pig management

Management Piglets from birth to weaning Almost 50 % of the pigs that
die on a farm, die before they
are 14 days old. Good
management in the farrowing
house, where the piglets are
born and kept for the first 28 to 35 days of their lives, is
therefore of the utmost
importance. Remember to keep the
piglets dry and in a
draught-free pen or box
where the temperature is
high and does not change
much The farrowing pen must be
designed in such a way that the
sow cannot lie on top of the
piglets. Newborn piglets are very
sensitive to cold, draughts, wet
bedding and floors as well as sudden changes in temperature.
Ensure therefore that every thing
possible is done to prevent piglets
from being exposed to these
conditions. A farrowing crate for the sows and
a creep area for the piglets (see
chapter on housing) should be
provided to prevent or reduce
deaths as a result of piglets being
trampled by the sow or as a result of cold, draughts, etc. Make sure that all piglets suckle a
teat as soon as possible after birth to take in colostrum. The first
milk produced by the so w
imme diately after the piglets are
born is known as colostrum. It
plays an important role in the
protection of the piglets against diseases during the first few weeks
of their lives. If a sow has more piglets than
the number of teats she has, the
extra piglets can be placed with
another sow with a smaller
number of piglets. This can only
be done if the piglets of the sows are born within a few days
of each other. Sometimes a sow does not accept
her own piglets, usually as a result
of birth shock (often seen in sows
having their first litter of piglets). If
this happens the piglets can be
taken away from the sow for a few hours. If she still refuses to accept
them they should be placed with
another sow if possible. Sows that
do not accept their piglets or bite
them, must rather be slaughtered. If another sow is not available to
rear the rejected piglets, they can
be reared artificially. It does,
how ever, take time and hard work,
because the piglets do not always
grow and perform well. The following milk combinations can be
used to rear piglets artificially: - 2,5 l of fresh cow's milk
- 150 ml of fresh cream
- 125 ml of glucose
- 1 beaten egg OR - 4,5 l of fresh cow's milk
- 0,5 l of cream Feed the piglets small quantities
every 2 to 3 hours. Start by giving
50 ml each time they are fed, so
th at each piglet takes in 350 ml per
day. Gradually increase the
quantity to about 100 ml so that each piglet gets 750 ml at three
weeks of age. Provide creep meal
in a shallow dish or on the floor from two weeks
onwards to
encourage the piglets to eat meal as soon as possible.
Fresh, clean water must always be
available in a shallow dish. The
piglets should drink water as soon
as possible. Specific treatment of piglets Umbilical cord Disinfect the umbilical cord after
birth with an iodine solution or any
other suitable disinfectant to
prevent bacterial infection. Tusk clipping Piglets have very sharp temporary
tusks (or teeth) at birth which must
be clipped to prevent injuries to
the teats of the sows during
suckling. Use a tusk clipper and do
not clip the teeth too close to the gums. The very sharp
temporary tusks (or
teeth) of piglets should
be clipped Iron injections The milk of the sow does not
provide enough iron to piglets that
are reared on concrete floors.
Piglets must therefore be injected
with iron when they are three to
seven days old to prevent them from becoming anaemic which
results in poor appetite and
growth until they start eating
meal. In order to handle the piglets as
little as possible clip the tusks and
give the iron injection at the same
time, about three days after birth. Injectable iron
preparations for piglets
can be bought and
injected into the neck or
buttocks Water and feed Clean, fresh water placed at the
back of the pen where the piglets
will learn to dung is very
important. The sooner they start to
drink water the better. Two to three weeks after birth
they will start to nibble on feed
placed away from the water near
the creep area. Creep feed is
expensive and they will not eat
much before weaning, therefore only small quantities of feed must
be given from two to three weeks
of age. Increase the daily quantity
gradually when they start eating
to prevent wastage. Sow management Good management is necessary to
produce a maximum number of
pigs that can be sold per sow in
one year's time at a maximum
profit for the farmer. The
management skills of the farmer determines to a large extent how
many piglets are reared, how long
it takes to rear them to market
weight and the cost involved. A farmer with good management
skills will: Feed his pigs correctly, which
means that he will have to know
what and how much the pigs must
be fed. Build pig houses that are efficient
and planned in such a way that
management is made easier. See to it that the pig houses and
pigs are kept clean under hygienic
conditions to prevent and control
diseases. Use good breeding material that
will breed pigs that are able to
grow fast, have carcasses with
well-developed muscles (meat)
with as little fat as possible and use
their feed efficiently. Supervise daily and keep records
so that it will be easy to make sure
that everything that needs to be
done is carried out. Pregnant sows Sows come on heat every 21 days.
A sow served by a boar is not
always pregnant. The sow must be
brought to a boar again 19 days
after she has been served for three
to seven days to make sure that she becomes pregnant. Sows that
come on heat for a second time
should again be served. Sows that
regularly come on heat after
service by a boar must rather be
slaughtered. Pregnant sows must be free of
internal parasites. Parasite
infection will affect the health of
the sow as well as her feed intake.
The sows can also infect the piglets.
Parasite eggs that are excreted in the dung can be eaten by the
piglets. Deworm pregnant sows 21
to 28 days before they have their
piglets (piglets are born 116 days
after service). Management during farrowing The farrowing house Piglets have a low resistance to
infections. The farrowing house
must preferably be situated some
distance from the other pig houses
and a high standard of hygiene
must be maintained. Wash and scrub the farrowing pen
properly every time the sow and
piglets are removed. Disinfect the
pen and leave it to dry for a period
of two to three days before placing
a sow in it. When a sow and her piglets are in
a pen it must be kept as dry as
possible. Use as little water as
possible for daily cleaning. Dirty
and wet bedding must be removed
daily. The piglets must be kept
warm in a dry, draught-
free creep area such as a
box The sow Wash and disinfect the sow before
putting her in the farrowing pen
four to five days before the piglets
are born. Young female pigs (glits)
that are about to farrow for the
first time, must get used to their pen. Therefore, put them in the
farrowing crate for a few hours per
day from about 10 days before
farrowing so that they can become
accustomed to it. To prevent sows from becoming
constipated during this period,
green feed such as lucerne or a
high-fibre feed, such as bran can be
fed. Feed 1 kg bran when they are
put in the farrowing crate for the four days before farrowing. Farrowing The sow becomes restless and
starts to "make a nest" with the
bedding in the crate when she is
ready to farrow. Swelling of the vulva is a sign that
she is ready to give birth. Supervision during the birth
process is necessary, especially
when it is a sow giving birth for
the first time. When the piglets are
born, make sure that they do not
get entangled in birth membranes and that they do not suffocate in
mucus or amniotic fluid. Keep the sow calm so that she does not trample the piglets to
death. Piglets usually break the umbilical
cord which joins them to the sow.
If weak piglets do not break the
cord them selves it is advisable to
break the cord with the thumb and
fore finger. During the first week after
farrowing it is important to pay
attention to the following: Check that the sow is not
constipated. The after birth must be discharged
from the sow as soon as possible
(within one to two days). The sow should not develop a
fever as a result of infection. Look out for milk fever during the
first few (4 to 6) days after
farrowing. Look out for the development of
mastitis that results in hard and
inflamed (red) teats. Mastitis and a lack of milk
(agalactia) can cause the piglets to
die of hunger. Immediate attention
by a veterinarian is therefore
necessary. Management during lactation There is a large difference in the
environmental temperature
requirements of sows and piglets.
Sows must feel comfortable. Very
high temperatures will cause the
sows to eat less and lose weight. Lactating sow (sows with piglets)
will produce less milk for the
piglets, so that the piglets will
grow slower. If they lose too much
weight they will also take longer to
come on heat after weaning, which means a delay before the next
pregnancy period. High temperatures are, however,
needed for the piglets, particularly
for the first seven to ten days after
birth. A dry, draught-free creep
area (or box) where they can lie, is
therefore very important (see chapter on housing). Diarrhoea can be a problem in
piglets. If the quantity of feed fed
to the sow is increased too soon
after farrowing, it can cause
diarrhoea. If the piglets get
diarrhoea, do not feed the sow for a day. If the condition does not
improve a bacterial infection can
be the reason. The piglets should
then be treated with antibiotics. As a general guideline the temperature in the farrowing house should preferably be 16 to 20 °C and in the creep area as high as 28 to 32 °C Other management aspects Clean cool water must always be
available for the sow. Provide enough food for the sow,
preferably as much as she wants to
eat so that she does not lose
weight while suckling her piglets. Inspect the sow's udder regularly
(preferably daily) for hard lumps
(signs of infection). If lumps are
found, treat the sow immediately. Clean the farrowing pen daily. Wean the piglets when they are
four weeks but not more than five
weeks old. Wean the piglets by taking the sow
away from the litter (piglets).
Move the piglets to the growing
pens seven days later. Sows come on heat again three to
five days after weaning. Therefore,
take them to the boar from three
days after weaning once a day
until they are served. Sows must receive less feed (about
2 kg a day) from the day after
weaning. Management from weaning to
slaughter Clean water and feed in a trough,
preferably a self-feeder must be
available to the piglets after
weaning. Piglets sometimes tend to eat too
much for a day or two after
weaning. This can cause diarrhoea
that can be stopped by providing
less feed for a few days. If it
continues it may be a bacterial infection and must be treated with
an antibiotic. Antibiotics can be
mixed into the feed or given,
dissolved in water, by way of a
teat attached to a plastic bottle
fastened to the wall or gate. It is advisable to treat the litter for
internal parasites soon after
weaning. Always keep the piglets of the
same sow together by moving
them to the same growth pen
seven days after weaning. Piglets
coming from different litters will
fight one another when placed in the same pen. If it is necessary to put pigs from
different sows in the same pen, try
to put those of the same size and
type together. Do not put one or
two new pigs in a large group. Put
all the pigs in a new pen that is un familiar to them. Spray the pigs
with a solution with a distinctive
smell. Growing pigs must grow as fast as
possible and therefore they must
eat as much as possible of the right
feed mixture (see chapter on
nutrition) without becoming too
fat. A suitable self-feeder that ensures
that every pig can eat as much as it
wants, without wasting feed, is
therefore very important. Growing pigs can be sold as
porkers when they weigh 60 to 70
kg and are between 15 and 18
weeks old, or as baconers when
they weigh 86 to 90 kg and are just
less than six months old. Transport pigs to the market when
it is cool, e.g. early in the morning
or late afternoon. There must not be too much
moving space on the vehicle. Cannibalism Conditions in the growing pen that
are unfavourable such as cold,
draughts, concrete floors without
bedding, not enough eating space
and poor ventilation can cause
stress to the pigs. Pigs bite one another's tails when stressed. This
leads to cannibalism and continued
tail biting. Pigs with injured tails
grow slower and may even die if
the injuries become more severe.
Injured pigs must therefore be removed from the pen, and the
wounds disinfected and treated
with an antibiotic. To prevent tail biting, make sure
that the conditions in the pen are
optimal: Not too hot or too cold and
draught free Sufficient clean bedding A big enough self feeder Enough clean water Not too many pigs in the pen. Put an old
tyre in the
pen or
hang a
chain from
the roof to prevent
boredom Record records helps the farmer
to manage his pigs effectively and
to know which pigs to select for
breeding. All breeding animals
should be marked permanently by
using an ear-number system so that records can be kept for each
animal. Records for each sow for the
following should be kept: The date that the sow is served so
that it is possible to know when
she must come on heat again if she
is not pregnant, or to know
whether she is pregnant when she
does not come on heat 20 to 25 days after service. The expected farrowing date so
that she can be brought to the
farrowing house three to four days
before she is due to farrow. The weaning date so that the
piglets can be weaned on the right
date and that the sow is brought to
the boar again for service from
three days after weaning. This will
also indicate which sows to cull (those that do not come on heat or
those that are on heat again within
about three weeks). The age of the sow and how many
litters she has had so that sows
that get too old can be culled. The litter size (number of piglets)
must be recorded. The total
number born, the number born
alive, the number born dead and
the number of piglets that die
between birth and weaning. These records will give an indication of
problems concerning fertility or
disease. The records kept will help to select
females to be used as sows for
future breeding from big litters
and sows that farrow regularly. It
is important that sows produce at
least two litters every year. Ear-number system for pigs.
call 08032861326

Share this: