Evaluation of selected water conservation measures involving drinkers and different cleaning procedures revealed that 60% reduction in water wastage was achieved with a drinking trough (with side panel and constant water level) to nipple drinkers. The use of conventional nozzle...

In response to an industry need for a livestock vehicle that addresses both increased animal welfare and biosecurity during transport, a prototype air-filtered trailer was designed and assembled.  The project set out to select the best possible option for a...

Three engineering control measures were developed and tested for effectiveness in protecting swine barn workers from exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas during manure handling events. A remote manure pit plug pulling system allowed the worker to pull the manure pit plug from outside the...

The spread of airborne transmissible disease such as PRRS continues to be a serious threat to the Canadian swine industry as this disease causes significant economic losses to infected herds. Th is project aimed to develop an additional line of defense against infection...

In this project, an operant mechanism that will allow sows housed in a group system to control their own environmental temperature was developed. Th e mechanism was configured with a manual control switch that the sows can access and operate, which in turn...

Laboratory-scale tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of various types of commercially-available nanoparticles on the levels of microorganisms commonly encountered in swine barns.  Results indicate Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles had the highest antimicrobial efficacy among all the nanoparticles tested. Further experiments carried out...

This study assessed the applicability of a geothermal system in swine production facilities. In-barn evaluation of the impact of the geothermal system on energy use, thermal environment, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal performance was conducted by comparing a swine grow-finish room with geothermal system...

Proper washing and disinfection of swine transport trailers is an important step in maintaining biosecurity. This study examined the feasibility of using adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence as a rapid and effective swine trailer cleanliness assessment tool. Samples were taken from newly-cleaned, dry trailers using...

The aim of this initial study was to develop an inventory list of trailers commonly used for the transportation of market hogs in Canada. Hog transport companies in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario were visited in order to document various trailer features specifically those...

In this study, controlled-chamber experiments were carried out to develop an operant mechanism that allowed the sows to demonstrate their preferred environmental temperature and to study the effects of fibre addition on growth performance and physiological response. Results showed that sows fed with high...

This project set out to evaluate the efficacy of novel metal nanoparticles (with previously demonstrated antimicrobial properties), either alone or in combination with alternative disinfecting strategies for inactivation of PED.   Conducting the work under Biosafety Level 3 containment, experiments that simulated hog...

Two novel technologies consisting of an individual water consumption system (IWCS) and infrared thermography system (ITHS) were installed in a finishing room. The individual water consumption system (installed in each pen) was composed of a nipple drinker attached to a water fl...