INRAE - Pig Physiology and Phenotyping Experimental Facilities

Behaviour & Welfare

Animal Health

Body Composition

Breeding & Genetics

Carcass & Meat Quality

Environment Impact

Feed & Feed Tehnologies

Housing & System Trials

Performance Trials

Physiological Studies

Swine experimental livestock - Providing pigs at any physiological stage - Large range of housing facilities, feeding systems, size of groups - Modulable facilities enabling behavioural experiments - Precision feeding of sows (gestation and lactation) and growing-finishing pigs Yucatan mini-pig experimental livestock - Providing Yucatan minipigs - 250 piglets per year - Used as human models in various physiological, metabolic or behavioral studies. Suited in long term experiments concerning obesity or metabolic disorders - Raised and fed in order to keep a weight enabling comparison to humans and the use of medical scans- Modulable facilities enabling behavioural experiments Experimental slaughterhouse - Enables various analyses and samplings on animals including piglets - Slaughters with EC certification and without (animals following protocols not meeting the hygiene package requirements) Experimental feed-mill - Capacity to manufacture feeds (mash or pellet) in quantities ranging from a few kilograms to a few tons under well-controlled conditions with different interventions possible during the process - Development of specific production conditions for particular diet composition (eg high fat content) - Associated laboratory ensures chemical analysis of the feed ingredients used (before manufacturing) and of the experimental diets (after manufacturing) - Possibility to ship the feed to other installations. Calorimetry experimental installation - Measure the heat produced by the pig through indirect calorimetry (i.e. by measuring O2 consumption and CO2 production). - Simultaneous measurement of physical activity allows to estimate the different components of heat production using statistical analysis techniques - Access to three calorimeters that range in volume from 1.7 to 12 m3, which allows measuring the heat production in individual or in small groups of pigs. Measurments of methane and ammonia emissions. Precision Livestock Farming for growing pigs (PLF) - Offers individual multiphase feeding - Houses up to 90 pigs in a single unit - Different monitoring systems measuring the individual body weight (using a sorting system), feed intake (and feed intake patterns, using 8 precision feeders), and water consumption (with 8 connected water dispensers) - Information used in real-time to provide a combination of up to four diets to each pig. Facilities under controlled thermal environment - Simulate large range of thermal environments (hot and cold) - Evaluate effects of thermal variations on pig growth and health parameters - Develop feeding strategies to alleviate heat-stress Surgery unit - Surgery unit (2 operating rooms, pre and post surgery rooms) - Gaseous anesthesia - Coelioscopia and endoscopy instruments - Unit qualification : Vascular, digestive surgeries and coelioscopy ; Can assist during other surgeries Metabolic and digestibility facilities - Individual housing for piglets and growing pigs - daily caretaking - Weighting animals - Measurements of water and feed consumption - Excretion measurements and analysis Phenotyping unit - Developed mainly in order to perform vertical phenotyping - Production of a large number of data on few parameters - provides data to confirm genetic selection