Eye on Europe

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

Last year, hog feeder Fritz Hagmann-Thomas achieved an average carcass weight for over 1,500 animals sent to slaughter of 95.2 kilograms with only 12 per cent of his hogs sliding over the 100-kilogram mark. He told the local farming paper, the Westfalen-Lippe Landwirtschaftliches Wochenblatt, that his target had been 95 kilograms and that he’d achieved his almost identical average without any regular weighing of his slaughter hogs.

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

Animal welfare pressure groups and member governments in the European Union (EU) have decreed that it’s “goodbye” to dry sow stalls as of January next year. Non-restraint group housing of the gestating animals has already been completely introduced in many countries. But, from January on, more floor space per sow will also be written into the EU rule books –  from the present 1.84 square metres per sow to 2.25 square metres for groups of up to 39 sows.

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.

Could the advantages of earlier weaning be recovered (up to 2.4 litters per sow/year were possible then) if sows could be served while still suckling?

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

Over 12 per cent higher weight gain for piglets from gilts over the first 21 days? This eye-widening advantage comes from recordings on a large-scale swine unit where groups of gilts and sows were injected with tranquilizers immediately after farrowing. Even for sows, the litter weight gain improvement over a control group was five per cent and for both groups piglet mortality was reduced by two per cent, including a 30 per cent reduction in piglet death through overlaying.

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

The aim is producing the high-survival litter. With this target, Dr. Emma Baxter from the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) in Edinburgh has developed a system that looks at the vitality of piglets in the first 15 seconds of life. But other important survival factors, such as time before the first colostrum drink, are added. And, naturally, the all-important birthweight is not neglected in calculating the piglet survival stakes.

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.

Results from larger herds in the east of the country using hybrid stock chosen for very high productivity report that sows are now farrowing up to five days later than the conventional 114 days. Researchers reckon that the longer gestation shown by sow breeding records on these units is a direct result of breeding programs with a high emphasis on selection for maximum liveborn per litter.

While Europe tends towards intensive swine barns with forced ventilation and expensive air filtering systems, Dutch engineers are emphasizing more natural means

by NORMAN DUNN

By focusing on natural ventilation, continual manure removal and outdoor access for animals, the swine sector in the Netherlands is investigating an even more sustainable approach to production.

The watchwords in a new housing concept being developed by a consortium of Dutch farm building companies and livestock farming experts at Wageningen University are low energy demand, minimum emissions and higher animal welfare.

A German university research team has distilled the best features from a selection of European farrowing pen designs and produced a prototype that offers rubber-matted comfort instead of a crate

by NORMAN DUNN

Animal welfare pressure groups are increasingly calling for an end to farrowing crates on European farms and researchers across the continent are taking the threat seriously. They’ve already devised a number of innovative alternatives. In general, it’s been found that a crate-less farrow pen appears to encourage a more relaxed sow, giving perhaps more milk. Certainly, taking the crate away also leaves less dangerous crushing zones for piglets. It also offers a system needing less cleaning time and therefore lowering costs.