Underperformance in pigs and endemic disease in pigs

Question 1

Which pig disease is about to become notifiable (December 2015)?

Answer 1

Porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) will become a notifiable disease next month - December 2015. Recently a lower pathogenic strain noted in Germany. Big in the USA. Not currently in UK. Causes up to 100% mortality in pre-weaned piglets over 6 weeks. This disease won’t be compensated (unlike FMDV). Reason for notifiable status is that good biosecurity prevents its spread.

Question 2

What are markers of pig reproduction productivity?

Answer 2

• litter size
• # litters
• pre-weaning mortality

Question 3

What is AHDB?

Answer 3

= agricultural and horticultural development board. BPEX has become a part of this in recent years.

Question 4

What was the aim of the Two Tonne Sow (2TS)?

Answer 4

to help English producers achieve an industry average of 2000kg of pig meat/sow/y by 2013.

Question 5

What is the most expensive bit of a pig farm to run?

Answer 5

farrowing house

Question 6

What proportion of production costs is pig feed?

Answer 6

55%

Question 7

What are the 3 components of growth productivity?

Answer 7

• raw materials
• feed conversion
• emissions

Question 8

Define DAPP/ APP

Answer 8

(Deadweight) Average Pig price

Question 9

Describe the GnRH vaccine

Answer 9

• Improvac by Zoetis
• 2 injections, 4 and 8 weeks before slaughter
• reduces boar taint
• form of chemical castration
• reduces aggression
• improves growth rate
• improves quality of meat
• currently farm assurance schemes (esp red tractor) don’t allow castration and don’t allow vaccination with Improvac
• 97% farms are on a farm assurance schemes

Question 10

What to consider with growth productivity?

Answer 10

• kill out weight

- cost of production (as some point cost of production outweighs the benefit of growth)

Question 11

How does days to slaughter affect productivity?

Answer 11

• food conversion vs cost of feed
• overhead costs
• sex (male, female, castrate)

Question 12

What are pig farmers paid on?

Answer 12

Pigs farmers paid on weight and back fat thickness. Both have ranges. Otherwise penalised if outside these ranges.

Question 13

What should your target post-weaning mortality be?

Answer 13

Originally 3% but may be a little higher than this

Question 14

What is pre-weaning mortality?

Question 15

What is post-weaning mortality?

Question 16

What is adult mortality target?

Question 17

What dictates carcass quality?

Answer 17

• uniformity
• fat depth/mm mass/ lean weight
• underweight and overweight

Question 18

Describe the lean meat EU grade percentage

Answer 18

The EUROP grading system
60% and above: S
55-59% E
50-54% U
45-49%
40-44% O
39% or less P

Question 19

What does P1/P2/P3 mean?

Answer 19

these are fat depths used to estimate lean meat percentage

Question 20

What is the average parity?

Answer 20

usually parity 7/8 depending on litter size (most profit in litter 3/4/5)

Question 21

T/F: sow milk yield is often neglected

Answer 21

True - ensure adquate water supply. Hungry pigs = noisy!!

Question 22

Pigs are weaned at how old? And what is the weight target at this age?

Answer 22

28 days (weight target at this age is 7kg)

Question 23

What recording systems of key?

Answer 23

• feed/weight
• output-weight and days to slaughter
• abattoir payments (abscess, bursitis, other areas of carcass that is trimmed)
• have and use a herd monitoring/recording programme (BPHS = british pig health scheme)

Question 24

What can seriously affect your feed intake?

Answer 24

rat colony eating the food.

Question 25

How do you ensure you have optimum FCR?

Answer 25

- record FCR at all stages of production - appropriate investment (new buildings, feed systems, washing systems) - know the output capacity of your unit in kg of pig and work as close to that optimum as possible - make sure pigs have acesss to enough clean drinking water (water flow rates, height and type of delivery units, maintain cleanliness of drinkers, especially bowls).

Question 26

Outline phase feeding

Answer 26

---

Question 27

What will protein under-supply lead to?

Answer 27

--> fail to exploit lean growth potential

Question 28

What will protein over-supply lead to?

Answer 28

reduce growth and increase nitrogen excretion

Question 29

How is pork tenderness improved?

Answer 29

increasing growth rate

Question 30

What is a phase-feeding system?

Answer 30

the amount of protein relative to energy in the diet. could reduce feeding costs by b/w £0.54-£1.54/pig depending on cost of protein rich ingredients and slaughter weight.

Question 31

List impacts of disease

Answer 31

- tx costs - vaccination costs - trimming out at abattoir - mortality (+ cost of empty places)

Question 32

Discuss Mycoplasma hyopneumonia

Answer 32

- consolidation of cranial lung lobes - mild cough in uncomplicated cases - great economic importance as 30-80% pigs have lesions at slaughter trade - attacks ciliated epithelium of URT

Question 33

Effects - M. hyopneumoniae

Answer 33

- weaned pigs (6-8 weeks old) - increased cough - decreased FCE - variance in growth - secondary infection (as mucociliary escalator not working - could lead to increased mortality)

Question 34

Outline PCV2

Answer 34

- seen occasionally - subclinical disease - vaccines available (80% UK herds vaccinated) - immunosuppressive - usually chronic/ subclinical FCE, secondary infection

Question 35

What type of virus is PRRS?

Answer 35

- RNA - ss - thus rapidly mutates - very immunosuppressive - lives in pulmonary alveolar macrophages - reproductive component

Question 36

Outline tx costs

Answer 36

- in feed (new rules in Europe are likely to prohibit this) - in water - individuals (AMR, healthy animals eat/ unhealthy don't, in severe disease there is no point of in feed medication, sick animals likely to still drink)

Question 37

How can welfare affect productivity?

Answer 37

- food/kg of pork - more tx - higher mortality - increased days to slaughter - trimming at abattoir - lower carcass quality - meat for processing

Question 38

Questions to consider for revision

Answer 38

LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR THESE TWO LECTURES: - Pigs can under-perform in many ways. We often think about growth. what measures can we use to determine the growth of pigs - how may endemic dz may impact growth. What other +++ (performance?) factors are impacted by disease? - REVISION: describe clinical features of one endemic disease and outline how it impacts performance. - IF you don't know take inspiration from other spp