Feeding behaviour of pigs in groups monitored by a computerised feeding system

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 ◽  
pp. 54-54
Author(s):  
R.J. Young ◽  
A.B. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Recording Equipment ◽  
Large White ◽  
Selection Environment ◽  
Feeding Station ◽  
Commercial Farms ◽  
Selection Testing ◽  
Grower Diet ◽  
Food Consumed

Recently computerised pig feeding has attracted interest from pig breeding companies, to improve selection. Testing has in the past been carried out on Individually housed pigs, whereas on commercial farms pigs are group housed and correlations between these two environments can be poor. Practically this problem can be solved by group housing pigs with an electronic feeding station. This system allows one pig to feed at a time and records each pigs Identity and the amount of food consumed, making the selection environment similar to conditions found on commercial farms. This paper presents results showing the strong effect of social factors on the feeding behaviour of Individual growing pigs In such a system.The subjects were 30 male and 30 female Large White X Landrace pigs (Cotswold Pig Development Co. Ltd, Lincoln UK), divided Into six groups of ten, balanced for sex and initially body weight (mean starting and finishing weight 32.1 vs 68.5kg) within a pen but not between pens. Measurements of feeding behaviour (see below) were continuously monitored for an average of 38 days, by one electronic feeding station (Feed Intake Recording Equipment, developed by Hunday Electronics Ltd.) In each pen. The pigs were fed on a standard pelleted grower diet.

The effect of number of single-space feeders and the provision of an additional drinker or toy on the performance and feeding behaviour of growing pigs

1991 ◽  
Vol 1991 ◽  
pp. 61-61
Author(s):  
A.T.S. Morrow ◽  
N. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Feed Efficiency ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
No Reduction ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Large White ◽  
Floor Space ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Large Groups

Feed spillage is a major cause of inefficiency when non-pelleted diets are fed ad libitum especially when large groups of pigs have access to only one feeding space (Patterson and Walker, 1989; Walker, 1990). Competition for access to the feeder may contribute to spillage (Hansen, Hagelso and Madsen, 1982) although Albar and Granier (1989) showed no reduction in feed efficiency with 8 to 12 pigs per feeding place. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the performance and feeding behaviour of pigs fed ad libitum in groups of 20 when given an extra single-space feeder or an additional drinker or ‘toy’.Six hundred and forty cross-bred pigs from Landrace and Large White origins were used from 37 kg to slaughter at 91 kg live weight. They were penned in groups of 20 with a floor space allowance of 0.66 m2 /pig on fully slatted floors.

Effect of group size on the feeding behaviour of pigs using a computerized single-space feeding system.

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 ◽  
pp. 9-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
B L Nielsen ◽  
C T Whittemore ◽  
A B Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Feeding System ◽  
The Past ◽  
Commercial Farms ◽  
Performance Results ◽  
Selection Of

In the past selection programmes for pigs have been based on measurements from individually housed animals. The manual weighing of food and refusals to obtain information on individual food intake is labour-consuming, and the housing method different to that found on most commercial farms where growing pigs are housed in groups. The selection of pigs in one environment to be kept in another often leads to a discrepancy between performance results achieved by pig breeders and those obtained in a commercial situation (Merks, 1989).

Influence of energy and protein concentration in the diet on the performance of growing pigs 2. Differing nutrient density at a constant energy: protein ratio

1972 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Lodge ◽  
M. E. Cundy ◽  
R. Cooke ◽  
D. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Fat Content ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Protein Ratio ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Nutrient Density ◽  
Amino Acid Balance

SUMMARYForty-eight gilts by Landrace sires on Large White × Landrace females were randomly allocated to eight pens and within pens to six treatment groups involving three diets and two levels of feeding from 23 to 59 kg live weight. All diets were formulated to have approximately the same ratio of digestible energy to crude protein (160 kcal DE/unit % CP) but different energy and protein concentrations: (A) 3500 kcal/kg DE and 21 % CP, (B) 3150 kcal/kg DE and 19% CP, and (C) 2800 kcal/kg DE and 17% CP. Amino acid balance was maintained relatively constant with synthetic lysine, methionine and tryptophan. The levels of feeding were such that the lower level of diet A allowed an intake of energy and protein similar to the higher level of diet B, and the lower level of B was similar to the higher level of C.On the lower level of feeding, growth rate, efficiency of feed conversion and carcass fat content increased linearly with each increment in nutrient concentration; on the higher level of feeding growth rate and EFC increased from diet C to B but not from B to A, whereas carcass fat content increased linearly with diet from the lowest to the highest concentration. There was a non-significant tendency for the higher density diets at a similar level of nutrient intake to give better EFC and fatter carcasses than the lower density diets.

Effect of season and dietary fibre on feeding behaviour of lactating sows in a tropical climate

2003 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Renaudeau ◽  
J.-L. Weisbecker ◽  
J. Noblet
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Dietary Fibre ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Control Diet ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Tropical Climate ◽  
Large White ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Lactating Sows ◽  
Hot Season

AbstractTwenty-seven multiparous Large White sows were used to determine the effect of season in a tropical climate and dietary fibre on their feeding behaviour during lactation. The experiment was conducted in Guadeloupe (French West Indies, latitude 16°N, longitude 61°W) between October 1999 and January 2001; climatic conditions in the farrowing room were equivalent to outdoor conditions. Two seasons were determined a posteriori from climatic criteria recorded continuously in the farrowing room. During the warm season, ambient temperature and relative humidity averaged 25°C and 0·868, respectively. The corresponding values for the hot season were 27·5°C and 0·835. Experimental diets offered during lactation were a control diet (C; 140 g neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) per kg) and a high fibre diet (HF; 200 g NDF per kg). Sows were offered food ad libitum between the 6th and the 27th day of lactation. Daily food intake between day 6 and day 27 decreased during the hot season (P < 0·001; 3226 v. 5571 g/d during the warm season). This was achieved by a reduction of both meal size (P < 0·05; 460 v. 718 g per meal) and ingestion and consumption time (P < 0·01; -11·1 and -15·3 min/day, respectively) whereas the number of meals remained constant (8·4 meals per day on average). During warm season, hourly food intake peaked twice daily near sunrise and sunset. During the hot season, peaks were attenuated and food intake was reduced during the hotter periods of the day and increased during the fresher period of the day, especially in early morning. As a result the diurnal partition of food intake was significantly affected by season; proportionately 0·62 and 0·47 of total food intake occurred during the day in warm and in hot seasons, respectively. Standing duration averaged 138 min/ day with no significant difference between seasons. Feeding behaviour criteria were not influenced by diet composition. In conclusion, the season in a humid tropical climate significantly affects the feeding behaviour of lactating sows.

scholarly journals Copy number variation of amylase alpha 2B gene is associated with feed efficiency traits in Large White pigs--title not given--

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsukasa Yoshidomi ◽  
Kazuaki Tanaka ◽  
Tatsuya Takizawa ◽  
Satoshi Nikaido ◽  
Tetsuya Ito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Copy Number Variation ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feed Efficiency ◽  
Copy Number ◽  
Conversion Ratio ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Feed Conversion Ratio ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Number Variation

Copy number variation (CNV) of the AMY gene in humans has been enthusiastically studied for its association with starch digestibility and obesity. The alpha-amylase (AMY) is a major starch digestive enzyme in mammals. This study aimed to determine the association between CNV of the porcine pancreatic amylase (AMY2B) gene and feed efficiency. Improvement of feed efficiency in growing pigs is of great economic interest. We assayed the copy number of AMY2B by using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) in a Large White pig population. We identified three genotypes for AMY2B CNVs, namely I/I (homozygotes of haplotype I; a chromosome with one copy of AMY2B), I/II (heterozygotes of haplotype I and II; a chromosome with two copies) and II/II (homozygotes of haplotype II). We tested the genotypes of the parental generation consisting of six males, 21 females and 265 offspring piglets to validate the AMY2B CNV genotyping. With very few mistyping exceptions, copy numbers of AMY2B were transmitted to piglets in segregation ratios following Mendelian inheritance. Finally, we performed an association analysis between the CNV of the AMY2B gene and feed efficiency traits in 207 uncastrated male pigs. The generalised linear model analysis showed the significant effects of AMY2B CNV genotype on average daily feed intake, total feed intake and feed conversion ratio during growth from 30 kg to 100 kg body weight. However, it was not associated with average daily gain, backfat thickness and loin eye muscle area. Individuals with the genotype I/I had about 76.6 ± 27.1 g lower average daily feed intake, 5.35 ± 1.90 kg lower total feed intake and 0.089 8 ± 0.026 5 lower feed conversion ratio than individuals with I/II and II/II genotypes. Thus, AMY2B CNV has the potential to be an effective genetic marker that could reduce feed costs for pig farming.  

Sex Differences in Feeding Behaviour at Feeding Station Scale in Soay Sheep (Ovis Aries)

Behaviour ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 141 (8) ◽  
pp. 999-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Ovis Aries ◽  
Intake Rate ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Soay Sheep ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Feeding Station ◽  
Foraging Decisions ◽  
Mouth Size ◽  
Mechanistic Response

AbstractHerbivorous ungulates live in a spatially heterogeneous environment making foraging decisions at a range of hierarchical scales, from bite size to landscape. We investigated the factors that control intake rate in Soay sheep (Ovis aries) when discrete items of food were sparsely distributed at the feeding station scale. Within the feeding station we varied the difficulty of accessing food, distance between items of food, difficulty of finding the food and complexity of the feeding station and recorded how intake rate responded in relation to body size, mouth size and the sex of the animal. Our findings demonstrated how increasing difficulty of accessing food, and increasing complexity of the feeding station negatively affected intake rate. The expected mechanistic response that smaller animals or animals with smaller mouth size were better at handling discrete small items of food, was overridden by individual and sexual differences in behaviour. We also considered that intake rate within a feeding station could be maximised by optimising the spatial pattern of offtake, and the results clearly indicated that both sexes tended to show clustered patterns of offtake. Animals of the same sex responded in a similar way to the difficulty in handling food items; males persevered more than females and consequently were less handicaped by having larger mouths. We discussed these results in relation to behavioural and body mass differences between the sexes and animals.

EFFECT OF VARIOUS FORMS OF SELENIUM ON THE PRODUCTIVITY AND METABOLISM OF FATTENED YOUNG PIGS IN PRODUCTION CONDITIONS

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-65
Author(s):  
M.G. CHABAEV ◽  
◽  
E.YU. TSIS ◽  
R.V. NEKRASOV ◽  
M.I. KLEMENTEV
Keyword(s):  
Blood Cells ◽  
Average Daily Gain ◽  
White Blood Cells ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Protein Activity ◽  
Large White ◽  
Organic Selenium ◽  
Young Pigs

Selenium plays an important role for maintaining complex and adequate nutrition of fattened young pigs. It also has a big biological importance to maintain growth and health, as well as for biochemical and physiological processes This study presents the results of a production experiment to determine the effect of organic and inorganic forms of selenium on growth indicators, immunohematological blood parameters and slaughter qualities of fattened pigs in period I and II. Test feeding with various forms of selenium has been implemented with two groups of analogs (N = 60; n = 30), taking into account age and live weight. The experiment was conducted on castrates of large white breed, which were divided into two groups of 30 heads each following the principle of analogues (taking into account their age, live weight). The studied fattened pigs received standard complete feeds of the SK-5 and SK-6 types for a period of 105 days. Growing pigs were fed with organic selenium for 20 mg/kg as part of the feed 64 mixture per head in the first and second period of fattening, while the animals of the control group were fed with 0.3 mg/kg of the inorganic form of selenium. Including a chelated form of selenium in the complete feed of castrates at the rate established in the course of scientific and economic studies has led to 757 g of average daily gain, which is 8.1% more as compared to the control group. The concentration of red blood cells in the blood of growing pigs fed with 20 mg/kg of selenium chelate increased by 6.3%, hemoglobin – by 2.4%, and white blood cells – by 7.1% as compared to the control. Feeding organic selenium to fattened young pigs contributed to a significant increase in specific units of protein activity by 38.65% (p < 0.01), BASC – by 7.63%, as well as lysis – by 40.06% (p < 0.05), and phagocytic activity by 3.33% in blood serum as compared to the control. The half-carcasses of hogs who had received fed rations including selenium chelate fetured slaughter weight and slaughter yield, respectively, higher – by 6.4 and 0.6% as compared with the control analogues. The use of the established norm of organic selenium in the diets of fattened young pigs according to the results of production testing is economically profitable and contributes to a per-head profit of 420 rubles.

Enrichment strategy of object combination on the behaviour of growing pigs

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-15
Author(s):  
A. A. Famakinwa ◽  
O. A. Adebiyi ◽  
T. O. Bankole ◽  
P. O. Idahosa
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Growing Pigs ◽  
Performance Data ◽  
Average Weight ◽  
Feed Conversion ◽  
Large White ◽  
Average Weight Gain

This study was carried out to determine the effect of object combination as environmental enrichment on behaviour of growing pigs. Thirty-six (36) crossbreed (Large White X Landrace) growing pigs with average weight of 34-36Kg were allotted randomly into four treatments, replicated three times in a completely randomized design. The four treatments were; Control (without enrichment), PRope (2 pieces of polyester rope), treatment SWood (2 pieces of soft wood) and treatment PRope+SWood (1 piece of soft wood and 1 piece of polyester rope). Behavioural observations were monitored by CCTV and recordings were made for 6 hours/day and 3days/week. At the end of the experiment, data collected includes average feed intake and average weight gain while feed conversion ratio was calculated. Likewise, behavioural observations; enrichment use, general activities, pen manipulation and pen-mate manipulation were observed. Behavioural data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) while performance data were analysed using one-way ANOVA. Performance data were significantly influenced (P<0.05) by enrichments for all the parameters measured. PRope+SWood had the highest value for the final weight (50.63kg), average weight gain (15.95kg) and average feed intake (56.61kg) while PRope had the highest FCR 4.18). Penmate manipulation (10.48%), pen manipulation (19.02%) and general activities (14.62%) were lower and significantly better for PRope+SWood compared to PRope and SWood and the highest interaction with enrichment objects was observed in the PRope+SWood (55.88%). It can be concluded that the use of combination of enrichment objects enhanced the performance and behaviour of pigs.

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