Novel strategies to control mycotoxins
Alvin Alvarado, Bernardo Predicala – Mycotoxins in grain, especially deoxynivalenol (DON), are a common problem for pig producers. In North America, most grain samples contain some level of DON, which can reduce feed intake and slow pig growth. Researchers tested...
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...
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...
Influence of dietary nitrogen content and source to improve growth performance and lean gain in finisher pigs
Daniel Columbus- Previous trials done in grower pigs have shown that it is possible to replace some dietary protein or amino acids (AA) with a source of non-protein nitrogen (NPN) such as ammonium phosphate, while maintaining growth performance. However, the...
Does providing high vitamin diets in gestation improve performance and passive immunity?
Hannah Burlet, Frederic Beaudoin, Beatrice Sauve, Laetitia Cloutier, Matheus Costa, Danyel Bueno Dalto – While studies have looked at increasing a subset of vitamins during gestation, no published works have looked at increasing the concentrations of all vitamins normally included...
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...
Optimizing temperature requirements of pigs to reduce energy use in swine production
Nolan Matuba, Alvin Alvarado, Bernardo Predicala – The overarching goal of this research project is to investigate the optimum environmental temperature requirements of sows and grower-finisher pigs to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gases while maintaining their long-term overall productivity...
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....
