Latest Peer-Reviewed Publications
High biosecurity and welfare standards in fattening pig farms are associated with reduced antimicrobial use
In order to reduce antimicrobial use in pig production, the consequences of insufficient biosecurity and welfare problems need to be known. This study aimed to investigate associations between the number of antimicrobial treatments per fattening pig, and biosecurity, indicators for animal welfare as well as ...
A value chain analysis of interventions to control production diseases in the intensive pig production sector
Value chain analysis (VCA) calculated the financial effects on food chain actors of interventions to improve animal health and welfare in the intensive pig sector. Two interventions to reduce production diseases were studied. A generic chain diagram of linkages between stakeholders and value-added dimensions was ...
The Productivity and Financial Impacts of Eight Types of Environmental Enrichment for Broiler Chickens
Fast growing broiler birds have an elevated risk of leg health problems throughinactivity. Increasing the complexity (enriching) of the rearing environment, e.g., adding straw bales into broiler houses, is suggested as a way of increasing activity levels. While a number of studies have examined the ...
Latest Conference Presentations
Control of Salmonella on pig farms in the post-antibiotic era
Neil Foster (University of Nottingham) was invited speaker at the XLV Meeting Annuale of S.I.P.A.S. on 21-22 March 2019 in Rezzato, Italy.
Effect of divergent lines selected on feed efficiency and physical activity on lameness and osteochondrosis in growing pigs
This presentation was held at ISAE 2018. You can download the abstract and the full presentation.Locomotion disorders have been identified as a significant production disease for growing and finishing pigs, and a sign of reduced animal welfare (EU PROHEALTH project). Amongst them, lameness is a ...
Effect of enriching the sow environment and diet during gestation on maternal stress and piglet survival
Paper presented at the 50th edition of the ‘Journées de la Recherche Porcine’ in Paris on 6-7 February 2018.Effect of enriching the sow environment and diet during gestation on maternal stress and piglet survivalA stressful environment for sows during gestation can increase piglet mortality. The present ...