Animal Well-being
Effectiveness of a non-penetrating captive bolt for on-farm euthanasia of low viability piglets
July 18, 2008By Tina Widowski
Swine producers must inevitably deal with on-farm euthanasia of low viability and compromised piglets. Compromised piglets are of low economic value and may be underweight, weak, malformed, emaciated...
Animal Well-being
Space requirements of weaned pigs during transportation
March 13, 2008By John McGlone
Currently there are no trucking quality assurance recommendations for space allowance of weaned pigs during transport. The objective of this research was to establish a first estimate of the space...
Animal Well-being
Comparison of Management Factors Affecting Aggression in Group Housed Sows
January 24, 2008By Harold Gonyou
If sows are maintained in similar groups from gestation to gestation, aggression is reduced compared to the other regrouping strategies tested. However, this method would not always be practical....
Animal Well-being
Comparison of Handling Attributes and Physiological Indicators of Stress and Welfare During Marketing of Pigs from Conventional Small Pens and Large Pen Auto Sort
January 4, 2008By Harold Gonyou
When handled through the same facilities, pigs from large and small groups required similar levels of force during handling. Difficult groups of pigs were encountered in both treatments. However,...
Animal Well-being
What is the optimum age for processing neonatal pigs?
June 29, 2007By Stephanie Torrey
Multiple producer groups recommend that piglets be tail docked and ear notched within 24 hours of birth because the procedures are considered less stressful for the piglet at that age. However, there...
Animal Well-being
How does drinking behavior influence feed intake and the development of behavior problems in newly weaned piglets?
December 29, 2006By Tina Widowski
Drinker style affects multiple aspects of production and behavior of the newly weaned piglet. Nipple drinkers contribute to high levels of water wastage, regardless of weaning age. Float bowl...
Animal Well-being
The frequency of the HAL-1843 mutation of the RYR gene in dead and non-ambulatory/non-injured pigs on arrival at the packing plant.
October 11, 2006By Michael Ellis
The HAL-1843 mutation of the RYR gene (commonly called the “Stress” or “Halothane” gene) is associated with increased stress susceptibility and death loss in pigs. Death loss and...
Animal Well-being
Evaluation of sows at harvest to determine the incidence of abnormalities that could lead to culling of breeding herd females
August 22, 2006By Ken Stalder
Poor sow longevity in commercial pork production systems can lead to economic inefficiency and animal welfare concerns (Stalder et al., 2004). In the United States, reported annual breeding female...
Animal Well-being
Investigation into the effects of feeding schedule on body condition, aggressiveness, and reproductive failure in group housed sows
July 17, 2006By Michael Tokach
Determining the welfare status of gestating sows can be challenging because of the complexities between different gestation housing environments and challenges quantifying measures of welfare. A...
Animal Well-being
The impact of routine piglet processing on well-being
March 31, 2006By Donald Lay Jr
The major finding of this research project is that any processing technique that can be carried out quickly and with minimal tissue damage is likely to be least stressful for the piglet. Alternative...
