The mating behavior and reproduction performance in a multi-sire mating system for pigs

An important aim of organic animal production is to allow natural animal behaviour. Regarding reproduction techniques, artificial insemination is permitted but natural mating is preferred. The outdoor multi-sire system, where the sows are placed in large paddocks with a group of boars, is one example of a service system, which complies well with the organic ideals of facilitating natural animal behavior. However, very little knowledge is available about such system. Seven groups of in total of 47 sows and 31 boars were observed to study the mating behavior in an outdoor multi-sire mating system and the subsequent reproduction results. The time of start of courtship, behavior and the cause of disruption if the courtship was terminated, were recorded each time a boar courted a sow. All aggressive interactions between the boars were also recorded to estimate the boar ranking order. The observations revealed numerous poor quality matings, a huge variation in the number of times sows are mated, and overworked boars. Only 35% of all copulations lasted 2 min or more and 63% of all copulations were disrupted, mainly by competitor boars. The higher social status of the boar, the more copulations did it disrupt ( p < 0.05). The outcome was an unacceptable variation in reproduction results. Only 71% of all estrus sows conceived, corresponding to a pregnancy rate of 77% of all mated sows. A large inter-group variation in reproduction performance was observed, indicating scope for improvements. In some groups all sows showed estrus and all sows conceived. Recommendations for improvement of the system are proposed

Induction of lactational estrus in organic piglet production

The longer lactation period required in organic piglet producing herds reduces the potential number of produced litters per sow per year compared with that of conventional production. Induction and use of lactational estrus may be a way to increase the productivity in organic production. However, if lactational estrus is to be beneficial under practical husbandry conditions, it is crucial that the majority of sows are successfully mated within a few days to make batch farrowing procedures possible. The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence and timing of lactational estrus in an organic outdoor system based on ad libitum feeding, individual housing until Day 35 in lactation, followed by grouping and introduction of a boar and weaning of piglets after 8 wk. Five groups with four sows ((Danish Yorkshire � Danish Landrace) � Danish Duroc) in each were observed, and rank was determined by a food competition test. All sows showed lactational estrus, and 84% of these sows showed estrus within 1 wk, on average 43.5 d and 7.3 d after farrowing and boar introduction, respectively. The number of days from boar introduction to estrus increased significantly with increasing feed competition rank (the lowest number being the top rank position). Eighty-four percent of all sows were diagnosed pregnant 5 wk after estrus. Behavioral observations revealed that the average total number of copulations per estrus sow was 2.3 with a range of 0 to 5 copulations. The findings of the current study indicate that it is possible to combine lactational estrus and batch farrowing procedures to increase the number of weaned piglets per year per sow in organic piglet production based on 8 wk of lactation or more

Organic agriculture in relation to food security of developing countries

A study was conducted to investigate the differences in farm production, input use and farm income between organic and conventional systems in three regions (Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Tamilnadu) of India. From each region, 40 organic and 40 conventional farmers were interviewed with semi structured questionnaire. The results showed that input costs were less in the organic system while either total farm yield or net margin was righter in the organic system in two of the three regions. In Tamilnadu specializing in rice production, rice yield was less under organic system while net margin did not differ signifcantly. In addition, the IFPRI-IMPACT model was used to fnd out the impact of large scale conversion to organic farming on food security of Sub-Saharan Africa. The model showed that large scale conversion to organic farming in Europe and North America will not have major impact on food security of Africa and large scale conversion in Sub-Saharan Africa will improve the local food security

Free-range pigs foraging on Jerusalem artichokes

Free-range pig production in Northern Europe is characterized by high inputs of concentrate on grassland. This increases risk of nutrient leaching, increases feed costs and puts a pressure on land resources. Pigs’ unique ability to find a part of their food directly in the field where they are kept should be taken into consideration. One below ground field forage characterized by very high yields and with great potential as fodder source is Jerusalem Artichokes (JA) tubers. The nutritional contribution from free-range foraging, growth, feed conversion and behaviour were investigated in 36 growing pigs foraging on JA and fed concentrates restrictedly (30 % of energy recommendations) or ad libitum. Behavioural observations were carried out weekly over the entire experimental period of 40 days. The average daily consumption of concentrate was 51 MJ and 11 MJ ME pig-1 for pigs fed ad libitum and restrictedly, respectively. Compared to the ad libitum fed pigs, the pigs fed restrictedly had a significant lower daily gain (560 vs. 1,224 g pig-1), improved feed conversion ratio (17.6 vs. 42.8 MJ ME concentrate kg-1 live weight gain) and spent more time foraging JA tubers (7.9 vs. 1.1%). Body conditions were comparable between the two treatments. It is estimated that pigs fed restrictedly found approximately 60% of their energy requirement from foraging in the range and consumed 1.3 kg to 1.6 kg DM of JA pig-1 per day. The results indicate good possibilities for substituting a large proportion of concentrates with home-grown JA tubers biological harvested by foraging pigs. Future studies are needed to reveal the most appropriate concentrate feeding regime when combined with foraging JA in relation to consequences for growth and feed conversion, but also for meat quality, animal health and nutrient balances

ICOPP

Improved contribution of local feed to support 100% organic feed supply to pigs and poultry

The effect of breed and feed-type on the sensory profile of breast meat in male broilers reared in an organic free-range system

1. Studies on the sensory profiling of male broiler breast meat were carried out to evaluate the effect of two very different broiler breeds (JA757 and New Hampshire), two different feed types (broiler and grower feed) and age at slaughter (82 and 110 d). 2. The sensory profiling consisted of a pilot study, 4 training sessions, and finally the assessment. During the training session a panel of 9 assessors defined 17 attributes, which were used to describe the smell, texture and flavour of the breast fillets. Each attribute was evaluated on a 15-cm unstructured line scale. 3. The breast meat became significantly less hard, and more juicy and tender in the New Hampshire at 110 d of age, whereas the opposite was found in JA757, which also acquired a more ‘‘sourish’’ flavour with age. The smell of ‘‘sweet/maize’’ and ‘‘bouillon’’ became weaker with age in JA757, but not in New Hampshire. 4. Several significant differences in relation to the main factors of breed and age were found. The traditional broiler hybrid JA757 did best for most smell and flavour attributes, whereas New Hampshire did best for the texture attributes. Age had a negative effect on the flavours and smell attributes ‘‘fresh chicken’’, ‘‘neck of pork’’ and ‘‘sweet maize’’, but a positive effect on the texture attribute ‘‘crumbly’’. In addition meat was more ‘‘stringy’’ at 110 d of age. 5. The flavours ‘‘neck of pork’’ and ‘‘umami’’ were significantly improved when JA757 was fed on the broiler feed and when New Hampshire was given the grower feed. The meat smelt more ‘‘sourish’’ at 82 d of age and less ‘‘sourish’’ at 110 d of age when the grower feed was consumed. Meat was significantly harder and stringier when JA757 was fed on the grower feed. This was not the case for New Hampshire. In general, the meat was significantly less crumbly and stringier with the grower feed. 6. Overall a very distinct difference in sensory profile was found between the two breeds. In addition different slaughter ages and feeding strategies should be taken into consideration in a niche production based on alternative genotypes

Økologisk kvalitet skal retførdiggøre merpris

I projektet: Kvalitet og integritet i økologiske æg-, kyllinge- og svinekødsprodukter undersøges strategier for mere forskelligartet svine- og kyllinge-produktion

Outdoor production of slaughter pigs requires an optimized management to mitigate N pollution

In Danish outdoor pig production the sows are usually kept on grassland, while their progeny are transferred at weaning to indoor housing with access to an outdoor concrete pen. It may seem paradoxical that a large part of meat consumed from outdoor systems comes from pigs that during the majority of their life have been prevented from natural behaviour such as rooting, digging and grazing. The explanation is the drawbacks of rearing growers outdoors including huge space demand, high work expenditure, high feed consumption and high environmental costs due to nutrient losses to aquifers and the atmosphere caused by high nutrient load and difficulty maintaining grass cover. However, it may be questioned if pigs reared indoors comply with consumers’ expectation for animal welfare in outdoor pig production systems. Therefore, systems need to be developed for growing pigs on grassland

Øko-kød skal være specielt for at kunne sælges dyrt

Forskningsprojektet SUMMER har undersøgt, om det er muligt at profilere økologisk kød mere i forhold til konventionelt ved bl.a. at bruge mere lokalt produceret protein og lægge ekstra vægt på sundhed og velfærd

Slagtesvin på friland kræver optimeret driftsledelse for at mindske miljøbelastningen

Ved produktion af svin på friland er det almindeligt at have søerne på græs, mens smågrisene ved fravænning sættes på stald med adgang til et betondækket udeareal. Det kan forekomme paradoksalt at en stor del af det økologiske svinekød stammer fra grise, som hovedparten af deres liv ikke har haft mulighed for naturlig adfærd i form af at rode, grave og græsse. Når producenterne vælger ikke at have slagtesvin på friland hænger det blandt andet sammen med en række forventede negative effekter, såsom et stort arealkrav, stor arbejdsbelastning, stort foderforbrug og stort tab af næringsstof til omgivelserne. Der kan imidlertid stilles spørgsmål ved om den indendørs produktion af slagtesvin svarer til forbrugernes forventninger om dyrevelfærd i økologiske produktionssystemer, og derfor er der behov for at udvikle systemer til slagtesvin på friland