• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 2010

This study was conducted to compare the aspects of behavior between miniature pigs and conventional sows during gestation and lactation periods. Miniature pigs and conventional sows at 3 parity were used in this experiment with 4 pigs per treatment. The behavioral patterns and stereotyped behaviors were observed on day 60 and 90 of gestation, at farrowing, and on day 10 of lactation before and after the feeding. On 60 and 90 days of pregnancy, both treatments showed the tendency of frequent lateral lying rather than other postures. On ventral lying, eating and drinking, miniature pigs spent more time than conventional pigs at day 90 of gestation (P<0.01, P=0.0539, P<0.05, respectively). The occurrence of stereotyped behaviors included bar biting and bar mouth chewing. At 90 day of pregnancy was observed, conventional pigs was higher than miniature pigs (P<0.05). At farrowing, miniature pigs spent more time on ventral lying, standing and walking than conventional sows (P<0.05), however, there were more frequency of drinking and eating. And on day 10 of lactation, there was no significant difference in stereotyped behaviors between miniature pigs and conventional sows. In conclusion, miniature pigs were generally more sensitive than conventional sows although sows were reared in stall during gestation and lactation period and the behavioral pattern during lactating period showed the similarity between miniature pigs and conventional sows for protection of nursing pigs. In consideration of the general reproductive performance of conventional sows, the high sensitivity and stress of miniature pigs did not affect the reproductive performance of miniature pigs.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.193-200
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• 2019

Blood test is a useful tool in establishing medical treatment for livestock. It provides information such as disease diagnosis, treatment effects, prognostic judgment, and health status. This study compared the value of erythrocytes and leukocytes among conventional, transgenic miniature, and transgenic conventional pigs aged six months to 24 months. Further, it analyzed the aspects of hematological value changes according to the pigs' ages. As a result, the number of red blood cells (RBC), which include hemoglobin, and hematocrit, and the number of white blood cells (WBC), which include neutrophils, and lymphocyte, were high among transgenic miniature pigs, compared with the conventional and transgenic conventional pigs. Conventional pigs showed similar values of RBC and WBC regardless of transgenesis. In comparing their age, the RBC decreased as the age increased compared with the pigs among all the three groups aged of 6~12 months. On the other hand, WBC and neutrophils showed no significant difference regardless of different ages among all the three groups. However, various counts in RBC and WBC were mostly found to be higher in each age in transgenic miniature pigs than in conventional and transgenic conventional pigs. The results of this study show that the values of RBC and WBC were generally higher in transgenic miniature pigs than in conventional and transgenic conventional pigs. Based on this research, hematological values can be widely used in diagnosing diseases or checking the health status of transgenic pigs that are used as disease models, organ transplant source and alike.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.681-685
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• 2000

A computer software was developed in our laboratory to automatically control the pigs environment by the image analysis system (IAS), which monitors and analyzes the pig's behavior and feeds the results back to the computer hardware. Three feeding trials were conducted with growing pigs ($L{\times}Y$) to test the effectiveness of the IAS under various seasons. In all three trials, the open-sided conventional pens with half-slatted floor were used as controls; for the IAS treatment, fully-slatted floors were used in the windowless pens. Experiment 1 was conducted in the winter for 30 d with 24 growing pigs. There were two treatments (Conventional vs. IAS), and three pens (replicates) per treatment. During the growing period, the feed efficiency was significantly (p<0.05) improved by the IAS. In addition, the pigs reared under the IAS during the growing period displayed better growth rate during the finishing period than did the pigs reared under the conventional conditions. Experiment 2 was conducted in the summer for 30 d with 24 growing pigs. The experimental design was the same as Experiment 1. During the finishing period, all the pigs were kept in conventional open-sided pens until their market weights to evaluate their carcass characteristics. During the growing period, the growth rate and feed efficiency of the pigs in the IAS was better than those of the control pigs. In addition, various carcass characteristics were significantly improved by the IAS rearing during the growing period. Experiment 3 was conducted with 30 growing pigs for 30 d in the spring. The experimental design was the same as Experiment 1. No difference was found in growing performance between the control and IAS pigs. It could be concluded that the IAS is effective in providing optimum conditions for the growing pigs in summer and winter seasons. In addition, providing an optimum environment during the growing period results in improved growth rate, feed efficiency, and carcass qualities for the finishing pigs.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.627-641
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• 2020

Intensive farming methods that do not guarantee animal welfare can induce stress in pigs. Stress, in turn, can reduce their disease resistance and influence their hormones and metabolites in such a manner that productivity is negatively affected. This study was conducted to compare the stress related factors and blood characteristics of pigs raised on conventional farms and those raised on animal welfare farms. We measured the levels of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, biochemical parameters in blood and glycogen, L-lactate and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in muscle, as physiological markers of indicating the stress in conventional farm pigs (Control, n=10) and animal welfare farm pigs (Welfare, n=10). We found that there was a significant difference in the albumin-globulin ratio (A/G ratio), as well as the albumin (ALB), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels between the two farms. Epinephrine was significantly higher in conventional farm, while level of norepinephrine was higher in animal welfare farm. There was no significant difference in cortisol, which is known as a stress hormone, across the two groups of farms. Muscular glycogen content was significantly high in animal welfare farm pigs. While L-lactate tended to be low in the animal welfare farm pigs, the difference between them and the conventional farm cohorts was not significant. HSP70 showed high levels of expression in conventional farm. Thus, we suggested that blood parameter results showed a stress response in the livers of conventional farm, and that catecholamine hormones, glycogen, L-lactate and HSP70 can be used as physiological factors of assessing animal welfare.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.425-430
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• 1999

Complex environmental control systems were developed, which control properly the pig's environment in windowless pig-housing based on the thermoregulatory behaviors of pigs and concentrations of noxious gases (CO2 and NH3). The this study was conducted to assess the performance of complex environmental control systems by raising weaned piglets and growing pigs under different seasonal conditions. Average daily gain of pigs in the experimental pig-housing was slightly higher than that of pigs in the conventional pig-housing. Average daily gain was not significantly different in winter and spring(P＞0.05), but was significantly different in summer(P＜0.05). Feed conversion rate of pigs in the experimental pig-housing was smaller than that of pigs in the conventional pig-housing. Feed conversion rate was not significantly different in environment for weaned piglets and growing pigs resulted in the improved daily gain, feed conversion rate, and carcass quality of the finishing pigs. These results showed that the performance of the complex environmental control systems in windowless pig-housing was excellent for weaned piglets and growing pigs.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.295-305
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• 2013

Purpose: Recent research showed that total mixed ration (TMR) feeding for pigs improved the productivity and reduced feed cost and manure odor. An automatic TMR feeding system was developed for this study because the conventional feeder cannot deliver the TMR containing roughage. Methods: Conventional feeding systems and physical properties of TMR were surveyed, and performance tests of the conventional feeder were conducted to develop a TMR feeder. Based on the TMR feeder was developed and installed, driving, measuring weight, radio frequency identification (RFID) reading, and discharging test for feeding were conducted to ensure the performance. Results: Moisture content, density, and angle of repose of the TMR 1 (mixture of 30% cut IRG silage and 70% concentrates) were 31.6%, 387 $kg/m^3$, and $51^{\circ}$, respectively. Moisture content, density, and angle of repose of the TMR 2 (mixture of 45% concentrates, 30% cut IRG silage and by-products, 10% bean curd refuse, 10% others, and 5% fermenter) were 22.2%, 544 $kg/m^3$, and $50^{\circ}$, respectively. The coefficient of variation (C.V.) of conventional concentrate feeding were 1.9~4.1%, and C.V. of TMR containing 1~3% cut IRG roughage feeding by conventional feeder were 9~42%. The conventional disc type feeder was not suitable for TMR feeding because the supply unit was clogged. The C.V. of TMR 1 was 0.6~7.9% when 0.5~10 kg of the TMR supplied, and it was suitable for feeding grow-finish pigs and sows. On the contrary, the C.V. with TMR 2 was 28% when 0.5 kg of the TMR supplied, and it was not suitable for feeding sows. Conclusions: The TMR feeder developed in this study was suitable for feeding grow-finish pigs because the feeder performed stably with over 5.0 kg feed. However, the feeder showed a lack of accuracy for feeding sows because the amount of each feed was more than 0.5 kg per a feeding. Therefore, the improvement of outlet structure for accurate feeding is needed for sow feeding.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.908-913
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• 1999

This experiment was conducted in three trials to evaluate optimal ambient temperature for a novel milk replacer feeding system designed for early-weaned pigs, compared to commercial dry diets fed within a conventional hot nursery. A total of 165 PIC genotype pigs were weaned at $13.89{\pm}0.7$ days of age and allotted to one of two dietary treatments in three trials based on weight and litter origin. Each trial consisted of pigs fed dry diets (DD) and pigs fed milk replacer (MR) which was offered in one of 3 different ambient temperatures. Pigs fed milk replacer were housed in a specialized nursery building in which one half of each pen contained an enclosed hover that was thermostatically maintained at $32^{\circ}C$ while the exterior ambient temperature (where milk was fed) was set at either 17 (trial 1), 24 (trial 2) or $32^{\circ}C$ (trial 3). Pigs fed dry diets with the conventional nursery were maintained at $30^{\circ}C$ for each trial. From d 21 to d 49, all pigs were fed DD within a standardized hot nursery environment. During the first week (d 14-21), pigs fed MR showed increased ADG from 214% to 228% over control pigs fed DD (p<0.001), regardless of ambient temperature. As ambient temperature was increased from 17 to 24 to $32^{\circ}C$, ADG of MR-fed pigs was increased by 214%, 220% and 228% over those of pigs fed DD, respectively. ADFIs of MR-fed pigs at $17^{\circ}C$, $24^{\circ}C$, and $32^{\circ}C$ compared with pigs fed DD were increased by 108%, 139% and 164% from d 14 to d 21, respectively. Fed efficiency (G/F) of MR-fed pigs at $17^{\circ}C$, $24^{\circ}C$, and $32^{\circ}C$ compared with pigs fed DD were 199%, 162% and 139% of those of pigs fed DD, respectively. As ambient temperature increased, diarrhea scores showed a slight tendency to increase. The advantage of MR feeding was greater when the ambient temperature was higher, but G/F was impaired with increased ambient temperature. We conclude that ambient temperature within the specialized nursery influenced behavior, MR feed intake, and probably piglet energy expenditure. There were no differences between MR-fed and DD-fed pigs for ADG, ADFI and G/F in the subsequent growth period (d 21 to d 49, p>0.05). Maximal advantage of MR feeding was obtained at the intermediate ($24^{\circ}C$) ambient temperature during the overall period (p<0.05). Results from this experiment indicate that a milk replacer feeding system utilized in the early postweaning period can maximize pig growth performance, and that ADG, ADFI and G/F were affected by different ambient temperatures within MR-fed pigs. The high or low temperatures could not support the maximal growth of pigs fed MR.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.35-41
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• 2006

At the moment, a lot of interest in the research on Gnotobiotic Pigs are increasing in order to produce alternative human organs. So, it is very important to design and build proper housing facilities for Germ Free Pigs. Among the design issues related to Gnotobiotic Pigs' farms, circulation system takes a high position because it carries an important role in keeping the pig's housing environment aseptic. Considering those, this study aims to propose the guidelines for the design of circulation system in Germ Free Pig's facilities. The results of this study are as follows. At first, functional areas of Germ Free Pigs' facilities have been divided into three categories according to the clean level; aseptic area, semi-aseptic area, and non-aseptic area. Secondly, the basic principles of circulation system have been proposed. Finally, circulation system of Gnotobiotic Pigs' facility has been explored as a form of diagram according to the circulating subjects. These include human circulation, pig's circulation, and goods' circulation. This study has some limitations in that it is transcendent and lacks empirical evidence. Despite of some weaknesses, it is expected to give some useful guidelines for the design of circulation system in Germ Free Pigs' facilities.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.226-232
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• 1999

Early-weaning at an age of less than 21 days and removal of pigs to a second isolated site, which is commonly referred to as segregated early weaning (SEW), has been shown to substantially reduce disease transfer from the dam. This strategy has been successful in reducing the number of pathogens, but has not been successful in eliminating all pathogens. Although SEW has failed in most instances to totally eliminate pathogens, performance as measured by gain and efficiency through the nursery phase has been shown to be enhanced. In addition, SEW pigs have been shown to perform well on less complex nursery diets. Pigs which are continued on a similar isolation regime to market weight have been shown to have a remarkable improvement in feed intake, gain and efficiency. However, pigs which are co-mingled with conventional pigs after the nursery phase have either no improvement in performance or reduced performance. Backfat and carcass lean yield have been shown to be enhanced by SEW in high lean gain pigs, but not in lower lean gain pigs. Exposure of pigs to antigens which activate the immune system and increase the level of immunological stress has been suggested as the mechanism involved in depressing growth and performance of pigs.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2_spc
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• pp.347-355
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• 2022

Among edible insects, black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), and common housefly (Musca domestica) have been considered as an alternative protein source for pigs. Because they are easy to breed and grow in the organic wastes, and they have well-balanced nutritional value as a protein source for pigs. The black soldier fly larvae and mealworm could replace the fish meal in the diets for weaned pigs without adverse effects on growth performance and nutrient digestibility. Black soldier fly could also be included in the finishing pig's diet without any negative effects on the growth performance and pork quality of the market pigs. Insect products showed a greater standardized ileal digestibility value of amino acids than conventional animal proteins in growing pigs. Due to the limited amount of insect products used for pig feeding study, most previous pig studies have been conducted in weaned pigs. Thus, further study is needed about the optimal inclusion level of insect products in every phase diet from weaned pigs to sows. The use of insect products in swine diets has some challenges in terms of cost, supply, and safety. Lastly, intrinsic differences among insect species, processing method, and feeding phase should be taken into consideration for the use of insect products in the swine diets.