Can functional amino acids help low birth weight pigs in a Salmonella challenge?
It is not known if supplementation with functional amino acids (FAA) may mitigate the negative effects of intrauterine growth retardation seen in low birth weight (LBW) pigs. The objective was to determine the effects of birth weight category (BWC) and FAA supplementation during the postweaning...
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Ken Engele
Effects of transport duration on the health and welfare of early weaned pigs
Due to the physiological differences between weaned piglets and market hogs, additional data on their response to transport are needed for age-specific evidence-based recommendations. A cohort study was conducted to observe weaned piglets undergoing short duration (SD, <3 h), or long duration (LD, >30 h)...
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Ken Engele
Design criteria for cleanability, worker safety and welfare characteristics of pig transport trailers
Disease transmission associated with transportation of pigs has been a long-standing issue affecting biosecurity in pig production. In addition, stress responses and welfare are greatly influenced by the trailer compartment configuration. The overall goal of this study was to develop a trailer design criteria checklist...
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Ken Engele
Sow mortality in Canadian Swine Herds
Sow mortality is an area of increasing concern as production records indicate a significant increase in spontaneous death losses over the past 10-20 years. This project gathered information on sow mortality in Canadian herds through a literature review, a producer survey, visits to 13 farms...
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Ken Engele
New and alternative sanitization procedures for antibiotic-free swine barns
Certain barns that switched to antibiotic-free production observed increased prevalence of pathogens after a few years on the program. Developing improved sanitization and disinfection procedures is an important step to reduce the pathogen load in antibiotic-free barns, which was the goal of this study. This project...
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Ken Engele
Out of feed events and gastric ulcers in finishing pigs fed 40% pea-starch diets
Gastric ulcers in pigs are a concern for the industry. To be able to study gastric ulcer formation, an experimental model is required that will consistently result in gastric ulcers in pigs. The objectives of this pilot study were to see if an extra stressor...
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Ken Engele
The use of extrusion to reduce dietary ergot toxicity in growing pigs
Consumption of ergot alkaloids by livestock results in reduced feed intake and growth and a dramatic reduction in the hormone prolactin, which is important for milk production in sows. Previous research at the PSC demonstrated that extreme processing in the form of steam explosion reduced...
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Ken Engele
Effective piglet enrichment: effects on development and reduction of damaging behaviours
Tail biting is a behavioural problem that impacts pig welfare and the economics of pork production. Environmental enrichment can reduce damaging behaviours, but practical information on enrichments for young pigs is lacking. The project contained two studies to evaluate enrichment at two life stages to...
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Ken Engele
Impact of antibiotic-free production on pathogen occurrence and prevalence of antimicrobial resistance
This study assessed the impact of Raised Without Antibiotics (RWA) production practices on on-farm antibiotic use, pathogen occurrence, and the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) through the whole genome sequencing and analyzing of samples (fecal, manure, sow nasal swab, soil). Some farms that provided...
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Ken Engele
Managing High Feed Costs
Feed costs always will be the single largest component in costs associated with pork production. Finding ways to effectively reduce feed costs while optimizing pig performance helps producers economic sustainability. This publication focuses on four key areas including: 1) Diet formulation 2) Diet processing 3)...
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Ken Engele