Effect of feed texture, meal frequency and pre-slaughter fasting on behaviour, stomach content and carcass microbial quality in pigs

Abstract

L. 2007. Effect of feed texture, meal frequency and pre-slaughter fasting on behaviour, stomach content and carcass microbial quality in pigs. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 87: [479][480][481][482][483][484][485][486][487]. 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 10 4 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. Key words:Animal behaviour, carcass hygiene, fasting, feeding, pigs, stomach.Saucier, L., Bernier, D., Bergeron, R., Giguère, A., Méthot, S. et Faucitano, L. 2007. 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. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 87: 479-487. Dans cette étude, le comportement des animaux au repos, le contenu de l'estomac ainsi que la contamination microbiologique des carcasses ont été évalués sur 96 mâles castrés assignés aux traitements suivants : texture des aliments (FT : farine vs. cubés), la fréquence des repas (MF : 2 vs. 5 fois par jour) et le temps de jeûne (WT : 4, 14 et 24 h) selon un plan expérimental factoriel 2 × 2 × 3. Les porcs recevant deux repas par jour avaient un poids d'estomac plus élevé que ceux nourris cinq fois par jour (P = 0,01). Une interaction significative a été observée entre WT et FT (P = 0,002). La contamination de la gueule par les aérobes mésophiles totaux était supérieure à 10 4 cfu cm -2 , mais pas significativement différente entre les traitements. Le comportement coprophage pendant la période de repos n'était pas corrélé à la contamination de la gueule au moment de la saignée. Le traitement pour lequel la contamination de la région thoracique par Escherichia coli était la plus faible est celui dont les animaux étaient nourris avec de la moulée cubée, cinq fois par jour et suivi d'un jeûne de 24h. À l'inverse, l'énumération des E. coli était plus élevée pour les porcs nourris avec de la moulée non cubée, présentée cinq fois par jour et suivi d'un jeûne de 4 h. La comparaison a posteriori de ces deux scénarios renvo...

Effects of feed withdrawal prior to slaughter and nutrition on stomach weight, and carcass and meat quality in pigs

“…In support of this hypothesis, Saucier et al, (2007) recently reported an interaction between feed type (pellets vs mash) and fasting time (4, 14, or 24 h) for full stomach, stomach water, and stomach solid weights. All weights decreased with increasing fasting time in pigs fed mash; however, in pigs fed pellets, full stomach and water content weights were less in pigs fasted 14 than 4 h, but greater after 24 h of fasting.…”

“…Lower weights of full stomach and its contents have been reported in pigs fed ad libitum compared to those subjected to restricted feeding (Magras et al, 2000;Saucier et al, 2007). This difference can be explained by the intake of smaller feed portions at each meal in pigs with ad libitum access to feed, which favours food digestion and consequently accelerates stomach emptying (Laplace et al, 1981).…”

“…In the aforementioned study, Saucier et al (2007) showed that feeding pellets 5 times per day combined with a 24 h feed withdrawal minimized E. coli and Total Aerobic Mesophilic (TAM) contamination on the thoracic area of the carcass.…”

“…For example, mouth bacterial contamination is reported at North American swine slaughter plants (Gill, 2000). Contamination of the mouth of the pig is of concern as it can be a source of crosscontamination with coliforms and E. coli on the dressing line (Gill and Jones, 1997;Saucier et al, 2007).…”

“…The potential advantages of feed withdrawal include the higher well-being of animals during transport (Bradshaw et al, 1996;Guàrdia et al, 1996), reduced carcass contamination due to lower risk of gut contents spillage during carcass evisceration (Berends et al, 1996;Saucier et al, 2007), and improved pork quality (Guàrdia et al, 2004(Guàrdia et al, , 2005.…”