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2105 – 8th Street East

Saskatoon, SK, S7H 5N9

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Research

Feeding Value of Cull Lentils

The current study was designed to characterize the nutritive composition, including digestibility and energy  concentration, of feed-grade (cull) lentils for growing pigs. We conducted two studies.  The first study determined the amount and digestibility of energy and amino acids in two samples of lentils. In the second study...

Weaning Sows Directly into Group Housing

Social stress from mixing sows has the potential to negatively affect sow production and welfare. Housing sows in stalls from weaning until five weeks after breeding is a common strategy used to prevent aggression and ensure control over individual feeding during breeding, conception and implantation. However, alternative management options are...

Fermented Soybean Meal for Weaned Pigs

Soybean meal contains a variety of anti-nutritional factors which limit its inclusion into the diets of young piglets. It has been shown that fermentation of soybean meal (fSBM) eff ectively removes trypsin inhibitors, oligosaccharides and phytic acid and improves digestibility of nutrients, including amino acids. These improvements however, are not...

Developing Spray-Dried Animal Plasma Programs for DON Contaminated Diets

This study was designed to determine if feeding high quality diets supplemented with spray-dried animal plasma (SDAP) during the early post-weaning period, will provide benefits if deoxynivalenol (DON)contaminated  diets are fed in subsequent phases. Two blocks of newly weaned pigs were fed according to a 3-phase feeding program...

Mitigating DON Through Optimal Use of Blood Plasma

Previous research showed that nursery pigs fed deoxynivalenol (DON) contaminated diets supplemented with spray-dried porcine plasma (SDPP) had similar growth rate and feed intake as those consuming non-contaminated diets. In this study, two blocks of 100 weanling pigs were used to determine the optimal inclusion level of spray-dried  bovine...

ATP Bioluminescence as Means for Assessing Trailer Cleanliness

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 an ATP swab by swabbing...

National Sow Housing Conversion Project

The National Sow Housing Conversion Project (NSHCP) was conceived as a descriptive project to facilitate the successful conversion of Canada’s sow barns to group housing. The project involved collaboration from industry  participants and academic researchers working together on a comprehensive strategy involving demonstration farms, technology transfer materials...

Determining Effective Enrichments for Group Housed Sows

Providing enrichment involves making changes to the environment that are intended to increase the range of normal  Behaviours and improve the biological functioning and well-being of animals. Enrichment in group housing systems has the potential to significantly improve animal welfare by reducing aggression and injuries, stimulating exercise and the...

Cleaning Ease and Animal Welfare Implications of Trailer Design

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 influencing ease of cleaning and animal...