Effect of Dam Parity on Growth Performance and Immunity of Weaned Pigs
Growth performance in the nursery may be affected by dam parity. That is the conclusion from work reported by Erin E. Carney and colleagues in their paper published in the 2009 Nebraska Swine Report.

Management for High Sow Longevity
Early departures from the beeding herd are costly, according to this article from Hypor.

Dam Parity Affects Litter Performance and Passive Immunity
Litter performance and passive immunity may be affected by dam parity, concluded Erin E. Carney and co-authors in their paper published in the 2009 Nebraska Swine Report.

Learning Pig Health and Welfare Virtually
Learning what can go wrong on a pig farm and how to cope with outbreaks of sickness is an essential part of production management, writes ThePigSite senior editor, Chris Harris.

Fine Tuning Nursery Management to Optimise Production Costs
Peter Wilcock of AB Agri Ltd in the UK explains the main areas of management that should be looked at to improve nursery performance and optimise lifetime production costs. He presented his paper at the London Swine Conference 2009.

How to Make a Nursery Group a Success
There are three tips to success: encouragement of feed intake, feeder management and environmental hygiene, according to Mike Tokach and colleagues at Kansas State University's Applied Swine Nutrition Team. They were presented at the Swine Profitability...

Functional Underline Sections Affect Pig Weight at Weaning
The term 'functional underline' refers to a teat and its associated section of the mammary gland. This report in the June issue of North Carolina State Extension Swine News was submitted by Justin Fix and Todd See, and describes an experiment...

Piglet Birth Weight Affects Future Growth, Composition and Mortality
Evidence that pigs with low birth weights grow slower, are fatter and are more likely to die before weaning, write Justin Fix and Todd See in the February 2009 issue of North Carolina State's Swine News.

Action for Productivity
A series of guides on practical topics from BPEX.

Animal Antibiotics, Resistance and Human Health
Antibiotics are a vital component to rearing healthy livestock, but many researchers argue that mismanaged use is having a detrimental effect on the industry, writes Adam Anson for ThePigSite.

PCV2 and M-Hyo Vaccination Timing Affects Nursery Pig Growth
The timing of vaccination against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M-Hyo) can affect pig performance, particularly post-weaning, when diet changes are also imposed. E.M. Kanel and colleagues at the College of Veterinary...

Piglet Survival: New Thinking on an Old Problem
There are a number of causes of mortality in piglets before weaning, and the best way to reduce losses will depend on the main causes on the particular farm. Dr Emma Baxter is a post-doctoral research scientist Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) whose...

How Can Heat Stress Affect your Production?
Dr Luiz Souza, post-doctoral associate in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota offers advice on strategies to protect the herd against higher temperatures, and tips to recognise the clinical signs of heat stress in order to...

Sow Herd Removals
Growing concerns over welfare have made the public more aware of sow culling, mortality and longevity. These issues are covered by Ronald O. Bates, state swine specialist at Michigan State University (MSU) in the latest issue of MSU Pork Quarterly...

Managing Highly Prolific Sows
Dr Mark Whitney, Associate Extension Professor at the University of Minnesota, offers tips on how to manage today's more prolific sows and their larger but less uniform litters. His advice is based on experience from France's Institut du Porc.

Newborn Management Indoors
Newborn piglets are poorly equipped to keep warm immediately after birth and as the energy reserves to produce body heat (glycogen stored in the liver) are limited, the combination of factors below means that piglets often become chilled. Number 14 in...

Hospital and Recovery Pen Management
The management of sick or injured pigs can be challenging, but also highly rewarding. The care of sick or injured stock requires suitable facilities, appropriate nutrition, good nursing and treatment. Number 15 in the series Action for Productivity...

Strategies for Control of Boar Taint
Summarised by swine grower/finisher specialist of OMAFRA, Doug Richards, this paper was presented by Dr Jim Squires at the University of Guelph at the Centralia Swine Research Update on 28 January 2009. Dr Squires outlined the relative merits of three...

Handling Stress During Marketing of Pigs from Large Groups
Pigs from large groups tended to load more quickly but the level of physical encouragement required, physiological responses to handling and meat quality were similar regardless of group size. These are the main findings of S.M. Hayne, D.L. Whittington...

Segregated Parity Structure on Breeding Farms
This paper presents the rationale for segregating sows on a farm into age-dependent sub-populations in order to take advantage of nutrition, management and health opportunities. It was presented by R. Dean Boyd (The Hanor Co) and Noel Williams (PIC USA)...

More on Euthanasia
Employee and equipment considerations are outlined by Dale Rozeboom (Michigan State University, MSU, Animal Science), Michelle Kopcha (MSU College of Veterinary Medicine) and Jerry May (Educator Pork AoE, Gratiot County) in the latest issue of MSU...

Managing By Numbers
"You can't manage what you don't measure," said Roger Meadows at the opening of his presentation at the BPEX Knowledge Transfer Event 'Change for Success' last month. ThePigSite Editor, Jackie Linden, summarises his highlights to demonstrate the benefits...

What to Look for in Gestation Systems for Group-Housed Sows
Productivity was similar in sows housed in stalls and group systems, providing sows were not mixed before implantation had occurred, and aggression at feeding time was controlled. Level of stockmanship and floor type were also important factors, according...