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Swine management
Pig production is the systematic rearing of pig breeds on scientifically based management principles for economic benefit. The main objectives of pig production are to provide consumers with pig meat and related products and to generate income for farmers.
Pig production plays a significant role in the livestock industry, providing an important source of protein and other valuable products. The systematic approach to pig rearing ensures that the pigs are healthy and well-cared for, which in turn leads to better quality products and higher yields. The focus on scientific principles and efficient management helps to reduce waste and increase profitability for farmers.
A swine producer who masters the art of good management has excellent profit opportunities. This is especially true with disease prevention and control. A healthy herd of good-growing, quality breeding animals — adequately fed and housed — provides maximum profit opportunities for the owner who does not over-spend for facilities and/or feed.
A U.S. based agricultural economist suggests reducing weight variation as pigs grow toward market weight is the most effective way to maximize profitability in the swine barn.
Weight variation among pigs is a natural biological occurrence that begins at birth and multiplies as the pigs grow and can result in discounts when pigs that are either too heavy or too light reach the packing plant.
Dr. Dennis Dipietre, an economist with Columbia, Missouri based Knowledge Ventures,...
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Different aspects of farrowing systems for group-housed sows and their offspring were featured at an international workshop.
Piglet mortality for group-housed sows was no larger than for confined sows. The main risk factors affecting piglet mortality were low body temperature and birth weight. Photo:...
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Superior management of each phase of a swine operation is essential if maximum profits are to be realized. Poor management can result in minimal profits or an actual loss even during periods of high hog prices. For instance, the profit potential a producer might realize from large litters, heavy weaning weights, or large numbers of pigs weaned can be lost through inefficient feed utilization, low rate of gain, or inferior carcass merit in the marketed hogs.
All too often, a pork...
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New results from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University show that there are still many sows with shoulder ulcers.
An investigation of the frequency of shoulder ulcers in sows on Danish farms shows that the problem persists. Photo: DJF
In the spring and summer of 2008...
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Transporting livestock by truck and trailer has been a cornerstone of the meat industry for many years. Fed hogs and cattle must be transferred from the point of finishing to packing plants. Transport of feeders from one site to the finishing location and transport of replacement breeder stock is equally important. In recent years transport of hogs and cattle has received an increasing amount of attention by those directly involved in production, and the general public as well.
A...
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Feed Intake
Empty feeders reduce feed intake. As simple as they seem quite often as many as 10% of the feeders may not be providing proper access to pigs for a variety of reasons including too tight feeder adjustment, bridging problems, in addition to other mechanical issues. While feed intake can be one of the more elusive challenges to monitor, its importance cannot be over stated since feed intake is key to developing diet...
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Research conducted by the University of Manitoba indicates, from an animal welfare perspective, sows housed in groups on straw tend to out perform those housed in conventional slatted floor systems.
Research at the University of Manitoba's National Centre for Livestock and the Environment is comparing sows housed in conventional slated floor facilities to those housed in groups on straw.
The two groups use the same genetics and are managed similarly.
Animal science...
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Proper selection, care, and management of herd sires is an essential part of efficient pork production. For best results, boars should be kept healthy in a moderate flesh condition, maintained on a proper level of nutrition, not mated excessively, and provided with sufficient housing.
Selecting Boars
Several factors need to be considered when buying boars. These include performance testing information, health, and...
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Feeding growing-finishing pigs in a low investment system is usually done in outdoor lots with little or no permanent vegetation. Growing-finishing swine, unlike breeding stock, make poor use of pasture; thus pasture is seldom provided. With proper management, pigs can usually gain as rapidly in outdoor lots as in confinement systems but may require slightly more feed per pound of gain.
The main advantage of the outdoor lot system of finishing hogs is its low initial investment....
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Death losses during transportation in Canada may be low (0.10%), but the total loss amounts to approximately 16,000 pigs per year. In addition, other pigs arrive at the processing plant as 'suspect' animals due to fatigue, and may need to be euthanized at the plant. We know that the rate of loss is higher during the summer months, and it differs with farm of origin, and transporters. It is generally acknowledged that some compartments on trucks are worse than others in terms of death losses,...
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Bioavailability of valine in a fermentation biomass product relative to the bioavailability in crystalline L-valine when fed to weanling pigs
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After all the hard work and financial investment put into your hogs, your success comes down to a clear and readable tattoo. It is this tattoo that ensures you are being paid for each finished hog you have produced and shipped to the packer.
At the 6th Annual Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, Charlie Jamieson, from the Western Hog Exchange, reviewed the processes that will ensure readable tattoos on your hogs.
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Dropping night-time temperatures bring with them the need for reduced ventilation in swine barns, to conserve heat. This becomes a day-long need when winter arrives, and with it a need for increased awareness of the effect that reduced ventilation can have on pollutant burdens for the animals and the stockperson in the barn. Excessive pollutant burdens can affect animal productivity, as well as human health. The substances that contaminate animal houses are the consequences of animal...
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In the present difficult times in the pork industry, a number of pork producers have chosen to reduce sow numbers or to remove sows completely from their production program. Individual business plans vary from operation to operation and may include renovation of sow facilities to house another class of swine; early weaner, regular weaner, or finishing pigs. Some operators have chosen to keep stalls in place and finish feeder pigs to market weight in them. Other producers have chosen to leave...
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A European Commission welfare ruling stipulates that pigs must have "...permanent access to a sufficient quantity of material to enable proper investigation and manipulation activities, such as straw, hay, wood, sawdust, mushroom compost, peat." This ruling became law in the UK in January 2003. British farmers have 90 days to supply toys for pigs or face stiff fines of up to one thousand pounds or three months in jail. Officially, farmers are being instructed to give pigs...
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A piglet experiences pain when it is castrated and anaesthesia only solves part of the problem. Does a male piglet experience pain when the testicles are removed during the castration process? And would any pain be reduced by the provision of, for example, a local anaesthetic? The Danish Animal Welfare Council asked scientists at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Aarhus to find answers to these questions based on available scientific knowledge. The results...
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A feasibility study has been completed to evaluate the potential of concrete swine buildings and manure storage facilities in the Prairie region. Three building concepts combined with four manure storage options have been studied. A building with concrete walls and wood truss roof would increase concrete usage by 25% compared to a conventional wood frame building. Supplemental information should be gathered about the design and cost of swine buildings with concrete walls considering...
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A study was conducted to determine whether the amount of space required by large groups differed from that of small groups, and whether space restriction affected pigs in large groups to the same extent as it does pigs in small groups. Some behavioural variables suggested that pigs in large groups were able to use space more efficiently. However, overall productivity and health variables indicated that pigs in large and small groups were similarly affected by crowding. ...
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To assess current energy consumption patterns in swine operations, a survey followed by energy audits were conducted in different types of swine barns in Saskatchewan. Benchmark information showed high variability in the use of energy even among the same type of barns, indicating wide opportunities to improve energy use practices. The next step would be to use computer simulation to evaluate different energy saving measures and to quantify the reduction in energy costs that can be achieved from...
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Pork producers have a place to turn for advice and information in tough economic times thanks to a joint project of the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) and University of Illinois Extension. "Managing Pig Production in Tough Times" is an online program that covers a number of key decision areas for producers. "Pork producers in the United States now face economic hardships so serious that many will leave the business," said James Pettigrew,...
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As we studied how finisher pigs perform in large groups we have also studied their eating behaviour. Our reasons for this extend beyond our interest in feed intake, to questions we have on how pigs perceive their environment and the impact that could have on our management. For example, when we first started working with larger groups, in this case 80 pigs in a pen, two theories existed for how pigs interacted with this large space. One theory was that to avoid unfamiliar pigs and aggression,...
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