Read about PEDV dissemination modeling in today’s Science Page, presented by Jason A. Galvis, Cesar A. Corzo, Joaquín M. Prada, and Gustavo Machado.
Continue reading “Modeling between-farm transmission dynamics of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus: characterizing the dominant transmission routes”Tag: production
Best of Leman 2021: Mark Schwartz – Alternative production methods for effective management increased litter size
This is our most popular series on the blog. Once a month, we are sharing with you a presentation given at the Allen D. Leman swine conference, on topics that the swine group found interesting, innovative or that lead to great discussions.
You can find all of the presentations selected from previous conferences on the blog here.
This month we are sharing a talk about production methods for increased litter size by Mark Schwartz (Schwartz Farms).
Continue reading “Best of Leman 2021: Mark Schwartz – Alternative production methods for effective management increased litter size”Effect of floor space allowances on growth performance of finishing pigs marketed at 138 kilograms
Today on the blog, we are sharing a study by our colleagues: Dr. Lee Johnston from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural resources Sciences (CFANS) and Sara Schieck from the swine extension team, regarding floor space allowance and its impact on growth on finishing pigs.
The full article is available online in open access on the Journal of Animal Science website.
Rationale
Most floor space allowance studies were conducted 20 years ago when pigs were sent to market when they reached 113kg (around 248 lb) whereas pigs are currently sent at 128kg (281 lb). Therefore, guidelines need to be updated.
Study design
Experiment 1: Pigs from 27 to 138 kg (59 to 304 lb) were housed providing either 0.71, 0.80, 0.89, 0.98, or 1.07 m2/pig of floor space (respectively 7.64, 8.61, 9.58, 10.55, 11.52 square ft/pig). Growth rate, cortisol concentration and lesion scores were measured for each pig.
Experiment 2: Pigs around 130 kg (286 lb) were housed providing either 0.71, 0.80, 0.89, 0.98, or 1.07 m2/pig of floor space (respectively 7.64, 8.61, 9.58, 10.55, 11.52 square ft/pig).
Results
Initial body weight of pigs was not different across floor space allowances; however, increasing floor space allowance increased final body weight (linear, P = 0.04) and tended to increase ADG (linear, P = 0.06) and ADFI (linear, P = 0.06). Gain efficiency was not influenced by increasing floor space allowance. There were no differences in initial salivary cortisol concentrations across floor space treatments. Similarly, there were no differences in salivary cortisol among floor space allowances 2 and 1 wk before the final weight, when pigs should have experienced the greatest differences in crowding among treatments.
Based on the growth performance and pig welfare data collected in Exp. 1, a clearly optimal floor space recommendation is not apparent. The equation from previously published studies estimates that 138-kg pigs require 0.91 m2 of floor space; therefore, the present study provided 2 treatments below and 2 treatments above the predicted requirement. Our data are clear that pigs in the present study did not respond to floor space allowances greater than the predicted need of 0.91 m2 with improved growth performance or welfare.
In Exp. 2, the floor space needs of heavy market pigs could be studied isolated from the diluting effects of the early growth period that were present in Exp. 1. Results of Exp. 2 indicate that 0.98 m2/pig optimized growth performance of pigs between the weights of 133 and 148 kg.
Conclusion
Pigs marketed at 138 kg BW optimize growth performance when provided 0.89 to 0.98 m2 of floor space per pig. However, the negative effects of low space allocations were mostly observed in heavy pigs. Therefore, the use of a pig removal strategy near the end of the finishing period may be an effective strategy to diminish the negative effects of crowding when pigs are near market weight.
Abstract
New position in Swine Health, Production and Economics at the UMN
Join the swine group at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota!
The University of Minnesota has a new position open in swine health, production and economics. We consider it an important position as we strive to integrate all our work into strategies and training that protect and improve the profitability of swine farms. For those that are interested, please apply or contact John Deen. If you know of someone who could be a good fit, please urge her or him to apply. We appreciate the support that the swine group has received and we look forward to welcoming this new member to UMN.
You can read more about the position here or apply here.
We are excited to meet with you!