Using serum cortisol to distinguish between acute stress and pain response following castration in piglets

In the United States swine industry, castration is essentially universal and only a select number of male pigs are left intact as potential breeder boars. Pain and distress inflicted by castration is an animal well-being concern in livestock production. Castration in pigs has been shown to cause a stressful and painful response. The need for a robust, repeatable pysiological indicator of pain for use in the assessment of production practices designed to minimize these impacts has been recognized

How do sow postures change when lameness is induced using a chemical synovitis model?

Lameness detection using objective behavioral parameters provides an opportunity for timely treatment which, in turn, could improve sow welfare and reduce economic expense. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to (1) determine sow posture frequencies and duration (2) ascertain the postural sequence and time when standing to lying and vice versa and (3) to record how long it took for sows to access feed when lameness was induced using a chemical synovitis model. Lameness was induced in 24 multiparous, non-pregnant, crossbred 22 Newsham, maternal-cull sows by injecting amphotericin B in the distal interphalangeal joint 23 space. The experimental design was a 3 (days) x 2 (rear feet) factorial arrangement where sow was the experimental unit. All sows were video recorded in their home pens continually over a 12-h period (0600 to 1800 h) on the sound day (1 d pre-induction), on the most lame day (1 d post-induction) and the resolution day (6 d post-induction). Three postures (standing, lying and sitting), an unknown category, three lying positions (lying left lateral, lying right lateral and lying sternal), time to change postures, the number of postures used in a behavioral sequence and time to reach feeder on the raised step were collected. Sows spent less time standing on the most lame day compared to sound and resolution days (P \u3c 0.05). Sows performed fewer standing and sitting postural adjustments on the most lame day compared to the sound day (P \u3c 0.05). Lame sows transitioned through fewer postures and moved more quickly through the standing to lying transition on the most lame day compared to sound and resolution days (P \u3c 0.05). Sows had a higher percentage of time lying laterally on the most lame day compared to sound and resolution days regardless of which foot was injected (P \u3c 0.05). There were no observed differences in time (s) for sows to reach the feeder over treatment days (P \u3e 0.05). In conclusion, these results support the use of behavioral indicators as an objective tool for detecting sow lameness when 38 using this transient lameness model

Sow Longevity-How to Measure Its Importance

Sow longevity is becoming an increasingly imponam issue in many U.S. commercial swine operations. According to PigCHAMP1 summaries, the average annual sow replacement rates have been approximately 50 percent for the past five years. Rising feed costs have dramatically increased gilt development costs. Additionally, feed costs for the en tire operation have risen to levels not seen in recent history, contributing to high costs of production and reduced profit margins for both breed-to-wean and farrow-to-finish operations. The poor longevity prevalent in many herds can have a negative impact on profitability and may be a welfare concern. Improving sow longeviry can improve both the production and economic efficiency of commercial swine operations. Furthermore, improving sow longevity has the potential to have a positive impact on a pork producer\u27s profitability by reducing replacement gilt expenses and associated development, isolation, and acclimation costs. The challenge for many producers is determining the importance of longevity among the many other economically significant production traits

Loading Gantry versus Traditional Chute for the Finisher Pig: Effect on Transportation and Packing Plant Losses

Pig mortalities from the farm to the harvest facility have been estimated to cost the U.S. swine industry over 55 million dollars annually. Improved understanding of the major factors impacting the behavioral and physiological responses of the finisher pig during transportation is needed

Development and refinement of a technique for short-term intravascular auricular vein catheter placement in mature sows

Intravenous drug administration in adult swine is difficult to perform due to inaccessible superficial veins and thick subcutaneous fat layers. However, successful intravenous drug administration is critical for many biomedical applications including pharmacokinetic studies as extravascular drug administration can influence the drug’s absorption and elimination rate. The purpose of this study was to develop and refine an effective technique for indwelling auricular vein catheter placement in the conscious mature sow. We developed a protocol using a topical anesthetic cream and minimal physical restraint to place indwelling catheters in the auricular vein of six multiparous sows. This method was quick (3 min 20 s ± 8 s [mean ± SE per catheter]), effective (11/12 catheters successfully placed) and reliable, allowing a large drug volume (20–22 mL) to be administrated successfully during the trial without relying on prolonged restraint or general anesthesia of the sow

Impact of health challenges on pig growth performance, carcass characteristics, and net returns under commercial conditions

Understanding how disease affects commercial production is imperative for pig producers to quantify its full impact on pig performance, carcass quality, and net returns. The objective of this experiment was to assess the productivity and economic importance of naturally occurring health challenges (HC) under commercial conditions. Three 1,000 pig grow-finish facilities received 936 pigs each. The experimental period started approximately 34 d post placement at an average start BW of 13.1 ± 0.2 kg. Barns were characterized based on the relative HC, determined by diagnostic assessments as the main characterization tool, along with other health indicators. Barns were characterized as low challenge health (LCh), moderate challenge health (MCh), and high challenge health (HCh). All barns tested positive for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infection prior to the start of the experiment. Additionally, the MCh and HCh barns experienced influenza type A virus of swine. Similar to commercial production conditions, the disease challenge was not imposed but rather occurred naturally. Reduced ADG, ADFI, and G:F were observed with an increased HC (P \u3c 0.001). Similarly, mortality was increased when the HC increased (P \u3c 0.001). Decreased ADG increased days to achieve harvest BW, by 10 and 15 d in the MCh and HCh treatments compared with LCh, respectively (P\u3c 0.001). No differences were observed for percent lean, loin depth, or fat depth (P \u3e 0.10). The economic impact of the HC was assessed by applying these growth performance data to two economic models encompassing the two main marketing methods used by U.S. pig producers: fixed-weight and fixed-time. Financial losses attributed to the variation in disease severity that occurred in the present study ranged from $8.49 and$26.10 U.S. dollars (USD)/pig marketed using a fixed-market weight model, or between $11.02 and$29.82 USD/pig using a fixed-time model, depending on feed costs and market hog prices. In conclusion, increasing severity of HC under commercial conditions reduced ADG by 8% and 14% and resulted in mortality as high as 19.9%. Losses of $8.49 to$29.82/pig marketed underscore the potential magnitude of the economic impact of mixed etiology concurrent diseases in pork production

The Accuracy and Repeatability of Sow Body Condition Scoring

The objective of this study was to estimate observer accuracy and repeatability of body condition scoring sows when scorers have different levels of prior experience. Three groups of participants (n = 10) for this study were identified as having no (NE, n = 3), some (SE, n = 4), and extensive (EE, n = 3) prior experience evaluating conformation or body condition in livestock species. Two persons having extensive prior experience with body condition scoring served as instructors (TR) during the training sessions. Twenty-five of a total 150 sows were utilized in the participant training session, and the remaining sows (n = 125) were utilized during the independent scoring process. Sows utilized in the scoring process were objectively categorized into a 5- and 9-point body condition score (BCS5 and BCS9, respectively) using last rib backfat estimates. Participants were in poor agreement with BCSbackfat as overall Kappa values were 0.23 on the BCS5 and 0.13 on the BCS9 scales. While the trainers consistently averaged the largest measures of intra- and interobserver agreement with BCSbackfat, other participants primarily in the EE and SE groups achieved similar levels of agreement. Participant BCS5 and BCS9 deviation evaluations from BCSbackfat, revealed a tendency for participants to overestimate BCS in some sows and underestimate BCS in others. While the trainers consistently averaged the largest measures of intra- and interobserver agreement with BCSbackfat, other participants primarily in the EE and SE groups achieved similar levels of agreement

How Location of Feed Affects the Rate of Feeding in Multi-parity Sows

Sows are often selected by their body size and gestation groups are formed from this initial selection. However, size of sow and rate of feeding speed have not been determined, and instead of body size as the selection criteria, would rate of feeding be a better determinant for sows being grouped? Therefore, the objective of this study was to (1) estimate the range of speeds that a sow consumes a pre determined ration, (2) determine how sow parity affects the rate of feeding and (3) ascertain if feeding rate differs when feed is presented on the floor versus a raised ledge. To avoid aggression, 11 clinically normal, mixed-parity, crossbred sows were purchased from a commercial producer in Iowa and housed in individual pens at Iowa State University. Sows were all feed by hand and the ration was formulated to meet the NRC (1998) requirements for that sow at her stage of production. Data was collected on the afternoon feeding (1600 h) and each sow received 0.90 kg (2 lb). Treatment One; Floor; defined as food being placed centrally 1 m in distance on the rubber mat from the back of the home pen. Treatment Two; Ledge; the ledge was defined as a raised concrete step. Scoring of feeding rate was conducted by live observation (one person to one sow). Data were analyzed using the PROC MIXED procedure of SAS and a repeated measure statement of date nested within sow was used. A P \u3c 0.05 was considered significant and PDIFF was used to separate the means. The feeding rate (sec) range for sows within parity will be presented descriptively. No differences were found for parity (P = 0.59) of sow, although parity one sows ate quicker (14 mins) compared to parities two (20 mins) and three (19 mins). There was a difference (P = 0.02) for rate of feeding when sows were presented with feed on the floor of their home pen or on the raised feeder. In conclusion there was no difference between rates of feeding by parity when sows were housed individually in a home pen. However, when feed was presented on the floor the sows ate more quickly compared to a raised ledge

Detection of Lameness in Swine

Sow lameness is a s ignificant welfa re issue and has major econo mic impacts for the U.S. swine industry. Lameness associated with painful joints and hock lesions is a common problem among sows housed in confinement; 1 in addition , lameness has been ranked as the numbe r-three reason for cull ing sows, comprising approximately 15 percent of the cull market in the United States. 2 Furthermore, leg sound ness was identified as the most common involuntary reason for c u lling sows.3 Sow lameness has been associated with several variables that result in poor performance, includi ng decrease in litter size, poor farrowing perfonnance, and decrease in sow longevity.4•5 Johnson and colleagues6 in 1997 reported that pro-infiamrnatory cytokines stimulated b) lameness may inhibit growth, reduce appetite, and affect metabolism. If left untreated, lame ness, inflammation. and pain negatively impact not only sow health and welfare but also the economic sustainability of producers. The high prevalence of lameness and lack of label-approved drugs for pain management places detection, treatment, and prevention of lameness as a majo r priority for the swine industry. Lameness is defined by Merriam-Webster7 as having a body pan and especially a limb so disabled as to impair freedom of movement or as impaired movement or devia tion from normal gait. Lame ness not only becomes an issue c.. ..: to locomoLOr deficits but also deals with pain experienced by the anima l. Detecting lameness on-farm at an early enough stage befo re swine become non-weight-bearing is an essential but difficult task to perform as the veterinarian or farmer. T he following are both subjective and objective techniques that were evaluated during multiple trials conduc ted at the Swine Inte nsive Studies Lab (SISL) a t Iowa State University

Loading gantry versus traditional chute for the finisher pig: Effect on welfare at the time of loading and performance measures and transport losses at the harvest facility

The objectives of these studies were to evaluate the loading system effects [traditional chute (TC) vs. prototype loading gantry (PLG)] on i) welfare measures at loading and ii) performance measures and transport losses at the harvest facility for the market-weight pig (Sus scrofa). This study compared first pull (FP), which was the first group of pigs, and close out (CO), which was the last group of pigs marketed from a finishing facility. Experiment 1 evaluated 74 loads for welfare measures at loading on the farm, and Exp. 2 evaluated 497 loads for performance measures and transport losses at the harvest facility. Data were analyzed using the PROC Mixed procedure for Exp. 1 and PROC GLIMMIX procedure of SAS for Exp. 2. In Exp. 1, pigs loaded using the PLG had fewer (P × 0.0002) electric prod touches, slips, falls, vocalizations, and pile ups compared with pigs loaded on the TC during FP and CO. In Exp. 2, there were no (P \u3e 0.05) differences for any performance measures between loading systems or by pull. Pigs loaded using the prototype PLG loading gantry experienced fewer (P = 0.03) total transport losses than pigs loaded using the TC in the FP. In conclusion, the prototype loading gantry improved all welfare measures at the time of loading and reduced overall total transport losses. These studies demonstrate that loading systems that improve on-farm swine welfare at loading and reduce transport losses at the harvest facility can be designed