
Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Australia;
Dr. Roy Kirkwood is a native of the UK and did his PhD on gilt management at Leeds (UK). Following that, he did sow research in New Zealand (2 yrs) and then Canada (15 yrs), during which period he went to vet school; graduating in 1995. After a 4 yr period he returned to the UK for 3 yrs (Royal Vet College) before moving to Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. After 10 yrs in the USA he moved with his family to his current position as Associate Professor in Intensive Production (pigs) at the University of Adelaide, Australia, where he is heavily involved in teaching and research. He became a Diplomate of the European College of Animal Reproduction in 2000. His research interests to date have been to improve sow herd reproductive performance, but more recently he is becoming increasingly involved in dry sow housing and neonatal piglet health management.
On Monday, 3 October 2022, MDPI and the Journal Animals organized the third webinar on Animals, entitled "Management of (Hyper)Prolific Sows and Their Litters", chaired by Dr. Roy Kirkwood from the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Adelaide in Australia.
In the webinar, Dr. Kate Plush presented a lot of her group’s work detailing how to improve piglet preweaning growth and survival, particularly of smaller birthweight piglets. Then, a presentation by Dr. Pieter Langendijk described the needed protein nutrition of lactating sows if fertility is to be maintained. Both subject areas are pivotal to successful management of these highly prolific sows.
The presentations were followed by a Q&A and a discussion, moderated by the Chair. The webinar was offered via Zoom and required registration to attend. The full recording can be found here on Sciforum website. In order to stay updated on the next webinars on Animals, be sure to sign up for our newsletter by clicking on “Subscribe” at the top of the page.