John S Richardson. Production Performance Services Ltd 1

Transcription

1 John S Richardson Production Performance Services Ltd 1

2 Coping with variation in finishing pigs Topics Causes and consequences of variation Management issues for pig producers housing, seasonality Practical ways to manage variation and improve efficiency ( ) 2

3 Variability and UK pig production - (relative to EU competitors) UK 4-5 pig breeding companies Each Co. has at least 2 sow types Each Co. has at least 2 boar lines 60% indoor, 40% outdoor prodn. Straw and slatted production Natural & fan ventilated buildings Pen sizes of pigs Producing 10.4 million pigs / year These all add to the variability of finished pigs and pig meat quality 3

4 What are the consequences of variable growth? Slower & variable growth - increased maintenance therefore poorer FCR Wasted nutrients ( ) Reduced sale weight ( ) Lower profit margin / pig Longer batch time, -delayed pen clearance Fewer batches / year Lower % house fill higher housing cost / pig Lower annual turnover / profit 4

5 Variation - and the pig processor Ideally a 20kg weight range (75-95kg dead weight) You send a 40kg weight range (<60-100kg dead weight) 5

6 Variation issues for the retailer and consumer Required - uniformity Not required - variation Grading via P2 back-fat measurements aims to limit and penalise variability 6

7 Processing reduces variability and adds value for the processor 7

8 How much variation is there in pigs?? Weight distribution (variation) of weaned pigs 342 pigs % of pigs 5.8kg 68% of pigs 9.0kg 7.4kg mean weight (1SD = 1.6kg) 4.2kg 95% of pigs 10.6kg 2.6kg 99.7% of pigs 12.2kg Weaning weight kg / pig (Richardson 2015) Coefficient of variation (22%) shows the spread of weights from the mean weight of 7.4kg 8

9 Variation in dead weight of a batch of 2200 pigs sales drawn weekly Nos.of pigs Mean Dead weight 85.4kg 1 SD 6.4kg Coefficient of Variation 7.5% 0.5% under weight Target minimum dead weight 80 kg 12% 60-80kg 0.6% Over weight Deadweight kg 9

10 Variation in pigs issues for the pig producer The starting point is that pigs are variable typically birth and weaning weight CV 20%; or a 4-fold range (3-12kg) at weaning Live weight at finishing CV 15%; or a 2-fold range (60-120kg) causing under and overweight pigs (and reduced full-value pigs) Back-fat thickness Coefficient of Variation 18%, a range of 5-19mm House clearance taking up to 8 weeks to maximise full-value pigs Producer targets Dead weight range 75-95kg; - no under or over-weight pigs Probe range 8-14 mm; - no 17-18mm or >18mm costing (-20 & 40p / kg dead weight) House clearance time 4 weeks 10

11 Causes of, and ways to reduce variability in finishers UK and individual producers Causes of variation in weight Ways to reduce variation Use of mixed genotypes Use fewer lines nominate terminal sires Home breeding dam & sire lines Minimise dam line finishing pigs Boars (faster & leaner) than gilts Split sex finishing appropriate nutrition Birth & weaning weight variation Management to minimise & streaming Health respiratory and enteric Bio-sec. / All in - All out / vaccination Nutrition / diet quality Raw material analysis; diet specification Feeder space, drinkers, - flow rate 1 space / 10 pigs; litres / minute Stocking density Ideal 0.1m 2 / 10kg ; welfare code 0.07m 2 Number of pigs / pen Fewer pigs / pen & more rooms / house Stress and vices Correct environment / use enrichment Temperature absolute & variation Relative to growth rate / housing; monitor Seasonality Ventilation / cooling / diet selection 11

12 Why are growth rate and pig weight variability a significant management issue? Either lighter pigs receive the correct energy and amino acid balance in the diet, or heavier pigs receive too much, or vice versa = inefficient feed utilisation and cost Either some pigs are sold below target slaughter weight or pen & house clearance and re-stocking take longer = increased housing cost or lower average sale value / pig Potential for increased bullying / physical damage from riding with variable sized pigs = increased losses / condemnations 12

13 Do slower growing pigs have the same nutrient requirement as faster growing pigs? Bottom 10% Pen Average 80% Top 10% Growth rate kg live weight 600g 900g 1200g Digestible Lysine % (SID) Crude Protein % Cost / tonne (Hazzledine 2015) Why feed the low potential pigs a high performance diet (+ 11 / tonne) wasting nutrients? and increasing pollution? Why hold-back the high performance pigs with a sub-optimal diet which is 20 / tonne below specification? Majority of pig finishers currently use systems that feed a diet based on the needs of the average pig 13

14 How can the effect of under / over feeding of nutrients in variable weight pigs be managed? Sorting pigs by weight effective? Multiple bins / feed lines - costly Technology : Roxell - Multifast feed blending on a per pen basis Optisort system 14

15 Why are growth rate and pig weight variability a significant management issue? Either lighter pigs receive the correct energy and amino acid balance in the diet, or heavier pigs receive too much, or vice versa = inefficient feed utilisation and cost Either some pigs are sold below target slaughter weight or pen & house clearance and re-stocking take longer = increased housing cost or lower average sale value / pig Potential for increased bullying / physical damage from riding with variable sized pigs = increased losses / condemnations 15

16 Question Is it worth sorting pigs into more uniformly sized groups of pigs either at weaning, or at 30-40kg on entry to finishing in order to reduce variability of pig weight at slaughter? 16

17 The effect of sorting pigs at 10 weeks of age on performance and variability at sale (Wolter & Ellis et al Illinois) 1728 pigs sorted at 10 weeks of age into pens of 54 pigs to give 8 replicate pens of pigs each with:- Heavy pigs with Low body weight variation (Heavy / Low) Light weight pigs with Low body weight variation (Light / Low) and 16 replicate pens of 54 pigs each with:- Mixed weight pigs with Normal weight variation (Mixed / Normal) Pigs fed 10-phase diets over weeks; space 0.62m 2 / pig on a fully slatted concrete, fan ventilated building 17

18 Does sorting pigs at 10 weeks of age improve performance and reduce variability at sale? (Wolter & Ellis et al 2002) Uniform pigs within the groups Variable size Heavy wt. / Low var Light wt. / Low var Mixed wt / Normal Nos. of pens / pigs 8 x 54 pigs 8 x 54 pigs 16 x 54 pigs Start weight (kg) 34.2 c 28.6 a 31.1 b End weight (kg) ± ± ±0.61 Daily gain (g) FCR Back-fat (mm) Coeff. Var. % - start Coeff. Var. % - end Differences in start weight were significant by design of the trial a,b,c, differences are significant at P<0.01 Variability increased in H & L Low variable wt. pigs & decreased in mixed wt pigs Sorting pigs by weight at 10 weeks into more uniform groups had no effect in terms of FCR, daily gain, fatness or reducing variation in weight at sale 18

19 Conclusions -The effect of sorting weaner or grower pigs by size and uniformity on performance and variability at sale Wolter (2002) - No effect on performance or positive effect on variability at sale from sorting pigs at 10 weeks of age in pens of 54 pigs O Connell (2004) - No effect on performance or positive effects on variability at sale from sorting pigs at 4 weeks of age through to 21 week sale weight in pens of 10 pigs O Connell (2004) - Reduced variability by 7kg / pig at sale from sorting pigs at 10 weeks of age through to 21 week sale weight in pens of 10 pigs, no effect on performance or carcases Overall sorting pigs by size / pen has little performance benefit and does not influence unit output / year BUT, the more variable pigs are then sorting pigs by size on a room by room basis can improve overall ( ) output 19

20 Pen clearance strategies and All in / All out management Pen clearance has less impact on housing efficiency in these buildings than in multiple pen single air space buildings 18 pigs / pen air space 1800 pigs / building air space 20

21 What is the optimal number of sales draws before a house is emptied and re-stocked - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8? Stocking density before 1 st sales draw Stocking density after 7 sales draws 8% pen fill 21

22 Trial to evaluate pig growth variability and pen clearance strategies to optimise housing efficiency Constructed Q1 2014, 1800 finisher pig places, = 2 rows x 10pens x 90 pigs; pigs are split-sexed and enter at c53kg and are sold at a live weight of 112kg. Straw bedded, scrape-through, ACNV, feed bins on load cells, water monitored Performance of 3 batches (53-112kg) averages 1042g / day 22

23 The effect of either selling all pigs by 4 th draw, or later (i Physical performance) 1800 pig places less 2.5% mortality = 1755 pigs sold Sold at draws 1-4 Sold at 5 th draw Sold at 6 th draw Sold at 7 th draw Sold at 8 th draw % of pigs sold Number of pigs Actual mean sale live wt.kg Mean weight at 4 th draw kg Mean weight loss / pig (kg) House weight loss if all pigs are sold at draw 4 (kg) Mean dlwg wean to sale (g) Variability of growth rate 23

24 House capacity 1800 pig finisher places The effect of selling all pigs at 4 th draw (ii Financial performance) Sold at draw 1-4 Sold at 5 th draw Sold at 6 th draw Sold at 7 th draw Sold at 8 th draw Number of pigs Value of weight loss at 75% KO & 130p / kg dead weight kg / pig Saving on Feed + Interest ( 4.85/pig / week) after 4 th draw kg kg kg kg Weeks saved in re-filling Saving on housing at 55p /pig / week Total saving by selling pigs at 4 th draw (feed, interest, and housing) Extra net margin from selling all pigs at draw Cumulative extra profit / building Extra margin / 1800 finisher places from selling at 4 th draw is 2050, or 1.17 / pig sold / batch = 4.56 / pig place / year 24

25 Using technology via the Optisort system to maximise room efficiency and minimise labour input Nutrition optimised to body wt Optimised building use Automated weight monitoring of pigs Auto-selection for sale 25

26 Pigs enter at c30kg +0.27m 2 / pig L H 0.54m 2 / pig to 80 kg 500 mediumheavy pigs 0.54m 2 / pig to 80 kg 500 lightmedium pigs Total area / pig 0.81m 2 to 110kg Optisort initially sorts pigs into medium / heavy, and light / medium groups 500 pigs (30-80kg) are in each blue room ; >80kg pigs use blue & green rooms 70% of pigs are sold over a 4 week period leaving 150 pigs x 2, these are then kept in the green rooms and fed to appetite for 2-3 weeks and have 0.9m 2 / pig. The blue rooms can then be washed and re-stocked with the next batch of pigs. The green and blue rooms have separate air spaces (above & below slats) 26

27 Seasonality & finishing pigs what are the variability issues? Comments from pig producers Pigs are eating more feed (October - January Pigs are fatter (November - January) Reduced and more variable growth rate (March - September) Increased tail-biting, fighting, riding (Sept.- November) What are the likely causes? Variable house temperatures affecting feed intake? Ventilation rates determined by house temperature? New season s grain Seasonal day-light patterns Stocking density changes in response to growth rate variation 27

28 P2 back fat thickness in relation to monthly air temperature Average 24 hour air Temp ºC 83 million pigs Pigs becoming fatter May-August P2 Back fat mm at standardised carcase weight 77.6kg Pigs are fatter but at a slower rate Pigs becoming leaner (After BPEX / Hazzledine 2015) 28

29 What happens too feed intake when the weather gets warmer? Ave 24 hour air Temp ºC Feed intake deviation 640,000 pigs (46-113kg) from the mean g / day in straw yards 2014 (Hazzledine 2015) Higher temperatures Lower feed intakes Pigs eat less feed (-20 to -80 g / day) during March - September 29

30 Growth rate deviation from the mean g / day 40.0 Higher feed intake 30.0 Faster growth rate What happens to growth rate when feed intake decreases? (in relation to month of year) Feed intake deviation Growth rate reflects feed intake from the mean g / day 150 Higher feed intake Faster growth rate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Lower feed intakes and slower growth

31 What happens to back fat thickness when feed intake decreases?? Feed intake deviation 150 from the mean g / day Higher feed intake 100 Fatter pigs 50 Fatter pigs! P2 Backfat mm at standardised carcase weight 77.6kg 11.2 Fatter pigs Higher feed intake Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Lower feed intake / Leaner pigs Low feed intake Pigs are fatter & have higher feed intakes between the cooler October February period But why are pigs fatter when feed intake is lower between June - September? 31

32 Dicam Barn Report information temperature control Poor temperature control Varying indoor temperature Varying outdoor temperature Good temperature control Constant indoor temperature Varying outdoor temperature 32

33 What can be done to reduce variability of performance due to seasonal effects? - mainly temperature? Optisort room ACNV building Precise control of ventilation, temperature and duration / intensity of lighting Variable control of ventilation and temperature. No control of light duration or intensity 33

34 What can be done to reduce variability of performance due to seasonal effects - mainly temperature? In-pen cooling shower or misting systems used during hot weather to cool pigs and maintain feed intake and growth rate Natural ventilation and dry slatted floors prevent pigs dissipating heat depressing feed intake and growth rate, & causing increased fatness 34

35 3 take home actions Variation is part of pig production but needs to be managed:- Aim to have smaller groups (20-40 pigs / pen) of uniform pigs sorted at weeks of age (30-40kg) into more rooms / building; or use Optisort systems to maximise housing efficiency worth c 1 / pig Manage seasonality it happens every year! by better controlling house temperature, cooling / misting, and lighting Use technology to aid management - assessing pig weight; analysing data and reacting accordingly, nothing is constant. 35

36 Variation is under control when these...look just like these 36