Comparing groups and stalls – what does the data say?
Shuang Luo, Jen-Yun Chou – Many producers worry that a move from sow stalls to group sow housing could hurt productivity, especially due to pregnancy loss or fertility problems. Researchers looked at records from 12 commercial swine farms in Saskatchewan—six...
Successful floor feeding: how to do it right
Jen-Yun Chou – This is Part 2 of the ‘Barn Insights Series’, which focuses on practical solutions to group sow housing. In this second part, Jen-Yun describes her visit to Dave DeVries’ sow barn in Ontario. They use a floor...
Ph.D. Opportunity – Evaluating Alternative Farrowing Systems
INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFERENT FARROWING SYSTEMS FOR INTENSIVELY REARED SOWS Description: Prairie Swine Centre’s Ethology department presents a new PhD opportunity with the objective of evaluating alternative farrowing systems on the welfare and productivity of sows and piglets. Prairie Swine Centre...
Centred on Swine Volume 34 No 2
Topics for this edition include:
Enrichments for phase of production
Miranda Smit, Ken Engele, Jen-Yun Chou- Environmental enrichment plays a different role as pigs grow and age. For example, enrichment for growing pigs focuses mainly on reduction of boredom and stress, improvement of performance, and prevention of damaging behaviours, whereas...
2025 Annual Research Report
The 2025 annual research report is ready to download. You will find topics that cover the areas of Nutrition Developing an Indigestible Protein Index to Investigate the Effects of Dietary Protein in PigsImpact of fibre on performance and intestinal health...
Finding balance: What is good for the animals is good for production
Jen-Yun Chou – This is Part 1 of the ‘Barn Insights Series’, which focuses on practical solutions to group sow housing. In this first part, Jen-Yun describes her visit to Marcel Egli’s sow barn in Ontario. They use a system...
The effect of standard and large pellet creep feed on the performance and blood parameters of weanling pigs
Jen-Yun Chou, Kylie Kallal, Abigail Tillotson – It is recommended that diets designed for young pigs should include less carbohydrates and lysine and more fibre to minimise insulin spikes. High fibre ingredients typically contain higher iron levels compared to more...
Promoting play behaviour in grow-finish pigs
Karolína Steinerová, Yolande Seddon – Play behaviour has been associated with excitement and fun, suggesting that playing animals experience pleasurable states. To determine if the provision of play opportunities could enhance the quality of life of pigs, this study investigated...
Improving the quality of life of pigs
Miranda Smit, Ken Engele, Jen-Yun Chou – The term environmental enrichment describes the changes (modifications or additions to the environment) designed to improve the living conditions of the pigs by allowing them to express a wider range of natural behaviours....
Effective enrichment promotes performance
Abby Tillotson – It is well known that environmental enrichment provides several benefits to intensively raised pigs, such as reducing tail biting, increasing play, and improving disease resiliency. Despite the importance of providing enrichment during the early stage of life,...
The influence of straw enrichment on hair hormone concentrations, behaviour, and productivity of growing pigs
A trial was conducted to see if hair hormone concentrations are a good biomarker for chronic stress in pigs. The objective of this study was to determine if different rearing environments, designed to be standard, or improve pig welfare, influenced...
