The Common Intestinal Roundworm of Swine

The large intestinal roundworm of pigs is a very common parasite, and is probably present in every hog raising district of Nebraska. Up until the last few years the true nature of this parasite was unknown. Little did we realize the actual harm done by this worm; but through the scientific investigations of Stewart, Ransom, and others we now know that this parasite causes heavier losses to the breeder and feeder of swine than any other now common in Nebraska

The use of wearable sensors for animal behaviour assessment

PhD ThesisThe research outlined in this thesis presents novel applications of wearable sensors in the domain of animal behaviour assessment. The use of wearable sensing technology, and in particular accelerometry, has become a mainstay of behaviour assessment in humans, allowing for detailed analysis of movement based behaviour and health monitoring. In this thesis we look to apply these methodologies to animals and identify approaches towards monitoring their health and wellbeing. We investigate the use of the technology in the animal domain through a series of studies examining the problem across multiple species and in increasingly complex scenarios. A tightly constrained scenario is presented initially, in which horse behaviour was classi ed and assessed in the context of dressage performances. The assessment of lying behaviour in periparturient sows con ned to gestation crates examines a scenario in which the movement of the subject was constrained, but not predetermined. Expanding this work to include sows housed in free-farrowing environments removed the movement constraints imposed by the gestation crates. We examine the implications of the use of multiple sensors and how this might a ect the accuracy of the assessments. Finally, a system for behaviour recognition and assessment was developed for domestic cats. Study animals were free to move and behave at their own discretion whilst being monitored through the use of wearable sensors, in the least constrained of the studies. The scenarios outlined herein describe applications with an increasing level of complexity through the removal of constraints. Through this work we demonstrate that these techniques are applicable across species and hold value for the wellbeing of both commercial and companion animals.European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement number 613574 (PROHEALTH). This project has also received funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in the form of a studentshi

Farmers' Perspectives of the Benefits and Risks in Precision Livestock Farming in the EU Pig and Poultry Sectors

Simple Summary Smart farming is a concept of agricultural innovation that combines technological, social, economic and institutional changes. It employs novel practices of technologies and farm management at various levels (specifically with a focus on the system perspective) and scales of agricultural production, helping the industry meet the challenges stemming from immense food production demands, environmental impact mitigation and reductions in the workforce. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) systems will help the industry meet consumer expectations for more environmentally and welfare-friendly production. However, the overwhelming majority of these new technologies originate from outside the farm sector. The adoption of new technologies is affected by the development, dissemination and application of new methodologies, technologies and regulations at the farm level, as well as quantified business models. Subsequently, the utilization of PLF in the pig and especially the poultry sectors should be advocated (the latter due to the foreseen increase in meat production). Therefore, more significant research efforts than those that currently exist are mainly required in the poultry industry. The investigation of farmers' attitudes and concerns about the acceptance of technological solutions in the livestock sector should be integrally incorporated into any technological development.Abstract More efficient livestock production systems are necessary, considering that only 41% of global meat demand will be met by 2050. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has clearly illustrated the necessity of building sustainable and stable agri-food systems. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) offers the continuous capacity of agriculture to contribute to overall human and animal welfare by providing sufficient goods and services through the application of technical innovations like digitalization. However, adopting new technologies is a challenging issue for farmers, extension services, agri-business and policymakers. We present a review of operational concepts and technological solutions in the pig and poultry sectors, as reflected in 41 and 16 European projects from the last decade, respectively. The European trend of increasing broiler-meat production, which is soon to outpace pork, stresses the need for more outstanding research efforts in the poultry industry. We further present a review of farmers' attitudes and obstacles to the acceptance of technological solutions in the pig and poultry sectors using examples and lessons learned from recent European projects. Despite the low resonance at the research level, the investigation of farmers' attitudes and concerns regarding the acceptance of technological solutions in the livestock sector should be incorporated into any technological development

Evaluation of swine gestation-farrowing facility space and management for improving production, welfare, and infectious disease containment

The United States (US) swine industry plays an important role in providing a safe and reliable source of animal proteins for a growing world population. As the industry evolves and society advances, producers face new and complex challenges such as optimizing animal production, welfare, and health. This dissertation contributes novel evidence-based knowledge to address current swine housing and management challenges in several key areas that formed the objectives of this dissertation, which were to: develop a computer vision system to monitor sow behavior in farrowing stalls (Chapter 2), evaluate the impacts of farrowing stall layout and number of heat lamps on sow and piglet productivity (Chapter 3) and behavior (Chapter 4), quantify the static and dynamic space usage of late gestation sows (Chapter 5), and determine supplemental heat requirements to implement ventilation shut down plus and virus inactivation (Chapter 6). The research presented in this dissertation contains the following discoveries. In Chapter 2, a large-scale computer vision system was established and implemented to simultaneously and continually monitor 60 farrowing stalls. The semi-automatic image processing algorithm achieved sow posture classification accuracies of \u3e99.2% (sitting: 99.4%, standing: 99.2%, kneeling: 99.7%, lying: 99.9%) and \u3e97% accuracy for sow behaviors (feeding: 97.0%, drinking: 96.8%, other: 95.5%). The computer vision system provided the foundation for carrying out the subsequent study concerning the impact of farrowing stall layout and management strategies. It was revealed in Chapter 3 that farrowing stall physical dimensions and number of heat lamps for localized heating did not significantly impact the percentage of pre-weaning mortality, overlay, number of piglets born alive, number weaned, average daily weight gain, or litter uniformity. Stall layout did significantly influence percent stillborn; however, the difference was not of practical significance. While experimental treatment did not significantly impact production outcomes, there were significant sow and piglet behavioral differences which are reported in Chapter 4. It was found that sows in wider stalls spend more time lying down and less time sitting. Piglets in stall layouts with expanded creep areas spent more time in the creep and less time near the sow compared to traditional stall layouts. Further, when two heat lamps were used sows spent significantly more time lying and piglets spent a greater proportion of time in the heated areas. Static and dynamic space usage of individually housed gestating sows was quantified and reported in Chapter 5. An average 228 kg sow requires stall dimensions of 196 × 115 × 93 cm (L × W × H) to provide uninhibited space. To accommodate average to 95th percentile (267 kg) sows, minimum stall dimensions need to be 204 × 112 × 95 cm. The 95th percentile sow space usage had a 4% decrease in length, 84% increase in width, and 5% decrease in height compared to typical gestation stall dimensions. Chapter 6 describes the development of a model to predict minimum supplemental heat requirements for ventilation shut down plus and virus inactivation (VSD+). Tables are presented with heating values needed to achieve greater than 95% mortality within 1 h of VSD onset, as well as for virus inactivation for African Swine Fever (ASF). Requirements of supplemental heat for various pig body weights, ambient conditions, facility air tightness, and stages of production are estimated. Overall, this dissertation provides information to fill knowledge gaps regarding current challenges in the US swine industry. Results can be used to guide producers as they strive to provide safe and reliable pork for the growing world population while safeguarding wellbeing of the animals

The Common Intestinal Roundworm of Swine

The large intestinal roundworm of pigs is a very common parasite, and is probably present in every hog raising district of Nebraska. Until the last few years the true nature of this parasite was unknown. Little did we realize the actual harm done by this worm; but through the scientific investigations of Stewart, Ransom, and others we now know that this parasite causes heavier losses to the breeder and feeder of swine than any other now common in Nebraska

Najznačajnije dileme koje se odnose na dobrobit farmskih životinja

In this review paper, contradictions in modern livestock production as dilemmas of farm animal welfare are considered. The main dilemma concerns the question of whether extensive production in small farms is generally better than intensive production in large farms. The next dilemma relates to an intensive selection of animals and its impact on the emergence of welfare problems. Another dilemma is related to the two main interconnected problems of pig welfare in individual farrowing pens: the piglet death by crushing and the sows' movement restriction. Similarly, welfare dilemma is the paradox of parent flocks of broiler line breeding that could not be solved until the pressure for genetic advancement in production is required due to the economic efficiency. The next example of the dilemma is the widespread practice of tail docking in piglets in order to reduce the risk of tail biting. Although the tail docking is painful and may cause death, anaesthesia is usually not applied on farms. A similar example of the dilemma is debeaking in the laying hens and the occurrence of feather pecking in free rearing systems. It is important to notice the difference between the described dilemmas, where one premise opposes the other, which is essentially a conflict between the animal welfare goals and other values, such as economic, ethical and moral issues. Finally, there are also some dilemmas about the consumers' willingness to pay a higher price of products that originate from welfare friendly rearing conditions.U ovom preglednom radu razmatraju se kontradikcije u modernoj stočarskoj proizvodnji kao dileme koje se odnose na dobrobit farmskih životinja. Glavna dilema odnosi se na pitanje da li je ekstenzivna proizvodnja na malim farmama generalno bolja od intenzivne proizvodnje na velikim farmama. Sledeća dilema odnosi se na primenu intenzivne selekcije životinja i njen uticaj na nastanak problema dobrobiti. Naredna dilema se odnosi na dva glavna međusobno povezana problema dobrobiti svinja u pojedinačnim boksovima za prašenje: uginuća prasadi gnječenjem i ograničenje kretanja krmača. Takođe, dilema u vezi sa dobrobiti je paradoks roditeljskih jata tovnih pilića koja se ne može rešiti dok postoji pritisak za genetski napredak u proizvodnji zbog ekonomske efikasnosti. Sledeći primer dileme je široko rasprostranjena praksa sečenja repa kod prasadi kako bi se smanjio rizik od griže repova. Iako je sečenje repa bolno i može prouzrokovati uginuće, anestezija se obično ne primjenjuje na farmama. Sličan primer dileme je i skraćivanje kljuna kod kokoši nosilja i pojava kljucanja perja u sistemima slobodnog uzgoja. Važno je uočiti razliku između opisanih dilema, gde je jedna premisa suprotstavljena drugoj, što je u suštini konflikt između ciljeva dobrobiti životinja i drugih aspekata, kao što su ekonomska, etička i moralna pitanja. Konačno, postoje i neke dileme koje se odnose na spremnost potrošača da plate višu cenu za proizvode koji su dobijeni u uslovima gajenja koji pospešuju dobrobit farmskih životinja

Recording behaviour of indoor-housed farm animals automatically using machine vision technology: a systematic review

Large-scale phenotyping of animal behaviour traits is time consuming and has led to increased demand for technologies that can automate these procedures. Automated tracking of animals has been successful in controlled laboratory settings, but recording from animals in large groups in highly variable farm settings presents challenges. The aim of this review is to provide a systematic overview of the advances that have occurred in automated, high throughput image detection of farm animal behavioural traits with welfare and production implications. Peer-reviewed publications written in English were reviewed systematically following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. After identification, screening, and assessment for eligibility, 108 publications met these specifications and were included for qualitative synthesis. Data collected from the papers included camera specifications, housing conditions, group size, algorithm details, procedures, and results. Most studies utilized standard digital colour video cameras for data collection, with increasing use of 3D cameras in papers published after 2013. Papers including pigs (across production stages) were the most common (n = 63). The most common behaviours recorded included activity level, area occupancy, aggression, gait scores, resource use, and posture. Our review revealed many overlaps in methods applied to analysing behaviour, and most studies started from scratch instead of building upon previous work. Training and validation sample sizes were generally small (mean±s.d. groups = 3.8±5.8) and in data collection and testing took place in relatively controlled environments. To advance our ability to automatically phenotype behaviour, future research should build upon existing knowledge and validate technology under commercial settings and publications should explicitly describe recording conditions in detail to allow studies to be reproduced

Species of Time: sows, stockmen and labour

Rapid advances in the industrialisation and increased productivity of British livestock farming since the 1950s have been accompanied by public anxiety concerning a range of issues, especially the ethics attaching to livestock care, slaughter, and consumption. Drawing on ethnographic data derived from fieldwork on an indoor intensive pig unit, this paper aims to address the question of how to combine intensive farming with responsible care of animals, and focuses in particular on how stockmen mobilise the idiom of time in the construction of relationships with their livestock. Stockmen’s accounts of daily routines of care, control, and organisation reveal how elements of clock time, human time, and pig time are synchronized with industrial and technological itineraries. Insights provided by these accounts of overlapping varieties of time are used to suggest conflations of other kinds; between humans and non-humans, time and place, the industrial and the domestic - all of which emerge as fluid, or hybrid, rather than rigidly demarcated categories within the space of intensive livestock farmin