The Rural Voice, 1986-06, Page 24BREEDING STOCK
Fair Family Farm continues to
have breeding stock available
until Aug. 1986.
Our herd health is EXCELLENT.
This will be our final offering;
with regrets, we are leaving the
hog industry at this time.
We extend our appreciation
to all our customers and wish
them continued success.
SANDY & SUSAN FAIR
FAIR FAMILY FARM
R.R. 4, Wingham — 519-357-2096
LIQUID MANURE
PUMPS
and
Propeller
Agitators
J. Spanjer
TA VISTOCK
655-2678
between 6 and 7 p.m.
T
Be sure to V15,1
our exhrha
at the
Porti Congre,,
L
HAMPSHIRES
Purebred R.O.P.
Breeding Stock
A limited number of
Spots, Yorks, and Crossbred
Boars and Gilts
Herd health classified
good**
Delivery available
RALPH HENDERSON
R.R. 1, Atwood, Ont.
(519) 356-2656
22 THE RURAL VOICE
"Mk
KEEPING PEACE
Pig fighting is a common pro-
blem for producers -- and a costly
one. But researchers at Agriculture
Canada's Animal Research Centre
in Ottawa are seeking ways to keep
the peace in pig pens.
"Pigs normally get along, but if
they're unacquainted they'll
fight," says Dave Fraser, an
ethologist, or animal behavior ex-
pert. "Serious injury is fairly rare,
but the fighting obviously creates
stress and that hurts production."
To find out why they go at each
other, pigs in the centre's 100 -sow
herd near Ottawa are being
videotaped for periods of time
ranging from 20 minutes to one
hour. The tape is then played back
at one-sixth normal speed so
researchers can see exactly how
fighting develops.
A detailed description of the
pig's behavior is fed into a com-
puter by Jeff Rushen, an ethologist
from Australia who is at the
research centre on a two-year post-
doctoral fellowship.
"The purpose of this intensive
study is to qualify the pigs'
behavior," says Dr. Rushen.
"Then we can test different
treatments."
"For example, if we house two
groups of pigs in adjacent pens
before joining them, will it reduce
fighting? If the two groups are dif-
ferent ages, will it help? Does their
odour, the amount of space they
have or whether they are hungry
make a difference?"
Dr. Fraser is also studying pigs'
tendency to bite each others' tails,
which, unlike fighting, isn't a nor-
mal part of their aggressive
behavior.
Pigs, by nature, like to use their
ample snouts to explore. The
discovery of a pen -mate's tail can
lead to nibbling and that often
draws blood.
Some pigs love the taste of blood
and, because of this, one bleeding -
tail incident can lead to an out-
break of persistent tail biting. The
result is often infection and reduc-
ed performance.
Dr. Fraser suspects pigs' attrac-
tion to blood can be increased by
certain dietary deficiencies.
To find out if he's right, he's
testing the effects of withholding
specific minerals one at a time
IN THE PIG PEN
from pigs' feed to see if a lack of
certain ones leads to tail biting.
The 12 pigs on the experimental
diets are presented with two pieces
of rope -- one dipped in blood, the
other not dipped. The amount of
time spent chewing on each piece is
then measured.
"When you eliminate something
like salt from a pig's diet, it takes
time for the effect to develop,"
Dr. Fraser says. "Altogether this
testing is going to take about 18
months."
Once completed, however, it
may yield new information about
diet that could help producers pre-
vent tail biting -- and the accompa-
nying losses -- among their pigs.
Dr. Fraser says that as the prac-
tice of indoor animal husbandry
intensifies, learning more about
animal behavior becomes increas-
ingly important.
"In modern farming, people are
planning animals' environment
more than ever before. To do that
properly, we have to understand
animal behavior." El
NEWLY DESIGNED
FARROWING CRATE
Dr. Fraser, an expert in animal
behaviour at the Animal Research
Centre at Agriculture Canada, and
Dr. Phillips, from the Agriculture
Canada's Engineering and
Statistical Research Institute, have
also come up with a new design for
a farrowing crate which allows
sows more freedom of movement
than other crates that are now on
the market.
The purpose of the metal -barred
crate is to prevent sows from
crushing their piglets when they
move about or lie down. About 20
per cent of piglets on Canadian
farms die, many because they are
crushed by the sow.
Current commercial designs pre-
vent sows from turning around.
The new design has enough room
at head level to allow sows to turn
around without hurting offspring.
It's been in use for about a year
on the Animal Research Centre
farm near Ottawa, where a
100 -sow herd produces 2,000
piglets annually, and eventually
will be tested commercially. ❑