Week 9 - Terrestrial Animal Products

Introduce the major terrestrial animal products (food) and the corresponding animal species raised for these products

(3 major types of food products)

• Meat: pig, beef cattle, sheep, broiler chicken, turkey, goose

• Dairy: dairy cow, goat, sheep

• Egg: laying hen, duck, quail 

Introduce and discuss the global production, consumption, and demand for food animal products

• what are the 3 challenges that the current food supply is facing

• increase in global population → increase in food demand

• increasing demand for animal-sourced protein (due to improving economies)

• imbalance of world food supply

what causes imbalance in the world food supply

• Impact by pandemic

• Regional conflicts (war)

• Economy & increasing unemployment

• Businesses cannot continue

why is there a sharp increase in egg production between 1990 & 2000

• The increase between 1990 & 2000 is due to the increase in industrialization

why is the production of non-chicken egg mostly in Asian countries

• US doesn’t consume non-chicken egg?

• Chicken egg is intensive → high efficiency in production

from which animal is the main source of milk production from? in what other animals do we also get milk from ?

• >80% is from cow 

• other dairy sources

  • buffalo

  • goat

  • sheep

  • camel

why is there a decrease in meat production in 2019

The decrease in 2019 is due to African Swine Fever outbreak

which 3 species are the most important meat production animals globally: 

• chicken

• pig

• cattle

is there more cattle or more pigs globally?

more cattle

poultry production in China

Mostly chicken

Also duck, goose, others

intensive animal production systems

• indoor or outdoor

• diet

• waste management

• Indoors - high density, shelter

• Defined diets - high energy & nutritive value

• Manure management

Pros & Cons of intensive production systems

pros

• productivity - high yield, efficient (less resource input)

• affordability - high yield allow products to be offered at competitive prices

• profitability - minimize space need & labor → reduce cost

cons

• welfare issues, housing envi control, waste management, disease prevention, investment $$ in facility & equipment 

Poultry farming systems: intensivity

• extensive or intensive?

• feed

• productivity

• highly intensive & short production cycle

• Low demand on feed resources, high feed efficiency

• High productivity

why do we say that poultry farming systems are easy to management

• Flexible investment & production scales (small backyard farm vs intensive commercial farms)

• Fast capital turnover & high return on investment

which poultry products are sold in the market

• Egg

• Meat 

• Feather

which 2 chicken breeds are the most popular

• Rhode Island Reds - meat & brown egg

• White Leghorns - white egg

what is the outcome of selective breeding in the poultry industry?

• more eggs produced

• heavier chicken weights

layer vs broiler

• Egg: layer chicken

• Meat: broilers

selected traits for layers vs. broilers (e.g. meat quality, egg number)

• layers: egg number, egg weight, shell color, shell strength…

• broilers: body weight, growth rate, meat quality, bone strength…

what are the 4 types of housing systems for layer hens

• conventional cage

• enriched colony

• cage-free aviary

• free-range layer house

conventional cage vs enriched colony vs cage free aviary

• conventional: just the basic needs: water, feed, manure belt, wired floor, egg belt

• enriched colony: basics are the same. but bigger cage size & lower density & enrichement provided: perch, scratch pad, nesting area with privacy curtains

• cage free: scratch, areas, perches, and nests. Freedom to go to the ground for foraging & dust bath

housing sytems for broiler chicken

• grow-out farm with floor rearing

• broiler chicken cages

what is the primary method of pig production: extensive or intensive?

intensive

how are animals in intensive pig farms housed?

• Grower pigs housed indoors: group housing or straw-lined sheds

• in pens or stalls

why are pigs housed in pens or stalls

Pigs are social animals - establishing social hierarchy after grouped together → fighting 

What are factors to conside when designing pig housing?

• Flooring: drainage, waste disposal, insulation

• Feed & water system

• Stalls & crates

• Ventilation

• Envi control: temp

• Biosecurity protocols

what are traits that are selected for in sows?

• Sow: maternal ability, fertility, litter size, lactation

what are traits that are selected for in terminal sires?

• growth rate, feed conversion efficiency, leanness, meat quality, fat marbling

what are the 3 most common breeds of pigs

• Large White, Landrace, Duroc

large white pigs

• ears

• color

• use

• Ears: erect

• color: white

• Use: crossbreeding or hybrid programs, maternal line (large litter size, heavy milk production, excellent maternal instincts), hardy

landrace

• ears

• color

• use

• Ears: large, droopy

• color: white

• Use: excellent milk production (maternal line) 

duroc

• ears

• color

• use

• Ears: floppy, partially drooping 

• Color: light golden to a very dark red

• Use: Used as terminal sire (father line). Meat quality and quantity. Fast growing

what does PSY (a term in swine industry) refer to?

Piglets per sow per year (PSY) = The # of live piglets that a sow can produce in a year 

how is mating done in the swine industry

• facility

• labor

• Mostly artificial insemination:

  • Facility: Service center/breeding stall

  • Semen: separate farm for producing semen. 

  • Heat checking to predict the best time for AI

Pig production cycle

• Breeding → gestation → farrowing → lactation → weaning → breeding….

• Piglets → rearing → finishing

what is the purpose for service center/breeding stall

• for what animal

• feed

• For gilts & weaned sows: to be artificial inseminated or naturally mated. Rest after insemination. Heat check (showing a boar in front of the sows)

• Feeding to condition

gestation barn

• purpose: animal. procedures

• type of housings

• feeding

• Purpose

  • Gestating sows, time until farrowing, 

  • feeding to condition, vaccination & deworming 

• Type of housing

  • Individual crates (stalls) 

  • Group gestation

• Feeding 

  • Feeding to condition: suitable condition for giving birth (can’t be too fat)

  • ear tags to control when the pig gets food

why is group gestation done?

preferred by consumer. not without problems → need innovative solutions & research to minizmie mortality and improve production

farrowing barn

• purpose

• type of housing

• Purpose

  • Farrowing → lactation → weaning (sow & her offspring)

• Type of housing: crates, pens or loose farrowing 

nursery barn

• puporse: what kind of animal. kept until when

• considerations

• procedures done here

• Purpose

  • Weaned piglets

  • Until the pigs are moved to a grower-finisher barn

• Considerations: minimizing tail biting (tail docking) & uniform body weights

• Other tasks: vaccination & selection 

• Type of housing: pens of variable size 

Grower-finisher barn

• purpose

• feeding

• other procedures

• housing

• Purpose

  • Grower/finisher pigs (fatteners) - Until slaughter (or selection)

• Feeding 

  • Ad lib feed: to gain weight ASAP for slaughter

• Other procedures

  • Deworming 

• Housing: pens of variable size

boar pen

• purpose

• housing

• Purpose 

  • Boars for: teaser boar, natural mating, semen collection 

• Housing

  • Individual pens to avoid aggression

Give 2 examples of outdoor pig farming systems

• Outdoor pig farms - a shelter provided, but pigs allowed to roam freely in a penned area

  • Higher pork price

  • But lower demand by consumers

• Extensive outdoor pigs (e.g. iberico ham pigs)

what are the 4 main issues related to food animal production?

• Environmental impacts

• Infectious diseases

• Animal welfare

• Manpower

environmental impacts of food animal production

• Water

• Land/space

• Emission: gasses, odor, noise, pathogens

  • GHG emission mostly from dairy & beef production

• Waste: phosphorus, ammonia, nitrate

animal welfare challenges from food animal production

• Confinement & High Density - behavior restriction, competition, stress

• Disease - infectious disease (e.g avian flu, african swine fever)

• Transport - stress & injury

• slaughter - humane slaughter (stress & pain)

manpower challenges in food animal production

• Farm owner: $$ & responsibility

• Farm neighbor: noise & smell

• Farm worker: responsibility & job

• Society: food & contact to farm animals

discuss the pathways to sustainable animal agriculture and the future opportunities

• feed convsersion ratio = measured as dry matter feed in kg per kg of edible weight output

• protein efficiency = % of protein input as feed effectively converted to animal product

• energy efficiency = the percentage of energy inputs as feed effectively converted to animal product

feed conversion ratio

• milk vs fish vs beef vs chicken vs egg vs pork

beef < pork < chicken < egg < fish < milk

protein effciency

• which product is the highest

egg > milk > poultry

energy efficiency

• which product is the highest

milk > egg > poultry