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In an abattoir survey the stomachs of 1242 pigs from 15 farms were examined. Ulceration of the pars oesophagea was present in 22.95 per cent with a range from 4.7 to 57.4 per cent. The ulcers were graded mild in 9.5 per cent and severe in 13.4 per cent of the stomachs. Bile staining and hyperkeratinisation of the pars were significantly more common in stomachs with ulcers than in those without (P < 0.001), although the difference between the hyperkeratinisation in cases with severe ulcers and cases without ulcers was not significant. The daily liveweight gains of 208 males and 150 females from two units with a high prevalence of ulcers were calculated from their weaning weights at about five weeks of age and their slaughter weights at around 90 kg. At the abattoir their stomachs were examined for the presence of ulcers of the pars. The daily liveweight gain of the males was significantly greater than that of the females (P < 0.001), but the presence of mild or severe ulcers had no influence on the rate of gain of the pigs from either unit. The prevalence of ulcers in the males and females was 57.2 and 49.3 per cent, respectively, but the difference was not significant.

TABLE 1: Effect of period between loading* and processing on breast bruising using a base line of 3 hours Percentage increase in birds Time (hours) with bruised breasts (-se) 4 0.09 (0-09) 5 0.18 (0-09) 6 0.29 (0-10) 7 0.40 (0-14) * The average load was 4000 birds Veterinary Record (1997) 141, 364A PILOT study to investigate the effects of pre-processing handling of broilers on bird welfare as reflected by the incidence of carcase bruising was conducted during the period of December 11 to 14, 1995. Thirty-nine loads of birds from seven farms, averaging 4000 birds per load (156,000 birds in total) were monitored from loading to post-plucking at the processing plant. Birds were caught manually by five catching teams and placed in rigid plastic crates to achieve a stocking density of 50 kg liveweight per crate (17 to 24 birds dependant on liveweight). The crate internal dimensions were: length 1117 mm; width 714 mm; height 254 mm; giving a stocking density of 63 kg bird liveweight/m2 crate floor area. Each load comprised up to 20 transport modules containing 12 crates of birds.Carcases were assessed for fresh breast and wing bruising immediately after plucking. All fresh carcase bruising as exhibited by areas of red skin (but excluding old bruises as manifested by areas of blue, purple or black skin) was recorded for each bird by location of bruising such as leg, wing or breast.The time period (measured in hours:minutes) considered for each load of birds was defined as that from the onset of loading at the farm until the last module containing live birds entered the shackling area of the processing plant. This total period (range of three to seven hours) encompassed loading time, journey time and the time in the lairage and pre-shackling area.Statistical analysis of data was carried out using a generalised linear model with binomial errors. Terms investigated included: farm of origin; sex of birds; age of birds; house stocking density; house mortality over the seven days before catching; catching team; journey time; time from loading to processing; vehicle; positioning of the load within the lairage and whether or not modules were decanted from the vehicle before entering the shackling area. The criteria for including any term in the model was significance at the 5 per cent level (based on reduction of deviance -X2).Significant terms included house stocking density, time from loading to processing and catching team.Results based on least square means from the models which reference the effects of loading to processing time on level of breast and wing bruising are presented in Tables 1 and 2.The level of breast bruising was significantly affected by time (P<0.01) with a positive correlation between increasing time and TABLE 2: Effect of period between loading* and processing on wing bruising using a base line of 3 hours Percentage decrease in birds Time (hours) with bruised wings (-se) 4 0.52 (0.19) 5 1-01 (0.18) 6 1 46 (0.19) 7

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