In this section:
Pig Research Group
The Pig Health and Production Research Group at the Pig and Poultry Production Institute can provide various consultancies and undertake efficacy studies and contract research.
Pig consultancies
The group have expertise in a range of health, housing and production activities.
Health
Services include:
- On-farm monitoring of health problems and assessment of production losses due to disease including:
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- assessment of respiratory disease using coughing indices, post-mortems and slaughter inspection
- calculating rubbing indices to asess the level of mange and its economic impact in herds
- assessing herd lameness
- investigating reproductive faulure using slaughter inspection of culls and monitoring mating and urinary tract infections
- Staff training in doing post-mortems and describing and recording findings with the aid of a video and personal tuition
- Staff training in ante-mortem inspection of pigs going to slaughter to reduce the risk of contamination
- Disease monitoring in slaughter pigs to assess the disease status of the herd and record the effectiveness of disease control and eradication programs being used on the farm
Housing
Consultant services include:
- Air quality and hygiene monitoring assessment. Includes ammonia and carbon dioxide, dunging pattern, stocking rate and density, respirable and inhalable dust, bacteria and endotoxin. Hygiene assessment gives each farm a rating to enable producers to assess the need for improvements
- Shed and facility assessment to prioritise housing deficiencies impacting on hygiene, health and production
- Evaluation of effluent treatment systems and additives
Production
Services include:
- Monitoring growth and feed efficiency
- using AUSPIG (a decision support system for pig producers) to improve overall farm efficiency
Efficacy studies
The Pig Health and Production Research Group has wide experience in undertaking studies to determine the efficacy of vaccines, acaricides, anthelmintics, antibiotics and other medicines and providing confidential reports.
Contract research
The Pig Health and Production Research Group undertakes a wide range of contract research projects relating to pig housing, health and production. This includes trialling equipment and chemicals on-farm, as well as pen and facility structures, and providing confidential reports.
Contact details
For further information contact the following staff at the Pig and Poultry Production Institute (PPPI):
- Thomas Banhazi for housing and management studies.
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