Effects of Transport Conditions and Vehicle Design on the Welfare and Meat Quality of Pigs in Western and Eastern Canada
Transport conditions can have an impact on the economics of pork production and on animal welfare. Swine transportation in Canada is highly variable in the aspects of seasonal changes, distance of transport and types of vehicles used. Differences in truck compartments, truck types and seasons...
Free Space Utilization of Sows in Free Access Stalls
Group housing systems can produce more active and social sows, leading to a healthier pigs. It will increase muscle strength and decrease lameness with stronger bones from the ability to move around. An example of a group housing system is free access stalls. The degree...
The Interaction of Group Size and Alley Width on the Movement of Near Market Pigs
The ease and speed of moving near-market pigs is of interest. Packing plants and farms move pigs in different group sizes due to facility design differences. Group size and alley width may affect how easy it is to handle pigs. Results indicate that the ideal...
Comparison of Performance of Radiant and Forced-Convection Heaters in Swine Grow-Finish Rooms
Many energy intensive operations are a part of swine production, including ventilation, lighting, space and creep feeding, power washing and more. Energy prices keep increasing so that it is now the third highest cost of hog production. Ventilation and heating use a lot of energy...
Application of Computer Simulation to Evaluate Potential Measures for Improving Energy Efficiency in Hog Production
Swine production is an energy-intensive industry and prices are only rising. Energy use varies widely in Saskatchewan barns, showing that there should be numerous ways to decrease the energy usage. Numerical computer simulation techniques were used to evaluate measures and strategies to use in swine...
Evaluation of Methods for Controlling and Monitoring Occupational Exposure of Workers in Swine Facilities
Reduction of personal exposure to air contaminant levels including ammonia and dust in swine production facilities is possible through containment control studies but must be studied under swine barn conditions too. Selected management and engineering measures were studied, such as high level of cleaning, oil...
Porcine Circoviral Disease – From Inception to Successful Control
Porcine Circovirus Diseases (PCVD) were first described in the 1990's in Canada as Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome which affected grower and nursery pigs by respiratory disease, wasting, enlarged lymph nodes, pallor, enteritis and jaundice. It is caused by porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) which has...
Ractopamine Hydrochloride and the Environmental Sustainability of Pork Production
Ammonia has odour and environmental implications so the excretion of nitrogen is problematic as this is the main form. Paylean® with ractopamine hydrochloride as its active ingredient improves average daily gain, carcass lean growth and feed efficiency when added to finishing swine diets. Ractopamine may...
Ractopamine, at 5 or 10 mg/kg Increases Protein Deposition in the Carcass
Paylean® is used in the swine industry to increase growth rate, carcass lean deposition and feed efficiency. Its active ingredient is ractopamine hydrochloride. At 5 mg/kg, ractopamine improved carcass quality and growth performance. Paylean may also be able to reduce the environmental impact of pork...
Feeding Co-Extruded Flaxseed to Pigs: Effects of Duration and Feeding Level on Growth Performance and Backfat Fatty Acid Composition of Grow-Finish Pigs
Feeding flaxseed to pigs has been used to increase omega-3 fatty acid levels in pork as flaxseed is the richest oilseed source of omega-3. Health benefits to the consumer may be noted such as reducing risk of disease. Feeding flax co-extruded with field peas may...