Tag: health-challenged pigs

Good practices to optimize total born in multiparous sows

One of the easiest ways to minimize cost on a sow farm is to increase the number of pigs weaned per sow. There are many factors that determine how many pigs will be weaned for each sow such as genetics, day one pig care, and average birth weight of piglets.  However, total born is arguably the most important factor in the equation. Below are some key strategies to focus on that will help you get the most out of your sows each time they farrow.

Maximize feed consumption during lactation

• Maximizing feed consumption during lactation is directly correlated with milk output and with increased total born on the next litter.
• A good target would be averaging 13 to 15 pounds of lactation feed intake per day per sow (depending on your genetics and length of lactation).

Lactation length

• The industry still remains at a 21-day average across the board.
• Breeding early-weaned sows on their first heat can be very detrimental to your total born numbers.
• Sows require a minimum of 17 to 18 days of lactation to achieve optimal total born on their next farrowing.

Body condition

• An obvious point that often gets overlooked.
• Maintaining good body condition is extremely difficult on younger parity animals as they tend to have the largest litters after fostering while still growing and maturing themselves.
• It’s best practice to full-feed in the farrowing house as well as full-feed low body condition sows until first service.
• Lower body condition animals should not be bred until they have regained the condition lost during lactation.

Sow movements

• Do not move sows from Day 5 to Day 35 post breeding.
• Movements during this time can cause the newly formed fetuses to detach from the uterine wall.

Insemination timing

• Semen needs to be delivered at least 6-8 hours prior to ovulation. If it’s not, the late timing of insemination can lower farrowing rates and result in fewer total born pigs.

Semen handling

• Rotate semen twice a day—morning and afternoon.
• Utilize freshly collected semen and avoid using semen that is greater than 5 days old.
• Maintain semen in a refrigerator at 63 degrees Fahrenheit— record refrigerator temperature morning and afternoon.
• Only take the amount of semen you need out to the barn with you—don’t let it sit around too long.

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MetaFarms sow data for Q4 2019

The Q4 2019 MetaFarms Sow Production Index is based on MetaFarms Sow customers only. Data has been scrubbed and made anonymous to protect confidentiality. Data sources are from pork producers using the MetaFarms Platform, and represents over 360 sow farms located in both the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Keep in mind that Sow performance is for the time period of October 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. Each metric is ranked independently against the others. Over 35 sow farms make up the Top 10%/Bottom 10% with nearly 295 as the average.

MetaFarms production index Q4 2019

The Q4 2019 MetaFarms Production Index is based on closeout performance for nursery, finishing and wean-to-finish groups and how they compare with the same period last year. Data has been scrubbed and made anonymous to protect confidentiality. Data sources are from pork producers using the MetaFarms Platform and represents over 500 pork production companies located in both the US and Canada. Nursery data includes over 2,000 closeouts, finishing data includes over 2,400 closeouts and more than 900 single stocked wean-to-finish closeouts.

Keep in mind that nursery groups closed in Q4 started on feed between July and November, finishing groups started on feed in April through September and wean-to-finish groups started on feed in March through July.

 

 

 

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Family of the year – The Hugosons

Swine Vet Center would like to congratulate the Hugoson family, this year’s recipients of the “Family of the Year” Award at the 2020 Minnesota Pork Congress. This award honors a pork producing family who has contributed to the long term success of the industry through leadership and pork promotion on both the local and state levels. The Hugosons are a 5th generation farm family. Their farm was homesteaded in 1888 by Kevin’s great grandparents who immigrated from Sweden.

Thanks for your service—Reuben Bode

Courtland, Minnesota native Reuben Bode will be retiring from the Minnesota Pork Board. Reuben has served on the Minnesota Pork Board Executive Board for the last seven years. For two of those years, Reuben served as Chairman of the Board. Swine Vet Center would like to recognize Reuben for his years of serving the Minnesota pork industry. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For more information, visit www.swinevetcenter.com

 

No portion of this newsletter may be used/copied without written consent of Swine Vet Center

Start health challenged pigs

Due to PRRSv and PEDv, winter is often the time of year we start to see an increased number of health-challenged pigs. Of course, along with the increased number of sick pigs comes an increase in mortality. The following are some pig-care tips we’d like to share that can help make the best of a bad situation.

Increase the setpoint and keep them warm

• Feverish pigs require a warmer environment to stay comfortable. Use the pigs’ behavior as your gauge and continue to increase the setpoint until they stop piling and lay comfortably. Remember the last time you were sick with a high fever grabbing multiple blankets and upping the thermostat? Pigs battling viral disease are the same way.

Gruel feeding

• It’s important to have a very palatable diet for sick pigs to make the wean transition. Mix only enough gruel to last 2 hours, then give them fresh. Provide 1 gruel bowl per 25 head. Since there’s often a high number of feverish pigs scattered throughout the barn/room, it’s best to gruel all pens rather than just the bottom end. Products such as Tonisity^® and Proteolyte^® can be used to enhance gruel and make it more appetizing.

Chore multiple times a day

• Again, remember the last time you were sick and laying on the couch? Sometimes, all it takes is someone getting you up and moving to start feeling better again. It’s the same with pigs. Getting the pigs up to eat and drink 6, 8, or more times per day with light mat feeding can impact getting those pigs started.

Superior starter feed

• Having a highly palatable feed is very critical for challenged pigs while they transition from a diet of milk to corn and soy. Work closely with your nutritionist for the optimal starter program for challenged pigs.

Antibiotic at weaning

• Talk with your Swine Vet Center veterinarian for the correct choice of a mass preventive antibiotic at weaning. Health challenged pigs that start poorly on feed and water post-weaning respond better to an antibiotic injection at weaning vs. relying on a feed or water antibiotic.

Adequate mat and brooder space

• This is important in all cold-weather wean groups, but even more critical in health-challenged lots. Ensuring 0.4 sq ft/pig of mat space and adequate brooder coverage of all pigs will help give the “pillow and blanket” needed to help keep health-challenged pigs comfortable.

Biosecurity – contain it!

• While your site or sites may be the recipient of health-challenged pigs, keeping it out of other sites and from spreading within your system will minimize its impact. Adhering to strict clean/dirty lines and following proper biosecurity guidelines are key!

Communication

• Keep in close contact with your SVC veterinarian and production team on day-to-day changes. With PRRSv impacting the immune system, secondary infections can be very severe and need to be dealt with as timely as possible.

Ventilation tips to save on LP

‘Tis the season for cold weather and with that comes the LP bill. Here are a few general tips to help you save money on LP while also keeping your pits healthy.

Insulated curtains or foil insulation

• Utilizing insulated curtains or foil insulation to increase the R value of exterior walls is a great first step in saving LP. This includes side curtains and/or tunnel curtains for young pigs. Make sure to leave a 1 foot gap if these are your emergency drop curtains.

Cover non-emergency wall fans

• Most sites will cover all fans except the 1st stage wall fan and emergency fan. Options include permanent covers that exchange with the fan louvers, heavy plastic inside the louvers, fan chute covers, and fan socks. Fan socks are another option for fans if you do not want to permanently cover but still wat to prevent backdrafts.

Proper minimum ventilation settings

• Work closely with your production team or SVC veterinarian to provide adequate minimum ventilation for the size of pits in your barn. Remember the goal of minimum ventilation is to have proper air exchange and mixing to remove ammonia, CO2, and humidity while exchanging oxygen.

Cover/fix non-intentional inlets

• Fix any areas of your barn that are acting as unintentional inlets or leaks. Space under and around doors, holes in curtains, broken inlets, etc. are examples of these leaks. These require an increase in minimum ventilation to achieve the same amount of air mixing which in turn increases the heat/LP usage for the barn.

Partially closing inlets

• In cold weather ventilation, consider closing 1/2 of the inlet openings with inlet clips to achieve proper air speed and mixing. This can help optimize your minimum ventilation and air exchange.

Zone heating with mats and brooders

• As allude to above, zone heating gives the pigs a warm “pillow and blanket” effect in the “bedroom” of the barn and allows you to reduce overall set point of the room.
• Ensure 0.4 sq. ft/pig of mat space and adequate brooder coverage of all pigs.

Focusing on these areas and others to decrease LP use will also help keep the barn temperature more consistent throughout the barn. A more consistent temperature with less swings will also lead to healthy pigs and a more productive turn.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year in 2020!

The goal of Swine Vet Center is to provide our clients with the very best in swine health and production services. We are thankful for your business and will continue to work hard to find solutions to challenges as they arise.

SVC is proud to be a production partner with you!

 

For more information, visit www.swinevetcenter.com

 

No portion of this newsletter may be used/copied without written consent of Swine Vet Center