Dimension and design of the gestation unit
The gestation unit is basically a parking unit where sows should be kept comfortable to allow the pregnancy to develop
Page 48 of articles about management
Thompson’s tip: Drying out after disinfection
Cleaning and disinfection are an essential part of successful disease control, preventing or reducing the transfer of infection from one batch of pigs to the next. However, drying out of pens is a frequently-neglected part of the process.
Feed wastage
Regardless of the causes we often waste food and the animals do not consume everything that arrives to the farm.
Husbandry of groups of growing piglets
Space/comfort, after feeding and nourishment, is without doubt a limiting factor for the establishment of a quick, and above all, solid hierarchy.
Sweet smell of success for boars
Pork CRC supported 4th year animal science honours student at Western Australia’s Murdoch University, Amy Lealiifano, has found that vaccinating boars for the second time with Improvac close to a fortnight before slaughter effectively controls boar taint, while also not blowing out fat levels.
Chinese research wins APVS award
A team of researchers from the China Agricultural University in Beijing have won an award for their evaluation of the performance of the boar taint vaccine Improvac® (Pfizer Animal Health) under Chinese production conditions.
Dimension and design of the mating and control unit
The mating and control unit is one of the most important elements of a sow unit. Thus, it must facilitate a high pregnancy rate, high number of piglets, uniform body condition, sow longevity and a low return rate.
EuroTier 2010: The world’s Top Event for animal farmers
From 16 to 19 November 2010 the international EuroTier exhibition will once again be the year’s Top Event for all involved in animal husbandry and management worldwide.
Hormone management (II)
When the sow is pregnant, the corpus luteum remains and continues to produce progesterone. While the levels of progesterone are high the sow does not become in heat and maintains gestation.
Thompson’s tip: Backlogs and stocking rates
Significant increases in stocking densities have been seen in finishing pens, especially among larger pigs, as various abattoirs have ‘rolled back’ their weekly kills.
Piglet Castration
Dr. Clement of the University of Louisiana and that is a little piglet on its back about to be castrated.
Stimulation and mating of sows in stalls (II)
So far we have seen different options for retaining the males and for stimulating the stalled sows that maximize speed and stimulus. Once stimulated, now we are going to mate them.
Finland - Improvements in conditions on pig farms
No great changes have been recorded in the number of reports on violations of animal welfare regulations at Finnish farms in recent years. However, the proportion of serious violations has increased.
Dimension and design of the finisher unit
Trials have shown that a group size of 15-25 pigs per pen is ideal and it also coincides with the capacity of most feeders on the market.