Abstract
Simple SummaryTransport is an inevitable process in the modern, multi-site swine industry. Pigs do not have efficient physiological means (such as sweating) to cool themselves. Therefore, being transported in hot weather can cause heat stress and even death. Sprinkling the pigs and/or bedding may facilitate cooling, thereby improving well-being and survivability of pigs arriving at the plant. This study was conducted July of 2012 in Iowa, in WARM (<26.7 °C) and HOT (≥26.7 °C) weather. Four sprinkling methods were compared, with one treatment being randomly assigned to each load: control- no sprinkling (not applied in HOT weather), pigs only, bedding only, or pigs and bedding. Experiment 1 used 51 loads in WARM- and 86 loads in HOT weather to determine sprinkling effects on pig measures (surface temperature, vocalizations, slips and falls, and stress signs). Experiment 2 used 82 loads in WARM- and 54 loads in HOT weather to determine the sprinkling effects on transport losses (non-ambulatory, dead, and total transport losses). Experiment 1 found that, in WARM weather, there were no differences between sprinkling treatments for surface temperature, vocalizations, or slips and falls (p ≥ 0.18). However, stress signs were 2% greater when sprinkling pigs- or bedding only- compared to control (p = 0.03). Experiment 2 found that, in WARM and HOT weather, sprinkling did not affect non-ambulatory, dead, or total transport losses (p ≥ 0.18). Although the current study did not find any observed sprinkling effects for pig measures or transport losses it is extremely important to note that the inference space of this study is relatively small, so further studies should be conducted to see if these results are applicable to other geographical regions and seasons.
Highlights
Transporting swine is essential to the multi-site pork production
Animals 2014, 4 the inference space of this study is relatively small, so further studies should be conducted to see if these results are applicable to other geographical regions and seasons
A total of 82 loads were used in WARM- and 54 loads were used HOT weather to determine if sprinkling effected transport losses
Summary
Transporting swine is essential to the multi-site pork production. Around 113 million pigs were marketed in 2012 in the U.S [1]. To control the internal trailer environment, the National Pork Board’s Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) program recommends that pigs (>27 °C) and bedding (>15 °C) are sprinkled to facilitate evaporative cooling with the intention of reducing heat stress [6]. These recommendations are based on experiential information rather than scientific data [6]. The objectives of these experiments were to compare the effects of sprinkling methods inside trailers on (1) market weight pig measures at the time of unloading and (2) transport losses at the plant
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