{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/23900"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/23900","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Effects of nursery floor space allowance on growth, physiology, and immunology of replacement gilts","abstract":"In U.S. swine herds, sow removal rates due to death and voluntary and involuntary culling exceed 50% annually. This loss poses an economic problem for producers because the cost of acquiring replacement females is great. Although research has shown that crowding in the nursery has negative impacts on growth, research describing effects of crowding on subsequent reproductive performance and longevity in sows is lacking. This experiment was conducted to determine the impacts of crowding during the nursery phase of production on growth, physiology, and immunology in replacement gilts. Gilts (22.3 ± 3.2 d of age and 5.6 ± 0.6 kg BW) were subjected to floor space allocations of 0.15, 0.19, or 0.27 m2/pig during a 7-wk nursery period. Floor space allocations were achieved by altering the number of pigs per pen (14, 11, and 8 gilts/pen, respectively). As was expected, reduced floor space allowance in the nursery negatively affected growth performance although there was inconclusive physiological and immunological evidence to suggest that pigs were experiencing highly stressful conditions. Although feed intake was not measured, changes in blood counts and blood chemistry for gilts allowed reduced floor space were similar to other studies that reported negative effects of crowding on feed consumption. Further study of the gilts involved in this study will aim to determine if there are any links between the effects of crowding during the nursery and subsequent reproductive performance and longevity in the breeding herd.","abstract_html":"In U.S. swine herds, sow removal rates due to death and voluntary and involuntary culling exceed 50% annually. This loss poses an economic problem for producers because the cost of acquiring replacement females is great. Although research has shown that crowding in the nursery has negative impacts on growth, research describing effects of crowding on subsequent reproductive performance and longevity in sows is lacking. This experiment was conducted to determine the impacts of crowding during the nursery phase of production on growth, physiology, and immunology in replacement gilts. Gilts (22.3 ± 3.2 d of age and 5.6 ± 0.6 kg BW) were subjected to floor space allocations of 0.15, 0.19, or 0.27 m2/pig during a 7-wk nursery period. Floor space allocations were achieved by altering the number of pigs per pen (14, 11, and 8 gilts/pen, respectively). As was expected, reduced floor space allowance in the nursery negatively affected growth performance although there was inconclusive physiological and immunological evidence to suggest that pigs were experiencing highly stressful conditions. Although feed intake was not measured, changes in blood counts and blood chemistry for gilts allowed reduced floor space were similar to other studies that reported negative effects of crowding on feed consumption. Further study of the gilts involved in this study will aim to determine if there are any links between the effects of crowding during the nursery and subsequent reproductive performance and longevity in the breeding herd.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Callahan, Stuart Russell"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Animal and Poultry Sciences","degree_department":"Animal and Poultry Sciences","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Estienne, Mark J."],"committee_members":["Wood, Cynthia M.","Knight, James W."],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-10-16","date_published":"2013-10-16","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:47Z","subjects":["pig","floor space","nursery","replacement gilt"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:1676"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:1676","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/23900","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Estienne, Mark J."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Wood, Cynthia M.","Knight, James W."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Animal and Poultry Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Callahan, Stuart Russell"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2013-10-17T08:00:25Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-10-17T08:00:25Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2013-10-16"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Animal and Poultry Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["pig","floor space","nursery","replacement gilt"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:1676"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/23900"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In U.S. swine herds, sow removal rates due to death and voluntary and involuntary culling exceed 50% annually. This loss poses an economic problem for producers because the cost of acquiring replacement females is great. Although research has shown that crowding in the nursery has negative impacts on growth, research describing effects of crowding on subsequent reproductive performance and longevity in sows is lacking. This experiment was conducted to determine the impacts of crowding during the nursery phase of production on growth, physiology, and immunology in replacement gilts. Gilts (22.3 ± 3.2 d of age and 5.6 ± 0.6 kg BW) were subjected to floor space allocations of 0.15, 0.19, or 0.27 m2/pig during a 7-wk nursery period. Floor space allocations were achieved by altering the number of pigs per pen (14, 11, and 8 gilts/pen, respectively). As was expected, reduced floor space allowance in the nursery negatively affected growth performance although there was inconclusive physiological and immunological evidence to suggest that pigs were experiencing highly stressful conditions. Although feed intake was not measured, changes in blood counts and blood chemistry for gilts allowed reduced floor space were similar to other studies that reported negative effects of crowding on feed consumption. Further study of the gilts involved in this study will aim to determine if there are any links between the effects of crowding during the nursery and subsequent reproductive performance and longevity in the breeding herd."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Effects of nursery floor space allowance on growth, physiology, and immunology of replacement gilts"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Estienne, Mark J."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Wood, Cynthia M.","Knight, James W."],"dc:contributor.department":["Animal and Poultry Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Callahan, Stuart Russell"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2013-10-17T08:00:25Z"],"dc:date.available":["2013-10-17T08:00:25Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2013-10-16"],"dc:description.abstract":["In U.S. swine herds, sow removal rates due to death and voluntary and involuntary culling exceed 50% annually. This loss poses an economic problem for producers because the cost of acquiring replacement females is great. Although research has shown that crowding in the nursery has negative impacts on growth, research describing effects of crowding on subsequent reproductive performance and longevity in sows is lacking. This experiment was conducted to determine the impacts of crowding during the nursery phase of production on growth, physiology, and immunology in replacement gilts. Gilts (22.3 ± 3.2 d of age and 5.6 ± 0.6 kg BW) were subjected to floor space allocations of 0.15, 0.19, or 0.27 m2/pig during a 7-wk nursery period. Floor space allocations were achieved by altering the number of pigs per pen (14, 11, and 8 gilts/pen, respectively). As was expected, reduced floor space allowance in the nursery negatively affected growth performance although there was inconclusive physiological and immunological evidence to suggest that pigs were experiencing highly stressful conditions. Although feed intake was not measured, changes in blood counts and blood chemistry for gilts allowed reduced floor space were similar to other studies that reported negative effects of crowding on feed consumption. Further study of the gilts involved in this study will aim to determine if there are any links between the effects of crowding during the nursery and subsequent reproductive performance and longevity in the breeding herd."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:1676"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/23900"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["pig","floor space","nursery","replacement gilt"],"dc:title":["Effects of nursery floor space allowance on growth, physiology, and immunology of replacement gilts"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Animal and Poultry Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:47Z"}