ABSTRACT The global animal production is increasing as expected to meet world demand for food, especially for meat products. This research aimed to investigate the effect of two types of roofs (clay and fiber-cement tiles) in a tropical area on the thermal comfort of farrowing sows and piglets. Twelve sows and forty-eight piglets were observed during summer in the Southeast region of Brazil. Climate variables, thermal comfort and surface temperature (sows and piglets) were assessed. The type of roofs clearly affected the piglets' surface temperature during all studied periods, but the results were not similar in the sows' surface temperature. Temperature and humidity index found was high in the building with fiber-cement tiles. The pen location in the housing also influenced the piglet surface temperature. Controlling temperature fluctuation in piglet housing is crucial; therefore, providing adequate rearing environment in tropical condition might help pig productivity as well as farmer profitability.

ABSTRACT: The increasing of global demand for food has required more efficiency in the production process. Transportation represents a source of body dehydration for pigs transported from farm to slaughterhouses. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the distances on the body dehydration of pigs transported to slaughter in tropical conditions. We analyzed 350 pigs shipments with a total of 68,588 heads using statistical software SAS by anova, means and corr procedures. The results showed a liveweight loss estimated at 12% which was increased gradually as the distance increased as pigs were deprived of water for a long time. The most cost-effective distance for the pigs' transportation under tropical condition is within the range below 100 km, where there were not detected weight losses (p< 0.05).

El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el efecto del número de partos y el suplemento de aceite de coco en lechones recien nacidos. Materiales y métodos. Se utilizaron 51 cerdas de diferentes partos y sus 642 lechones. Cada lechón se pesó y se identificó al nacer en orden secuencial. Fueron distribuidos aleatoriamente en dos grupos (CG = control y TG=tratamiento). Lechones TG tenían el primer acceso a una dosis de 3.0 ml de aceite de coco 12 horas después del nacimiento, y el segunda a las 36 h después de la primera. Los lechones fueron pesados a los 21 días. Con el fin de analizar el efecto de los suplementos de aceite de coco con relación al peso al nacer. Los lechones fueron agrupados de acuerdo con su peso (0.600 a 0.900 kg; 1.000 a 1.499 kg; 1.500 a 1.999 kg y 2.000 a 2.499 kg). Resultados. El número de partos afectó el peso y el número de lechones nacidos. Cerdas en cuarto, quinto y séptimo parto, tuvieron una camada mayor que las de segundo parto. Las cerdas de segundo y tercer parto tuvieron menor número de lechones y con peso mayor. No se encontró efecto del suplemento de aceite de coco en el desarrollo de los lechones recién nacidos. Conclusiones. Lo aceite de coco no es favorable para los lechones recién nacidos, tampoco para aquellos con el bajo peso al nacer, que normalmente presentan la energía corporal baja.

Objective. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of sows' of different parities and the supplement of coconut oil for piglets, on the development of litter. Materials and methods. A total of 51 sows of different parities and their 642 piglets were used in the trial. Each piglet was weighed and identified at birth in a sequential order. They were randomly distributed in two treatments (CG=control group and TG=test group). TG piglets had the first access to a dosage of 3.0 ml of coconut oil 12 hours after birth, and the second at 36 h after the first. Piglets were weighed at 21 days. In order to analyze the effect of the coconut oil supplement as a function of the weight at birth, piglets were grouped according to their weight (0.600 to 0.900 kg; 1.000 to 1.499kg; 1.500 to 1.999 kg; and 2.000 to 2.499 kg). Results. Sows parity affected the number and weight of born piglets. Sows in 4th, 5th and 7th parity had a larger litter than those from the 2nd parity. Sows from 2nd and 3rd parity had a lower number of piglets but heavier litter. No effect of the coconut oil supplement on neonatal piglets' performance was found. Conclusions. The coconut meal was neither beneficial to neonatal piglets nor to those with low weight at birth, which usually present low body energy.

O Brasil encontra-se entre os maiores produtores de carne suína do mundo; entretanto, sua competitividade tem sido prejudicada pela falta de cooperação entre os atores da cadeia de suprimentos. Isso faz com que as perdas financeiras sejam avaliadas em cada nó, individualmente. Na maioria dos casos, as perdas são computadas pelos produtores de suínos que absorvem os prejuízos. As perdas de peso vivo ocorrem geralmente durante o manejo pré-abate, principalmente durante o processo de transporte. A pesquisa foi realizada na cidade de Brasilândia, Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Foram analisadas as operações de manejo pré-abate na granja e os dados fornecidos por cinco frigoríficos, considerando as perdas de peso vivo, as escoriações de carcaça, animais lesionados e a mortalidade. Os dados foram relacionados com o volume comercial de vendas do ano de 2012. Os resultados indicaram que as perdas financeiras corresponderam, neste caso, a 160 mil dólares, levando-se em conta os valores que deixaram de ser obtidos pela cadeia de suprimentos suinícola.

Brazil is amongst the world’s largest swine producers. However, its competitiveness has been vulnerable due to a lack of cooperation between the supply chain players. This condition makes the financial losses to be evaluated taking into account only an individual node, and most of the time, these damages are imputed by swine breeders. Living weight losses occur between the farm to slaughterhouses, and the main cause of these losses is the pre-slaughter handling, especially during animal transportation. In this research, we analyzed the pre-slaughter handling in a swine farm in Brasilândia, MS, Brazil. Analyzed data were provided by five slaughterhouses (farm clients) from the studied region, in which it was considered living weight losses, carcass bruising, animal injury, and death rate. The results indicated that total financial losses represent 160 thousand dollars per year, when taking into account the supply chain management.

Este estudo foi conduzido com o objetivo de investigar a incidência de carne PSE (pale, soft and exudative) em suínos abatidos em um abatedouro comercial, localizado em Mato Grosso do Sul, no período de maio de 2009 a julho de 2010. A partir do banco de dados (n = 854 carcaças), aplicou-se a regressão logística múltipla com a finalidade de desenvolver um modelo para constatar a influência das variáveis selecionadas na probabilidade de risco de incidência de carne PSE. Desta forma, a variável dependente foi construída pela identificação de carne PSE em carcaças de suínos com valores de pH45 inferior ou igual a 5,8. Para obtenção do modelo com maior capacidade de predição foram aplicados o método de máxima verossimilhança para estimação de parâmetros e a técnica stepwise para seleção de variáveis explicativas. As variáveis selecionadas com maior poder de predição foram: temperatura de carcaça, tempo de embarque, velocidade média durante o transporte e o tempo de descanso médio dos animais nas baias. O modelo obtido apresentou capacidade de predição de 91,8%.

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of PSE (Pale, Soft and Exudative) meat in pigs slaughtered in a commercial slaughterhouse located in the Mato Grosso do Sul, from May 2009 to July 2010. Based on a database (n = 854 carcasses), multiple logistic regression was applied for the purpose of developing a model to verify the effect of the selected variables on the probable risk of occurrence of PSE meat. Thus, the dependent variable was constructed through the identification of PSE meat in pig carcasses with pH45 values less than or equal to 5.8. In addition, the maximum likelihood method for estimation of parameters and the stepwise technique for selection of covariates were applied to obtain the model with the highest predictive ability. The variables selected with the greatest predictive capability were: carcass temperature, time of shipping, average speed during transport and the average resting time of the animals in the stalls. The obtained model presented predictive capability of 91.8%.

Este trabalho objetivou investigar a influência do manejo pré-abate na incidência de carne PSE (Pale, Soft and Exudative), em suínos abatidos em um abatedouro comercial, localizado na região metropolitana de Dourados-MS. A partir do banco de dados (n=1.832 carcaças), aplicou-se análise multivariada integrada, com a finalidade de identificar, dentre as variáveis selecionadas, quais representavam maior relevância para o estudo. Os resultados da Análise de Componentes Principais indicaram que os cinco primeiros componentes explicaram 89,28% da variância total. Na Análise de Fatores, o primeiro fator representou as condições fatigantes e de estresse térmico para os suínos, durante o manejo pré-abate. De modo geral, o estudo indicou a importância das etapas do manejo pré-abate, evidenciando aquelas que representam maior estresse e ameaça ao bem-estar animal e à qualidade da carne suína, quais sejam: o tempo de transporte, de descanso médio nas baias, de espera no pátio, de descarregamento e ambiência.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pre-slaughter handling on the occurrence of PSE (Pale, Soft, and Exudative) meat in swine slaughtered at a commercial slaughterhouse located in the metropolitan region of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Based on the database (n=1,832 carcasses), it was possible to apply the integrated multivariate analysis for the purpose of identifying, among the selected variables, those of greatest relevance to this study. Results of the Principal Component Analysis showed that the first five components explained 89.28% of total variance. In the Factor Analysis, the first factor represented the thermal stress and fatiguing conditions for swine during pre-slaughter handling. In general, this study indicated the importance of the pre-slaughter handling stages, evidencing those of greatest stress and threat to animal welfare and pork quality, which are transport time, resting period, lairage time before unloading, unloading time, and ambience.