Underperformance Flashcards
What are the targets with regards to serving heifers?
Calving at 24m
Service at 15m
Weight 375kg
Height 132kg
What is the calving score?
0- no hand touches calf 1- hand touches but no rope 2- rope used, gentle pull 3- rope used, hard pull 4- C/S Aim: <15% heifer
What is the live birth rate? Target?
% calves born alive and survive for 24hours
Aim: cow 97%, heifer 92%
How much colostrum should the newborn calf consume within 1st 12hr?
6L in first 12 hr. 6 pints in first 6hr. Absorption better when suckled from dam or consumed in dams presence.
If human intervention requirement what are the important factors of colostrum management in newborn calves?
2L within 1hr, 2L within 6hr, 2L within next 6hr. Collect from 1st and 2nd milkings, stainless steel bottle, check quality with colostrometer. Refrigerate 4’C for 24hr, freeze immediately, thaw in warm water
How can you monitor colostral intakes?
Blood sample healthy calves 2-7d. Take cltted red top tube for serum. Use refractometer or send to lab for TP or more reliably ZST (excl globulins)
TP- 55g/l or 5.5g/dl
Why could the TP of a sick calf be unreable indicator of colostrum intake?
E.g. if losing protein
Or if dehydrated- falsely increased
What is CMR and how much is required?
Calf milk replacer
125g/l. 2L bid
125 x 2 x 2= 0.5kg/d
Cold weather require more e.g. 2.5L/d
What is best practice with regards to concentrate feeding in calves?
Maximise calf concentrate intake by time of weaning. Must not be starved into eating concentrates. Keep it fresh, at least bid, clean out bucket and don’t let it accumulate. Guideline 1kg/d at weaning
What are the targets and interference levels for fertility indexes in cows?
Calving index- 365 (T), >380d (I)
Earliest service date- 50d (T), 75d (I)
Calving- 1st service interval- 65d (T), >75d (I)
Calving-conception interval- 85d (T), >95d (I)
Conception rate: first service- 60 (T), <50% (I)
What are the in calf/ not in calf rates and their targets?
120d in calf- % of cows pregnant at 120d post calving, >64%
210d not in calf rate- % cows not pregnant 210d post calving, <7%
What factors need to be considered with regards to milk? What conditions could be causing deficiencies?
Low MY
Fat- acidosis- SARA
Protein- long term energy deficiency- may be suitable ration but not suitable management e.g. trough space, palatability, silage face management, heating
How is reproductive performance measured in pigs?
Pigs/sow/yr- 24-26
Incl litter size (~14), no of litters (2.3), pre weaning mortaility (5-8%)
What is the killing out percentage in pigs?
Weight of the carcase in relation to the live weight immediately prior to slaughter.
What is the killing out weight for pigs in UK?
90kg- therefore boar taint not usually an issue as havent reached puberty. Therefore don’t have to castrate
What is the avg days to slaughter in UK pig production and what factors are involved?
~6m. Food conversion vs cost of feed (55% of production costs). Overhead costs. Faster doesn’t necc mean cheaper. Growth of pigs follows sigmoid curve- lag phase, exponential phase, stationary phase. Kill out just before stationary phase
What is phase feeding in the pig industry?
Matching requirements to stage of growth. Should support lean growth potential at least cost- amount of protein relative to energy should be reduced w/ incr liveweight (expensive and excess just excreted in urine as get older)
How does the amount of protein fed impact pigs?
Under-supply- fail to exploit lean growth potential
Over-supply- reduce growth and incr Nitrogen excretion
What is the feed conversion efficiency in pig industry?
Weight of food that goes into pig for every kg produced. Impact on carbon footprint and greenhouse gases
What are the mortality targets in the pig industry?
Pre weaning mortality- 5-8% (10% interference)
Post-weaning mortality- 3-5%, before PCV-2 was about 2%
Adult mortality- 1% (doesn’t incl culls)
How is carcase quality of pigs graded?
Depth of back fat at abbatoir
Lean meat %. P1 and P3% and calf avg or P2%.
How does parity affect litter size?
Lower parity don’t produce as many pigs/litter
Culling rate- would hope about 40%
How do you measure underperformance in the UK pig industry?
Feed/ weight
Output- weight and days to slaughter
Abattoir payments
Herd monitoring/ recording programme