Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
5-2014
Journal or Book Title
Animals
Volume
4
Issue
2
First Page
241
Last Page
253
DOI
10.3390/ani4020241
Abstract
The broad aim of this study was to determine whether bedding level in the transport trailer influenced pig performance and welfare. Specifically, the objective was to define the bedding requirements of pigs during transportation in commercial settings during cold and mild weather. Animals (n = 112,078 pigs on 572 trailers) used were raised in commercial finishing sites and transported in trailers to commercial processing plants. Dead on arrival (DOA), non-ambulatory (NA), and total dead and down (D&D) data were collected and skin surface temperatures of the pigs were measured by infrared thermography. Data were collected during winter (Experiment 1) and fall/spring (Experiment 2). Total D&D percent showed no interaction between bedding level and outside air temperature in any experiments. Average skin surface temperature during unloading increased with outside air temperature linearly in both experiments (P < 0.01). In conclusion, over-use of bedding may be economically inefficient. Pig skin surface temperature could be a useful measure of pig welfare during or after transport.
Rights
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Copyright Owner
John McGlone, et al
Copyright Date
2014
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
McGlone, John J.; Johnson, Anna K.; Sapkota, Avi; and Kephart, Rebecca K., "Establishing Bedding Requirements during Transport and Monitoring Skin Temperature during Cold and Mild Seasons after Transport for Finishing Pigs" (2014). Animal Science Publications. 102.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ans_pubs/102
Comments
This article is from Animals 4 (2014): 241, doi:10.3390/ani4020241. Posted with permission.