Loading Gantry Versus Traditional Chute for the Finisher  Pig: Effect on Welfare Parameters at Time of Marketing

Berry, Nick; Johnson, Anna K.; Baas, Thomas J.; Stalder, Kenneth J.; Karriker, Locke A.; Hill, Jeff

doi:10.31274/ans_air-180814-900

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Transport losses in market weight pigs I (1980) 1970-1972 0.07 Allen et al (1974Allen et al ( ) 1969Allen et al ( -1972 0.08 Smith and Allen (1976) 1961-1973 0.10 Allen ( Berry et al (2007), Stewart et al (2008), andFitzgerald et al (2009) stopped monitoring dead and nonambulatory pigs after pigs crossed the weigh scale. Rademacher and Davies (2005) reported dead pigs during unloading and after the pigs crossed the weigh scale.…”

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confidence: 99%

Review:Transport Losses in Market Weight Pigs: I. A Review of Definitions, Incidence, and Economic Impact

Ritter

Ellis

Berry

et al. 2009

The Professional Animal Scientist

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Transport losses (dead and nonambulatory pigs) present animal welfare, legal, and economic challenges to the US swine industry. The objectives of this review are to explore 1) the historical perspective of transport losses; 2) the incidence and economic implications of transport losses; and 3) the symptoms and metabolic characteristics of fatigued pigs. In 1933 and 1934, the incidence of dead and nonambulatory pigs was reported to be 0.08 and 0.16%, respectively. More recently, 23 commercial field trials (n = 6,660,569 pigs) were summarized and the frequency of dead pigs, nonambulatory pigs, and total transport losses at the processing plant were 0.25, 0.44, and 0.69% respectively. In 2006, total economic losses associated with these transport losses were estimated to cost the US pork industry approximately $46 million. Furthermore, 0.37 and 0.05% of the nonambulatory pigs were classified as either fatigued (nonambulatory, noninjured) or injured, respectively, in 18 of these trials (n = 4,966,419 pigs). Fatigued pigs display signs of acute stress (open-mouth breathing, skin discoloration, muscle tremors) and are in a metabolic state of acidosis, characterized by low blood pH and high blood lactate concentrations; however, the majority of fatigued pigs will recover with rest. Transport losses are a multifactorial problem consisting of people, pig, facility design, management, transportation, processing plant, and environmental factors, and, because of these multiple factors, continued research efforts are needed to understand how each of the factors and the relationships among factors affect the well-being of the pig during the marketing process. In 1933 and 1934, the incidence of dead and nonambulatory pigs was reported to be 0. 08 and 0.16%, respectively. More recently, 23 commercial field trials (n = 6,660,569 pigs) were summarized and the frequency of dead pigs, nonambulatory pigs, and total transport losses at the processing plant were 0.25, 0.44, and 0.69% respectively. In 2006, total economic

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confidence: 99%

Review:Transport Losses in Market Weight Pigs: I. A Review of Definitions, Incidence, and Economic Impact

Ritter

Ellis

Berry

et al. 2009

The Professional Animal Scientist

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Effects of Facility Design on the Stress Response of Market Weight Pigs during Loading and Unloading

Johnson

Sadler

Garvey

et al. 2009

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The objective of this study was to determine the effects of finisher pig facility design on pig stress responses at the time of loading for the market weight pig. The new (NEW) design had 192 pigs / pen with internal swing gates that were used to manually pre-sort market weight pigs on the day before loading. Traditional (TRAD) design had 32 pigs / pen; it was not feasible to pre-sort market weight pigs prior to loading. During loading, treatments were alternatively assigned to trailer decks. Pigs were loaded onto straight deck trailers, provided with ~0.41 m 2 / pig and were transported ~1 h to a commercial plant. During loading and unloading, the number of pigs displaying open mouth breathing, skin discoloration and muscle tremors were recorded. At the plant, dead and non-ambulatory pigs were recorded during unloading, and non-ambulatory pigs were classified as fatigued (stress-related) or injured. Total losses were defined as the sum of dead + non-ambulatory pigs at the plant. Data were analyzed by Proc Glimmix of SAS. NEW pigs had lower (P < 0.05) percentages of open mouth breathing, skin discoloration and muscle tremors during loading and unloading compared to TRAD pigs. NEW pigs had fewer (P < 0.05) dead pigs (0.01 vs. 0.23 ± 0.05 %), total non-ambulatory pigs (0.29 vs. 0.66 ± 0.12 %) and total losses (0.30 vs. 0.89 ± 0.14 %) at the plant compared to TRAD pigs. In summary, utilizing large pens and pre-sorting prior to loading, reduced physical signs of stress during loading and unloading, and reduced total losses at the plant by 0.59 % compared to pigs from traditional pens.

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Loading Gantry Versus Traditional Chute for the Finisher Pig: Effect on Welfare Parameters at Time of Marketing

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Review:Transport Losses in Market Weight Pigs: I. A Review of Definitions, Incidence, and Economic Impact

Review:Transport Losses in Market Weight Pigs: I. A Review of Definitions, Incidence, and Economic Impact

Effects of Facility Design on the Stress Response of Market Weight Pigs during Loading and Unloading

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