Welcome to April s Newsletter

Transcription

1 April 2015 Welcome to April s Newsletter Ciarán Carroll Editor: Amy Quinn Welcome to the April edition of our monthly newsletter. The past month has been very busy and the annual Pig Health Society Symposium took centre stage on April 14th. The Teagasc Pig Development Department were very busy fielding questions from both producers and industry. The Farrowing House workshop was novel this year. Chaired by Gerard McCutcheon, the attendance was good and feedback has been very positive. May is going to be a very busy month, with the start of our new Research Dissemination events. This will be an annual event on the Teagasc calendar and will feature a number of excellent presentations and posters, giving attendees the most up-to-date research results and an overview of on-going research carried out by our research team and their postgraduate students. The first event takes place at 2pm on Tuesday May 12th at Moorepark and the second one on Friday May 15th at the Cavan Crystal Hotel, Cavan. I encourage all of you to attend and catch up on our latest research. In this issue: Pig production figures 2014 Floor based rubber device could improve pig welfare Research Highlights from BSAS 2015 Antibiotic Resistance and Pig Welfare Pig Production Figures 2014 Gerard McCutcheon Now that all PigSys data is being uploaded on the eprofit Monitor (epm) we are now able to collate the data for the National herd performance more quickly. Here I briefly compare the preliminary

2 data for 2014 with the 2013 figures. This is preliminary as a number of herds have yet to complete their figures for the last quarter of I will do a final set of figures for 2014 in early May to include these and generate a final National herd performance report for This preliminary data set includes 113 herds with an average of 756 sows per herd which is over 55% of the national sow herd. Sow Performance Sow performance remained relatively stable in 2014 as shown in Table 1. Table 1 : Sow performance figures: * Table 2 : Weaning to Sale performance figures * Live weight at sale kg ADG Weaning to Sale g FCE Weaning to Sale * Preliminary results Source: Teagasc epm Pig Meat / Sow /Year The parameter kg of pig meat /sow /year is calculated by multiplying the number of Pigs Produced /Sow /Year by the Average carcase weight. The second preliminary item is the tonnes of feed /sow /year. This is calculated by adding the total tonnes of all feed used in the year and dividing it by the average sow herd size. These are shown below in Table 3: Born Alive/ Litter Piglet Mortality % Litters / Sow / Year Weaner Motality % Finisher Mortality % Pigs Produced / Sow / Year Table 3: Feed required to produce carcase gain: * Pig meat/sow/year kg Feed/Sow/Year t Feed kg /kg of Carcase * Preliminary results Source: Teagasc epm * Preliminary results Source: Teagasc epm Growth Performance The growth rate appears to have remained reasonably static in 2014 as shown in Table 2. Conclusion These figures even though they are preliminary show that the performance on Irish farms did not change very much in 2014 compared to If you have not completed your data for 2014 we would greatly appreciate if you could get it to us.

3 Floor Based Rubber Device Could Improve Pig Welfare Dr. Keelin O Driscoll Provision of manipulable material is a legal requirement in pig production, but difficult in slatted systems. The most effective devices for reducing harmful behaviours are manipulable and destructive. Rubber devices that can be chewed and gradually wear away have been shown to be reasonably effective in reducing harmful behaviours. However, most of these have been devices that are suspended from the ceiling or wall, which don t necessarily satisfy the pigs desire to root and move material around. Recently, we carried out a short trial in Moorepark investigating the appeal of a novel floor toy compared with a similar toy hanging from a chain. Both toys are produced by Easyfix. We compared the toys at different allowances (1 or 3 toys at a time) to see whether providing more of them has any benefits for the pig, or has an effect on the wear of the toy. This explains why the wear of this type of toy was much greater when there was only 1 provided, as this single toy was absorbing the same level of activity as when there were 3 in the pen. Moreover, when there was only 1 floor toy, significantly more of the interactions ended with a displacement than when there were 3, or when the pigs had hanging toys. This also indicates the appeal of the toy to the pigs, as they appeared to be queuing up to use it. There was no problem with tail health in this group of pigs, but we did find that when pigs had more toys, they had less damage to the ears, so easy access to the toys could be important to reduce harmful behaviours. We also found that During the experiment, the hanging toy didn t lose any weight at all, and the length of the arms didn t shorten. However the floor toy consistently lost weight and arm length whether there was only 1 or 3 in the pen, significantly more so when there was only 1. This can be explained by the behaviour of the pigs towards the toys: the pigs had more interactions with the floor toys than the hanging ones, and each interaction lasted approx. 5 times longer. Thus the floor toy appears to be more appealing to the pigs, and holds their interest for longer. With regard to the number of toys, pigs had the same number of interactions with the floor toy regardless of whether there was 1 or 3 provided. Interactions per toy Floor 1 Floor 3 Hanging 1 Hanging 3 there was no problem of the floor toy getting dirty or trapped in the automatic feeder in fact the toy was so clean we could not score it for dirtiness, with less food stuck to it than the hanging toy. Overall this floor toy appeared to be more attractive to the pigs than the commonly used hanging toys, with no problems of hygiene, and very little management involved.

4 Research Highlights from BSAS 2015 Peadar Lawlor The annual British Society of Animal Science conference was held on the 14th and 15th April last in Chester England. During the conference two sessions were devoted to pig production. Below I give a summary of some of the papers contained in these sessions. 1. The effects of dietary digestible phosphorous, phytase and zinc oxide on the growth performance of weaner pigs Super-dosing of dietary phytase (up to 2500 FTU/kg) can increase pig growth post-weaning. However complex interactions between phytase and high levels of zinc oxide have previously been found. The objective here was to determine the effect on the growth of weaned pigs of super dosing phytase into diets with pharmacological levels of zinc oxide. The addition of dietary phytase at 2500 FTU/kg increased growth and improved FCE in newly weaned pigs when pigs were fed diets with 0.28% digestible P. Feed intake and growth rate were reduced when Zinc Oxide (2500 mg/kg) was fed for 3 weeks. The authors advised caution when feeding high levels of Zinc Oxide to weaned pigs of a good health status. Interestingly both Zinc Oxide and phytase when fed alone improved FCE in the first week after weaning but this effect was not found when both were fed together. (Mansbridge et al., 2015) 2. Growth performance from day 42 postweaning to slaughter at ~100 kg body weight in pigs divergent for residual feed intake reared at different sites across Europe FCR is traditionally used to measure feed efficiency in pigs. However, it may have limited value when used as a trait for genetic selection or selection of high feed efficient animals across production sites. It may be better to use alternative measures in these circumstances. One such is Residual Feed Intake (RFI; the difference between the observed feed intake and the intake predicted on observed growth). In this study RFI was found to be useful in ranking feed efficiency in pigs, however, FCR followed a broadly similar trend for identifying extremes. Residual feed intake (RFI) as a selection parameter for feed efficiency (FE) in pigs requires extensive repeated recording of animal growth, intake and body composition. Similarly, it demands extensive data manipulation, which is not feasible in commercial pig production. Despite this, RFI could be particularly useful for objectively selecting animals based on feed efficiency in multisite experiments where different genetics, different management practices and different health status may exist. (Buzoianu et al., 2015)

5 3. Effect of creep feeding and use of a sweet gel post weaning on weaner pig performance In an effort to stimulate increased feed intake immediately after weaning, this study examined the effect of creep feeding and the use of a hydrate (rich in vitamins and minerals) offered in a sweet gel form (Fresta gel). This product was previously found to improve the growth rate of piglets. The sweet gel increased feed disappearance post weaning but had no effect on growth rate at any stage up to 7 weeks post-weaning. Likewise, creep feeding the suckling pigs did not influence post-weaning piglet growth or pig weight at 7 days after weaning. It took 3 days for piglet dry matter intake to match that which was consumed from milk in the final days before weaning (i.e. approximately 220g DM/day). (Mansoor and Magowan, 2015) 4. The potential of co-products to reduce the environmental impact of pig systems This Life Cycle Assessment study investigated the effect that including byproducts / co products in Grower/Finisher diets can have on the Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP) and Non-Renewable Resource Use (NRRU) of pig systems. The authors found that it is possible to reduce the environmental impact of pig systems through the increased inclusion of coproducts. Increased wheat shorts and bakery meal inclusions reduced the environmental impact of the system with no increase in any of the impact categories tested. Likewise a diet formulated to optimise feed efficiency will greatly reduce the environmental impact on the system. (Mackenzie et al., 2015) 5. The variation in finishing pig feed conversion efficiency between and within herds This study aimed to determine the variation in FCR that exists between and within finishing pig units in Northern Ireland. Seventeen contract finishing units which were supplied with weaners from 5 source or breeding units were used in the study. Data was collected from a total of 79 batches of pigs. FCR ranged from 2.24 to 3.08 with an average FCR of 2.66 being found across the 79 batches of pigs. On a contract finisher unit basis FCR ranged from 2.47 to 2.85 giving a 0.38 unit range difference in average FCR between contract finishing units. This equates to difference in profitability of almost per annum based on 5200 finishing pigs. Some herds had superior FCR due to superior growth rates whilst others had superior FCR due to reductions in feed intake and only 26% had above average FCR due to optimisation of both ADG and ADFI. (Magowan et al., 2015)

6 Antibiotic Resistance and Pig Welfare Alessia Diana According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) approximately 37% of the total meat produced worldwide in 2010 (296 million ton) was pig meat and this amount is intended to grow as global demand increases. High usage use of antibiotics (ABs) has become a common practice in modern pig farms to treat and prevent illness in pigs under intensive production conditions. However, high AB usage is no longer sustainable because of the risk of AB resistance (ABR). The concern regarding ABR is twofold: 1) Human health is threatened due to the transfer of resistant pathogens from animals to humans thereby rendering human medication ineffective and 2) animal health is threatened as animal medications become ineffective thereby reducing disease control with a negative effect on pig health and welfare. For these reasons, prudent use of antibiotics is required in addition to the implementation of measures which can efficiently reduce or substitute ABs. Experiences from other countries show that measures can be applied to replace/reduce AB usage without any loss of productivity and welfare. Such measures include improved biosecurity, good hygiene, improved animal husbandry, housing and diet, reducing pig stress factors and improving staff training. New research is essential to develop new strategies in order to overcome this challenge. High standards of pig welfare are fundamental to achieving a reduction in AB usage as it means lower levels of stress. Stress is immunosuppressive thereby making animals more vulnerable to disease. Abnormal behaviours such as tail, ear and flank biting are indicators of poor welfare in pigs and may also reflect high AB usage. Tail biting in particular is associated with economic losses for pig farmers. For example, tail damage is estimated to cost the Dutch pig sector over 8 million annually. Furthermore, research indicates that tail biting and respiratory disease go hand in hand on Irish pig farms. Hence, efforts to address tail biting could also ameliorate problems with respiratory disease. Such measures could include provision of improved sources of environmental enrichment, reduced remixing and more generous space allowances.

7 Did you know? Global consumption of antibiotics in food animal production was estimated at 63,151 (±1,560) tons in 2010 and is projected to rise by 67%, to 105,596 (±3,605) tons, by 2030; For pigs the reported predominant use of antibiotics are for respiratory disease (mostly tetracyclines and penicillins) and diarrhoea (mostly polymyxins and macrolides); To furnish particular tools/materials called Environmental enrichments help pigs to perform natural behaviours which are essential for a good welfare. Student Profile Alessia Diana Alessia is a PhD student on the WELPIG project which is exploring the link between poor welfare, production diseases, antimicrobial usage and resistance on Irish pig farms. Alessia is supervised by Dr Laura Boyle of Teagasc and Dr. Nola Leonard of UCD. Alessias project examines the effect of removal of in-feed antibiotics during the weaning stage on performance, welfare and health indicators of pigs through to slaughter and the social factors driving antimicrobial prescribing practices of veterinarians and antimicrobial usage and attitudes towards pig welfare and the care of sick, injured or ill thriving pigs by pig farm staff. Location: Research Interests: Pig Production Department, Teagasc Moorepark. Animal welfare & behaviour Contact details: alessia.diana@teagasc.ie & :+353 (0)

8 New Arrival We are delighted to welcome Dr. Amy Haigh to the Pig Development Department. Amy completed her PhD with University College Cork in 2012, and prior to starting her position with Teagasc continued working in UCC as a postdoctoral researcher. She has experience of a wide range health and behaviour research methods across several species, and has been recruited to work on the Entail project. Her work will aim to identify methods of reducing tail biting that are suitable for use in slatted systems, focusing on compressed straw, and adjusting fibre in the diet. Further details of the Entail project will be available at the upcoming Research Dissemination day. Feed Quality & Feeding Strategies Project From the start of this month the Teagasc pig advisors have begun sampling and analysing composition and quality of diets used on Irish farms. The results of these analyses will be key to further improve the efficiency of Irish pig production. This work continues the service offered in the past by researcher Brendan Lynch and is within the project Evaluation of current feeding and management practices in Irish pig production and future strategies for improvement. If interested in this service please contact your local advisor. Teagasc Pig Research Dissemination Day The Pig Development Department are delighted to hold the first Teagasc Pig Farmers Research Dissemination Day. It will take place on the 12th of May in the Paddy O Keeffe Innovation Centre, Teagasc Moorepark, Fermoy and on the 15th of May in the Cavan Crystal Hotel. The day will feature a number of excellent presentations, covering the broad array of research projects currently on-going in the Pig Development Department. The event will provide attendees with the most up to date research results, an overview of on-going research and the opportunity to meet with some of our researchers and postgraduate students. We encourage all those involved in the sector to attend the day and not to miss out on the latest research the Teagasc Pig Development Department have to offer. You can register for this event by contacting Roisin Condon at or pigdepartment@teagasc.ie, or by contacting your local pig advisor. Admission is free of charge. We look forward to seeing you there! Teagasc Workshops Do you or your staff require health & safety or welfare training? If so please contact Amy Quinn at or amy.quinn@teagasc.ie. We are hoping to run these workshops in the coming months, depending on the level of interest.