Eye On Europe: Swiss group nursing system cuts costs, improves health and performance

Monday, February 4, 2008

Savings of up to 15 per cent can be realized by converting old barns to the system, which results in less stress for piglets and improved temperament for group nursing sows

by NORMAN DUNN

More group nursing could be introduced in sow herds, according to Barbara Früh of the Organic Agriculture Research Institute (FiBL) in Frick, Switzerland. The system has sows moving from individual farrowing pens after a minimum 10 days suckling into groups of usually four with a minimum 3.5 square metres of lying area per sow and litter.

The group nursing system saves around 15 per cent in costs when building new housing according to FiBL. But much larger savings can be made when converting older buildings for the system, because the number of single farrowing pens for a herd can be reduced by two-thirds. Routine labour tasks are also reduced.

A recent nine-month survey of 31 pig farms with the group nursing system in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with herds of up to 90 sows noted good performance in general with an average of 9.1 piglets per litter weaned. Although mortality averaged 15.6 per cent from birth to grouping (day 10), deaths were cut back to 3.9 per cent from grouping to weaning.

To avoid dominance problems amongst the young pigs at suckling and associated lack of uniformity within the batch, the FiBL recommends no more than five days difference in farrowing date within a group.

Self-closing "catcher" sow feeding pens are recommended for such systems by survey organizers Drs Johannes Baumgartner, a veterinarian at University of Vienna and Werner Hagmüller from the Austrian Institute of Organic Farming (HBLFA). These ensure that each sow can be fed according to body condition, although only 18 per cent of the 203 sows covered in the survey were scored as too thin and eight per cent as too fat.

The temperament of the group nursing sows also appears to be improved by the system. All farms involved were visited several times by the researchers and each time the sow reaction to a stranger walking into the group nursing pens was recorded. Only 18 sows reacted in a frightened or aggressive manner to this intrusion and the tendency was actually for sows to approach the person involved in a peaceful way.

A disappointment was the finding on around half the farms that the system did not, after all, reduce prevalent diarrhea amongst young pigs at weaning. The reasons for this are not yet clear and an independent trial on this subject is currently being carried out with group nursing sows at a German institute.

"This problem can be seen in conventional systems, too, and we believe can only be overcome in group nursing systems when housing, feeding, hygiene and management are all correct," adds Barbara Früh.

Finally, group nursing is generally welcomed on animal welfare grounds, because the system reflects almost exactly what occurs in the wild. Feral sows also farrow alone, but tend to come back into the herd with their young litters at 10 to 14 days after birth.

Complete clean-out policies pay off in Denmark
Where health problems such as mycoplasma, MMA and PRRS infections are seen as too high in a swine herd, experts recognize that a complete turnaround to improved performance can be achieved through 100 per cent culling and then careful cleaning of the housing, followed by a rest phase and introduction of new healthy breeding stock.

This so-called total replacement policy was long regarded as just too expensive for the commercial producer, unless forced by a serious disease outbreak. Now, scientists working for the research and development organization Danish Pig Production (DPP) have shown that the gap in earnings by total replacement can in some cases be repaid in only two years through all-round improvements in performance.

Recent DPP recordings on commercial units have shown an average extra piglet per sow per year and a three per cent reduction in piglet mortality up to 30 kilograms of liveweight. Feed conversion was also slightly improved for the young hogs, with daily liveweight gain boosted 50 grams to 450 grams on average. The extent of improvement naturally depends on infection levels in the original herd and the Danish researchers caution that a decision for a total replacement operation should involve the farm vet right from the word go.

Applied to a 1,000-sow herd in Denmark producing 30-kilogram young hogs for sale to feeders, the improved performance raised annual income in 2006 from around the equivalent of $234,000 to $270,500 - an increase of 15.5 per cent.

Traditionally, the break in production by total replacement for a sow herd has been 34 weeks. But this is where gilts are taken into the buildings after a resting phase of 18 to 19 weeks and inseminated to start the production cycle. Costs can be cut and the production break reduced by as much as 15 weeks, say Danish advisers, through inseminating gilts in a rented house away from the farm and bringing them into the rested building just a few weeks before first farrowing.

Resting feeding hog barns can also pay in cases where infections are causing high costs, according to the Danish records. The recommended resting phase after intensive cleaning is 16 weeks in such cases and typical performance improvements are a one per cent drop in mortality through to slaughter, generally improved feed conversion and an increase in daily liveweight gain of as much as 100 grams.

European consumers rebel against pork from castrated male hogs
Fast food chain McDonald's started the ball rolling at the end of 2007 in the Netherlands with a partial ban on pork products from hogs that had been castrated without anaesthetic and Burger King outlets weren't long in following the lead.

Now joining the rebellion are retailer Hema, meat processor Unox and the Bakker Bart snackbar chain in the Netherlands. These organizations were reacting quickly to the Dutch Central Food Industry Office (CBL) request that as of Jan. 1, 2009, only meat from entire male hogs or those that have been castrated under anaesthetic be retailed in the Netherlands.

Behind these moves is perceived public concern over castrating piglets without anaesthetic. Already Norway and Switzerland (both non-European Union countries) have implemented bans on hog castration without anaesthetic, which take full effect in 2009.

The Dutch companies that have announced their ban can afford to take this step because so far there's a ready supply of meat from uncastrated boars available from Britain and Ireland, where meat from entire males is produced under a number of marketing schemes. In fact a range of leading supermarkets in Britain sell pork as guaranteed from entire males.

This route is possible because hogs are traditionally slaughtered younger in Britain and Ireland compared with the rest of Europe (an average carcass weight of 73 kilograms compared with 92 kilos in the Netherlands and 93 kilos in Germany) and the risk of boar taint is believed to be reduced in this way. In fact, only when carcasses exceed 85 kilos is testing for boar taint mandatory under European Union regulations.

The Dutch and German hog producers do not want to give up castration nor lose the financial advantages of slaughtering much heavier pigs, so research institutes in these countries are looking into the alternatives.

The measures used in Switzerland include injection of a serum against boar taint, although major Swiss meat retailers have already announced that they do not regard this solution as reliable. The pressure is on for full anaesthetic for the young pigs, even although equipment cost per pig unit for this is put at the equivalent of $14,000 by the Swiss Farmers Union. The anti boar taint serum costs just $5 per shot.

Lidocaine local anaesthetic injections are not regarded as effective enough in preventing pain and now the Dutch are investigating CO2 anaesthesia, which is claimed to be more easily applied in the hog barn and cheaper than other gases. The Dutch Association of Pig Producers (NVV) is now involved in negotiating a national agreement, including full compensation for farmers who agree to carry out anaesthetized hog castration. BP