Hog producers may soon be able to boost production efficiency with a simple injection and bring pigs to market five days faster for less than 15 cents per animal.
Recent research shows that pigs get to market weight faster if within the first hours of life they receive a boost of a naturally occurring hormone called corticoid.
Jeff Carroll, a scientist with the United States Department of Agriculture’s research service, has two years of studies to support his findings about injections of dexamethasone, an inexpensive synthetic version of the hormone. He said the process is simple and safe.
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The Columbia, Missouri, researcher was studying the relationship between birth trauma and growth rates.
He found that piglets delivered by caesarean section gained weight more slowly than piglets delivered naturally.
One of the causes related to the stress of birth. He found that stress is a necessary switch “that needs to be thrown” to tell the newborn mammal that it is time to start providing for itself.
Elevated levels of the stress hormone also affected growth rates. The corticoid was present in the piglets that were born naturally but not in those delivered by c-section.
Synthetic corticoids such as dexamethasone appear to kickstart the animal’s growth, but so far research has not determined how these work.
“We don’t know if (piglets) have a better appetite because of the hormones or if the hormone has other effects that cause the animals to gain weight faster. That is where I would like to take the research next. Find that mode of action. But right now we know we are on to something important.”
Carroll said other issues to be examined include the dosage, which is known to be effective at 1.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, and the timing, known to be effective in the first 24 hours after birth, but uncertain as late as 72 hours.
The USDA study showed there was no difference in carcass quality between the test animals and a control group.
“The animals we tried it with just came to market weight five days sooner. They were just as efficient with their feed, ate no more than normal animals,” said Carroll.
Scientists at the University of Saskatchewan say that if the research proves to work, it will need to be studied in Canada and approved as part of the voluntary code of practice and standards and the Canadian Quality Assurance Program.
Dexamethasone is approved for cattle in Canada but not hogs. Other synthetic corticoids are registered for use in pigs, but not for this purpose.
Canada produces 24 million pigs annually. The effect of getting them to market five days sooner would save 120 million barn-days or as much as $250 million to the pork industry.
Barn-days savings could be one of the biggest factors for producers who are producing larger animals than in the past, meaning space is at a premium.
“This is a scientific discovery that actually might put some money directly into farmers’ pockets,” said Carroll.
He plans to present his findings at the annual Mid West Animal Science conference scheduled at Des Moines, Iowa, in March.
