Deck height during transport of weaners – piglet height and microclimatic conditions inside trucks

TY - ABST

T1 - Deck height during transport of weaners – piglet height and microclimatic conditions inside trucks

AU - Foldager, Leslie

AU - Kaiser, Marianne Ørnstrup

AU - Chen, Guoxing

AU - Jensen, Line Dinesen

AU - Kristensen, Jens Kr

AU - Kobek-Kjeldager, Cecilie

AU - Thodberg, Karen

AU - Rong, Li

AU - Herskin, Mette S

N1 - Conference code: 43

PY - 2022/8

Y1 - 2022/8

N2 - The present study was part of a policy support request commissioned by the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark, focusing on deck height when transporting weaner pigs on long journeys. Former recommendations on deck heights have been  based on an equation from Vorup and Barton-Gade (1991) relating live weight and average height based on 87 pigs (25-160 kg) and 21 sows (130-260 kg), including only 16 pigs in 26-40 kg. Part 1 of the study determined height of pigs weighing approximately 5-40 kg and aimed to establish new or confirm validity of old equations predicting height from live body weight in this weight interval. Prediction equations were built using 1435 pigs (47% castrates, 53% females) from 9 Danish herds and validated on 179 pigs (54% castrates, 46% females) from a 10th herd. The equation from Vorup and Barton-Gade (1991) systematically overfitted the height of these pigs, whereas an equation developed by Condotta et al. (2018) using 150 pigs (age 4-20 weeks) predicted equally well as models developed in the present study. Part 2 of the study examined microclimatic conditions during transport of pigs weighing 20-25 kg inside two decks on the truck (deck heights 70 and 90 cm) and two on the trailer (deck heights 60 and 80 cm). Sixteen journeys for each of 8 and 23 h duration were done in Denmark from June 2021 to March 2022, ensuring transport under varying weather conditions. Data consisted of GPS tracking (position and speed), how much shutters were open (cm), use of mechanical ventilation (0/1), weather information, temperature from two sensors outside truck and trailer, and temperature, relative humidity and CO2 from sensors placed inside each of the 12 compartments, 3 on each deck with pigs. As per contract, results are not allowed to be revealed before handing in the advisory report to the ministry in July. In addition to results from part 1, results from analyses of relations between deck height, microclimate and external factors will be presented at the symposium and in the proceeding.

AB - The present study was part of a policy support request commissioned by the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark, focusing on deck height when transporting weaner pigs on long journeys. Former recommendations on deck heights have been  based on an equation from Vorup and Barton-Gade (1991) relating live weight and average height based on 87 pigs (25-160 kg) and 21 sows (130-260 kg), including only 16 pigs in 26-40 kg. Part 1 of the study determined height of pigs weighing approximately 5-40 kg and aimed to establish new or confirm validity of old equations predicting height from live body weight in this weight interval. Prediction equations were built using 1435 pigs (47% castrates, 53% females) from 9 Danish herds and validated on 179 pigs (54% castrates, 46% females) from a 10th herd. The equation from Vorup and Barton-Gade (1991) systematically overfitted the height of these pigs, whereas an equation developed by Condotta et al. (2018) using 150 pigs (age 4-20 weeks) predicted equally well as models developed in the present study. Part 2 of the study examined microclimatic conditions during transport of pigs weighing 20-25 kg inside two decks on the truck (deck heights 70 and 90 cm) and two on the trailer (deck heights 60 and 80 cm). Sixteen journeys for each of 8 and 23 h duration were done in Denmark from June 2021 to March 2022, ensuring transport under varying weather conditions. Data consisted of GPS tracking (position and speed), how much shutters were open (cm), use of mechanical ventilation (0/1), weather information, temperature from two sensors outside truck and trailer, and temperature, relative humidity and CO2 from sensors placed inside each of the 12 compartments, 3 on each deck with pigs. As per contract, results are not allowed to be revealed before handing in the advisory report to the ministry in July. In addition to results from part 1, results from analyses of relations between deck height, microclimate and external factors will be presented at the symposium and in the proceeding.

UR - http://www.statistiksymposium.dk/Symposium%202022_Web.pdf

M3 - Conference abstract for conference

SP - 129

EP - 142

T2 - Symposium i Anvendt Statistik 2022

Y2 - 29 August 2022 through 31 August 2022

ER -