Animal Well-being
Influence of Gestation Housing on Sow Welfare and Productivity
January 26, 2005By Roy Kirkwood
The data from this experiment suggests that the mixing of strange sows into groups can be done without adversely affecting fertility. The lack of overall effect on litter size and farrowing rate...
Animal Well-being
Evaluation of the effect of group size and structure on welfare of gestating sows in pens with electronic sow feeders
January 18, 2005By John Deen
The present research was an attempt to see how the existing system of commercial group houses with ESF can be made more welfare friendly by modifying the group size and structure. The groups studied...
Animal Well-being
The Effect of Space Allowance and Season on the Welfare of Early Weaned Piglets Under Commercial and Expermental transport conditions
December 13, 2004By Nora J. Lewis|S. Wamnes
Early weaning is a stressful period as reflected by high serum cortisol levels. Transport can add to this stress. In winter, cold environmental temperatures result in cold truck temperatures, lower...
Animal Well-being
Effects of Space Allowance on Group-Housed Dry Sows
December 10, 2004By Janeen L. Salak-Johnson PhD
These data provide further support that sow performance and productivity between those kept in crates and groups is similar. Overall, differences found between sows kept in crates and those in...
Animal Well-being
Strategies to Optimize Sow Longevity
December 3, 2004By Sandra Rodreguez
Early removal of sows from the herd due to mortality, health problems and low production is a major bottleneck in the swine industry that amounts to animal welfare and economic concerns due to...
Animal Well-being
Impact of early weaning and photoperiod manipulation on sow and piglet welfare
November 3, 2004By Janeen L. Salak-Johnson PhD
Animals adapt more readily to photoperiod cues than other environmental cues since photoperiod is more predictable and consistent over time. Previous work has shown limited (if any) affects of...
Animal Well-being
Enhancing Sow Welfare with High Fiber Diets and Frequent Feeding
October 13, 2004By G.C. Shurson|J.L. Johnston|J.P. Holt|Sam Baidoo
In this experiment, we attempted to employ a diet and feeding regimen that could be easily implemented in commercial production units while improving welfare as measured by occurrence of stereotypic...
Animal Well-being
Acute and chronic effects of ammonia on inflammation, immunology, endocrine function, performance, and behavior of nursery pigs
August 27, 2004By F. M. Mitloehner
Animal Well-being
Development of Computer Template(s) to Economically Assess Alternatives to Individual Housing of Gestating sows
March 22, 2004By Donald G. Levis PhD
The most widely used method of housing gestating sows in the United States is individual gestation stalls. However, the United States pork industry is undergoing pressure to eliminate the use of...
Animal Well-being
Well-Being of Early Weaned Piglets During Transport: Assessment of Seasonal Effects on Performance
January 5, 2004By Nora J. Lewis|Robert J. Berry
Impact of transport: Behavior during transport provides us with indicators of the immediate problems faced by piglets during transport and the coping strategies of the piglets. We can look at each...