Eye on Europe

Welfare certificate targets tail docking, castration without anesthetic and GM feeds

by NORMAN DUNN

In January 2013, a raft of German meat retailers officially adopted a new national label for their products: the “Tierschutz” (Animal Protection) certificate. The rules involved, established by livestock experts at the University of Göttingen together with the German animal welfare union (DTB) and backed by the Ministry of Agriculture, cover the breeding and management, transport and slaughter of swine (and poultry).

Denmark aims for an annual sow production of over 30 weaners but sets lower piglet mortality as an equally important target.

by NORMAN DUNN

Denmark’s swine sector policy makers, the national Pig Research Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture, backed by university research departments, have decreed that selection for still-larger litters from the national Danbred hybrid should continue. In 2012, average production per sow is expected to be between 29 and 30 weaned. The born-alive-per-litter figure in 2011 was 14.8, with 12.7 weaned.

Danish litter performance, world-class even now, is already showing improvements from a 14G trait program being tried on several demonstration farms

by NORMAN DUNN

A simple template that fits snugly over the hams of feeders when they’re ready for slaughter helps hog feeders in the German Rhineland hit optimum carcass conformation without the hassle of routine weighing

by NORMAN DUNN

The coming Jan. 1 deadline for the end of dry sow stalls is presenting problems for some
countries. But others have been running loose housing systems for years with good results

by NORMAN DUNN

A new technique being tried out in the Netherlands brings more litters per year through serving sows during the suckling period

by NORMAN DUNN

European Union law stipulates 28 days as the minimum suckling period. In theory, at any rate, this means the number of farrowings per sow every year is reduced when compared with performance when 21 days was a normal suckling period on European swine farms.

An innovative Austrian design offers different floor levels and pens 24 metres long running from fully enclosed straw bedded area through bare slats to fresh air exercise yard

by NORMAN DUNN

Natural ventilation for swine barns is not so well-known on the European continent, so there’s a lot of interest in a design pioneered by a farming family in Austria’s Steiermark province. It combines straw bedding for lying areas, fully slatted flooring for feeding and exercise, and plenty of fresh air.

Tranquilizers help take the pain out of parturition for gilts and sows, according to German research. Results include less danger of piglet injuries, much more milk and better weight gain for the young litters.

by NORMAN DUNN

British and French research suggest that scoring newborn piglets for vitality and selecting the sows and boars producing the liveliest litters for breeding stock can lead to improved results

by NORMAN DUNN

Breeding records show that, on some farms, hybrid stock chosen for their high productivity are farrowing up to five days later, throwing breeding schedules out of whack

by NORMAN DUNN

The old rule of thumb that a sow gestation lasts an average three months, three weeks and three days is becoming out of date on some German farms.