features and benefits of the layer cage and the sow pen, during the Avicola Porcinos Expo 2023 in Buenos Aires, Argentina....
Safglucan® – Mitigating the negative impact of Lawsonia intracellularis on pig performance and intestinal wellbeing. Phileo by Lesaffre has shown that feeding its yeast (1.3)(1.6) beta-glucan, Safglucan®, can help pigs cope better with the negative effect of enteric disorders caused by Lawsonia intracellularis. This is a new (patent pending) application for Safglucan® to help the pork industry achieve profitable production while also reducing antimicrobial...
Dan Grum (Purina Animal Nutrition) Tail docking of pigs is banned in many countries based on animal welfare concerns. An unintended consequence of the ban can result in the loss of tail integrity from bacterial pathogens causing inflammation, lesions, and necrosis which impacts pig welfare and results in significant monetary losses. Tail docking is used in many countries as a preventive measure; however, in these countries, an intact tail is a...
Dan Grum (Purina Animal Nutrition) talks about tail docking in pigs, and presents studies on the microbial community of inflamed and necrotic tails, as well as the possible use of direct-fed microbials for this issue, during the 11th Symposium on Gut Health in Production of Food Animals in St. Louis, USA....
The United States Department of Agriculture reported that sow mortality ranges from 2.5% to 3.7% each year, depending on herd size 1 . It also was stated that annual mortality rates of sows in typical confined-sow herds should not exceed 3% 2 . In contrast, some sow herds experience annual losses of at least 10% of inventoried females 3-6 . The reasons for sow mortality are poorly understood; however, larger herd size, greater parity, and short lactation length...
In this Engormix interview, Todd Thurman (Swine Insights International) comments on the need for accurate and timely information to make important decisions, such as culling, and how artificial intelligence can help....
Introduction: The use of fine ground diets improve technical performance parameters like average daily weight gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). However, the use of fine ground diets is a risk factor for the formation of gastric ulcers in swine, which have a negative effect on animal welfare. The objective of this study is to improve animal welfare by reducing stomach ulcers without negative effects on animal performance parameters like FCR and...
Introduction: A humpy-backed syndrome of pigs has persisted in the British pork industry and causes of the deformity have been difficult to identify (Penny RHC, 1986). The disease presents challenges in regards to handling the carcass (Holl et al , 2008) and is suspected to slow down growth rate (Straw, Bates, & May, 2009). There is no clear evidence of the biological mechanisms by which kyphosis is induced. Through collecting tissue samples from affected and healthy pigs...
Katherine Vande Pol (University of Illinois) shared her insights on piglet birth weight and recent results, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Katherine Vande Pol (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) talks about pre-mortality, decline in body temperature and measures to help, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Steve Pollmann (independent consultant, DSP Consulting) discusses spacing, summer weight loss, castration and feed costs, in this Engormix interview....
Steve Pollmann (independent consultant, DSP Consulting) discusses housing, weaning age, heat stress and sow mortality rates, among other aspects, in this Engormix interview....
Katherine Vande Pol (University of Illinois) talked about her research on spacing alternatives during gestation and how it impacts the feeding system, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
Introduction: PRRSV leads to huge economic losses for the swine industry worldwide. Availability of simple, easy-to-use and accurate collection methods and laboratory tests are crucial for efficient PRRS diagnosis and monitoring. Blood sampling is currently the most frequently used method in the field for these purposes. A welfare friendly collection method, namely oral fluid (OF), has recently gained interest in the field as an alternative technique to blood sample....
Introduction: Slaughter line observations can be included in breeding values of breeding pigs to enhance animal welfare. By monitoring lesions/remarks on joints, lungs, hearts and other parts of the carcasses, clear differences between farms and individual pigs can be demonstrated. Lesions like bursitis, pericarditis and pneumonia indicate lower welfare of the animals. Higher incidences of these lesions are associated with lower average daily gain. These lesions are...