Effect of feed texture, meal frequency and pre-slaughter fasting on behaviour, stomach content and carcass microbial quality in pigs
Authors: | Saucier, Linda; Bernier, Dave; Bergeron, Renée; Giguère, Alain; Faucitano, Luigi; Méthot, S. |
Other Title(s): | Effet du type de moulée, de la fréquence des repas et de la mise à jeun avant l’abattage sur le comportement, le contenu stomacal et la contamination microbienne de la carcasse chez le porc. |
Abstract: | In this study, behaviour in lairage, weight and composition of stomach contents and carcass microbial contamination were studied in 96 barrows assigned to the following treatments: feed texture (FT; mash vs. pellets), meal frequency (MF; 2 vs. five meals per day) and fasting time (WT; 4, 14 and 24 h) according to a 2 × 2 × 3 factorial design. Pigs fed two meals had heavier stomach weights at slaughter than those fed five times per day (P = 0.01). An interaction was found between WT and FT (P = 0.002) for stomach weight. With respect to the contamination of the mouth, total aerobic mesophilic counts were higher than 104 cfu cm-2 but not significantly different between treatments. Coprophagy behaviour in lairage was not correlated with mouth contamination at slaughter. The treatment resulting in the lowest Escherichia coli counts on the thoracic area was feeding the pigs pellets five times per day followed by a 24-h fast. In contrast, the highest E. coli counts were observed in pigs fed mash five times per day followed by a 4-h fast. Comparison a posteriori of these two extreme scenarios yielded a P value of 0.03. |
Document Type: | Article de recherche |
Issue Date: | 4 December 2007 |
Open Access Date: | 22 January 2018 |
Document version: | AM |
Permalink: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/16543 |
This document was published in: | Canadian Journal of Animal Science, Vol. 87 (4), 479–487 (2007) https://doi.org/10.4141/A06-072 Agricultural Institute of Canada |
Alternative version: | 10.4141/A06-072 |
Collection: | Articles publiés dans des revues avec comité de lecture |
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