Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias

Behaviour & Welfare

Body Composition

Carcass & Meat Quality

Environment Impact

Field Experiments

Feed & Feed Tehnologies

Housing & System Trials

Performance Trials

Physiological Studies

The Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Animal from the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (CITA-IVIA) is a public center dedicated to research and technology transfer to the livestock sector. CITA-IVIA has the following experimental facilities for pig research: - A fattening pigs' unit consisting of: • 4 rooms for growing-finishing pigs (320 animals, 64 pens with 5 animals/pen) adapted to conduct growth performance, environmental (slurry), and behavior trials. One of these rooms is provided with 6 EFS for fattening pigs. • 1 room for weaning pigs (140 animals, 28 pens with 5 animals/pen) to conduct growth performance and health trials. • 1 metabolism room with 12 metabolism pens (for piglets, growing-finishing pigs, or sows) to conduct metabolism and environmental (slurry) experiments. • 1 surgery room equipped for ileal cannulation. - A pilot plant for slurry treatment with two slurry storage ponds, two solid-liquid separators, a coagulation-flocculation tank, a decanter, a sand filter system, and a physical struvite recovery system. - A laboratory for biological samples preparation equipped with scales, drying ovens, muffles for incineration, mills with different particle size, centrifuges and a freeze dryer. - A laboratory for carrying out in vitro digestibility tests equipped with a Daisy II incubator (Ankom Technology) and the necessary material to carry out in vitro studies in different species (monogastrics and ruminants). - A laboratory of microbiology with laminar flow hoods, shakers, and incubators for the preparation of infecting solutions and isolation/counting of different microorganisms using classical methods. - An environmental laboratory for carrying out gas emissions tests that is equipped with 8 anaerobic digesters of 5 L capacity for continuous measurement of methane emissions from slurry, an anaerobic digester of 1 m3 capacity, 20 lines for in vitro slurry ammonia volatilization studies (impingers) and equipment for the physical-chemical characterization of different substrates (pH, conductivity, particle size, ST and SV, biological oxygen demand).