Swine Resources - Environment

It is easy to see the reaction of the sows (of all of them!) when we supply them with paper. A handful in front of their snout or at the reach of their mouth is enough… oxytocin! It is like giving an injection!

30-Nov-2016

Biosecurity measures such as cleaning, disinfection and a vacancy period between production cycles on pig farms are essential to prevent disease outbreaks. No studies have tested the effect of a longer vacancy period on bacterial load in nursery units.

06-Sep-2016

PIGLET CARE

Evolution of production

From the early 2000s to the present, husbandry conditions for pigs have clearly undergone substantial changes in various aspects.

Genetic advances in the so-called hyper-prolific sows have led to average farrowings of more than 14 live piglets. Thus we are confronted with a greater number of animals at weaning, large weight differences between them and, in many cases, they are housed in pens that have been designed for the type of production farmers could expect more than 10 years ago.

19-Aug-2016

Alternatives to farrowing crates have been developed to improve sow welfare. These alternative farrowing systems have been designed to provide more space, allowing sows greater freedom of movement during lactation. This experiment was part of a larger study comparing sow and piglet performance and behavior in two farrowing systems. In one farrowing system, sows were housed in crates from 5 days pre- until 28 days post-farrowing (N = 15 sows and 187 piglets born). In the other farrowing system, sows were initially housed in crates from 3 days pre-farrowing until day 4 of lactation, after which they were loose within a pen until weaning at 28 days (N = 16 sows and 178 piglets born). The objective was to compare the behavior of sows and piglets in crates and pens during days 1–6 post-farrowing.

08-Aug-2016

Goal
Finding a place for the creep feeders in the farrowing rooms when they are not being used.

11-Apr-2016

PIGLET CARE

The needs of the newly weaned pig haven’t changed over the years, even as weaning ages have fluctuated and our understanding of the dietary needs has improved. The goal of all weaned pig managers should be to provide a dry, draught-free sleeping area that provides fresh air, clean drinking water and an appropriate diet to support pig growth.

While it sounds easy, meeting these basic requirements often proves to be difficult in many production settings.

February 2016

An excerpt from pig333.com

Written by: Javier Lorente Martín

We are trying to reduce the number of nurse sows due to the amount of space needed for them in the farrowing buildings and the cost that this entails.

January 2016

PART 1 of 2

Caudophagia or tail biting is one of the main problems in the fattening phase, and refers to the abnormal behaviour of biting other pigs’ tails. The pain from the wounds have negative effects on their behaviour, health status and growth, and cause significant economic losses. Tail docking in piglets is the practice commonly used to prevent tail biting. However, it can cause pain, and their effectiveness is questionable. A study executed by our group revealed that 60% of assessed intensive pig farms had suffered outbreaks of tail-biting despite all animals having had their tails docked (Temple et al., 2011).