4 – Farrowing Flashcards
1
Q
Why house farrowing sows in crates?
A
- Enables INDIVIDUAL sow feeding
- Reduce preweaning mortality
- Allows for micro-environment for piglets
- Does NOT accommodate nesting behaviour
2
Q
Micro-environment for piglets
A
- Room: 18-19 degrees C
- Piglet creep: 25 degree C at farrowing
o Gradually reduced
3
Q
Farrowing crate requirements
A
- Need enough room to move around
- Can’t touch both sides of crate
- Can’t be in them more than 6 weeks in any one reproductive period
- Piglets must have a space to retreat
4
Q
Standard disease control measures: MINIMUM
A
- SANITATION: wash(disinfectants can’t penetrate), disinfect, dry rooms prior to entry
- Rooms generally ALL-IN-ALL OUT
- Continuous flow (CF) is less common
- *prophylactic meds to all piglets at birth or during lactation is DISCOURAGED (depends on barn)
5
Q
Continuous flow is less common and seen mainly in
A
- Backyard or hobby farms
- ‘overflow’ rooms
6
Q
Pre-farrowing procedures
A
- *cortisol surge triggers farrowing
- Transfer sows to farrowing room at gestation d110-112
- Reduce FEED intake when farrowing is imminent
- SCRAPE manure behind sows daily
- Raise room temperature to 21-23 degree C for farrowing
7
Q
Vaccinate dam
A
- Protection of post-natal litter
- Enhance colostrum quality and passive immunity
- Lactational IgA and IgG (re-secreted)
8
Q
Peri-parturient cortisol surge
A
- Natural rise in fetal cortisol required for FARROWING INDUCTION and MATURATION of fetal tissue
9
Q
Effects of cortisol on fetus
A
- Liver: glycogen deposition
- GIT: antibody absorption
- Lung: surfactant production
- Maturation of skeletal muscle
10
Q
Advantages of farrowing induction
A
- Staff presence at farrowing to facilitate CROSS FOSTERING and NEONATAL CARE
- Reduce STILL BIRTH piglets
- Induce STRAGGLER SOWS over 116d gestation (maintain AIAO farrowing groups)
11
Q
Disadvantages of farrowing induction
A
- Risk of premature delivery
12
Q
Products used for farrowing induction
A
- Natural or synthetic prostaglandin F2-alpha
o Lutalyse
o Plante
13
Q
Routes of administration for farrowing induction
A
- IM neck (label claim)
- Vulvomucosal
- Lateral vulvar
- Peri-anal
- Abdominal oblique
14
Q
Dosing schedule of farrowing induction
A
- Two ½ dose injections 6 hrs apart (8am, 2pm) to farrow following morning
15
Q
Signs of impending parturition
A
- Secrete MILK
- NESTING behaviour, restlessness
- Reduced FEED INTAKE
- Raised rectal temp
16
Q
Parturition ‘timing’ (length and when piglets are expelled)
A
- 4.5 hrs (+/- 2.5 hrs)
- Piglets expelled every 25 mins
- Placenta (2 horns) generally expelled after last piglet
17
Q
Fetal placenta
A
- No exchange!
18
Q
Stillbirth piglets (stillborns)
A
- Full term fetuses that are live until term, but die of hypoxia during a PROLONGED farrowing
- *6-8% of total born
19
Q
Risk factors for stillborns
A
- Higher PARITY
- OVER-CONDITIONED (fat)
- Season (summer, HEAT)
- Higher BRITH ORDER (farrowing fatigue)
o More piglets=harder
20
Q
Diagnosis of stillborn piglets
A
- Float lungs to differentiate between stillbirth from postnatal death
- *if float=postnatal death
21
Q
Fetal mummification (mummies)
A
- Fetuses that die prior to term, but AFTER skeletal calcification begins (~gestation day 30)
- INSPISSATED REMAINS of fetal tissues
- Age determined by CROWN-RUMP LENGTH
- *1-2% of total born
22
Q
Many causes of fetal mummification
A
- Infectious (ex. PPV, PRRSV)
- Non-infectious (ex. parity, litter size)
- *size matters=may provide clues to etiology
23
Q
Factors affecting litter size (varies by farm)
A
- Parity
- Genetics (sow, boar)
- Breeding management
- Previous lactation (feeding, length)
- *Previous wean-service period (nutrition)
o Do NOT want to miss their first estrus - Disease: embryonic/fetal death losses
24
Q
Factors affecting birth weight
A
- Placentation and intrauterine spacing
- Genetics and imprinted gene expression
- Litter size
- Gestational feeding (>gestation day 100)
- *abundant variation WITHIN and BETWEEN litters
25
Typically birth weight of piglet and total born and live born
- 1.2-1.4 kg/pig
- Total born: >14
- Live born: >12
26
Establishment of lactation
- SUCKLING ORDER established within 24hrs of farrowing
- FRONT & MIDDLE MAMMARY GLANDS are preferential
o Hind glands=lower milk production
27
Mammary involution is reversible after:
- 1 day, but NOT after 3 days of not suckling
- *CANNOT add piglets to establish litters
28
Key management practices to encourage healthy piglets
- Encourage colostrum consumption
- Provide warmth (creeps)
- Reducing competition (cross fostering)
- Control infective diseases with proper hygiene
29
Colostrum consumption (24-48hrs)
- NO transplacental IgG transfer (diffuse epitheliochorial placentation)
- Colostrum contains IgG (primarily) and some maternal LEUKOCYTES
- Primary protection for first 4-6 weeks
- *passive immunity level is variable, but proportional to colostrum intake of IgG concentration
- Failure of transfer if below 10 Ig/L
30
Key risk factors for failure of passive immunity transfer (FPT)
- Gilt litters
- Large litters
- Small birth weight
- Late birth order
- Hind teat
- Chilling
31
How can we enhance colostrum consumption?
- Split suckle
- Hand feed (collect, supplement at risk piglets: frozen, fresh)
- Commercial bovine colostrum substitutes (HeadStart)
32
Piglet thermoregulation
- Piglets lack BROWN FAT reserves
- Rely on SHIVERING for homeothermy
- LIGHT BIRTH WEIGHT piglets are at higher RISK! (large surface area: mass)
33
How can we prevent chilling?
- Increase farrowing room temp for 2-3 days after farrowing
- Dry piglets at birth (astringents)
- Provide supplementary heat
o Heat lamp, heat pad, mat, creep box
34
Piglet processing procedures
- ID: by litter/pig
- Cross fostering
- Wolf teeth clipping
- Iron administration: analgesics (NSAIDS + anesthetics)
- Tail docking: analgesics
- Castration (males): analgesics
35
Piglet ID
- Mainly performed in genetic supply herds: nucleus and multiplication
- Individual or litter ID
- At birth, PRIOR to cross fostering
36
Methods of piglet ID
- Ear tattoo
- Ear tags
- Ear notches (less common)
o Only when necessary and need to be less than 14d old
37
Wolf/needle teeth clipping
- Deciduous: razor sharp
- Optional procedure
- Use sharp side cutters
- Either tip only or to gums
- *discontinued in many farms
38
When teeth clipping is not performed, may get
- Skin abrasions and localized dermatitis from excessive fighting for teat order
- *clip teeth in affected litters or aggressive pigs
- May need topical or parenteral treatment if life threatening injury (rare)
39
Cross fostering
- Transfer of piglets among litters to match sow/litter with the compromised piglets’ need
- Sort litters for size and number at birth to 24h of age to reduce competition
- Match litter size with maternal milking ability
- *discourage fostering after week 1 but may require regrouping runt piglets or starve-out piglets
- Disadvantage: if piglet from gilt litter=not proper colostrum and disease may spread
40
Iron administration: required for every pig
- Sow’s milk deficient in iron
- Piglets born with LIMITED iron reserves
- No access to iron in soil (cause INSIDE)
- Rapid growth rate of piglets
- Deficiency: clinical anemia
41
Product choices for iron administration
- Dextran
- Gleptoferrin
42
Dose and needle size for iron administration
- 200mg/piglet before day 4 (day 2 if we can!)
- 20G x 0.5” needle
43
Tail docking
- Reduces tail chewing in nursery and grow-finish pigs
- Side cutters or butane powered cauterizer used
- Generally performed before 3 days of age
- Need analgesics
- EU moving towards ban on all tail docking
- *controversial
44
GI composition and tail biting
- Association between the 2 (gut-brain axis)
- Don’t understand enough yet to implement it
45
Docked tail length
- 2-3 cm
46
Tail docking vs. undocked
- Shown that undocked tail pigs do fine
o Sometimes better as not stressed
47
Piglet castration is necessary to control
- ‘boar taint’
o Adverse taste detectable by some people after cooking boar meat
o Taint associated with male hormones: skatole, indole, androsterone
48
Non-surgical alternative of piglet castration
- Improvest (zoetis) anti-GnRH vaccine
o Certified farms only
o 2 administrations
o Used by some production systems affiliated with a processor
- *no significant difference in performance
49
Impediments of improvest anti-GnRH vaccine
- Processor acceptance
- International trade
- Differentiation from intact males and ridglings
50
Pre-weaning mortality (PWMT)
- Between BIRTH AND WEANING
- 10-12% is common
- Increases with increasing litter SIZE and decreasing birth WEIGHT
51
Target % for PWMT
- ~10% of born alive
o 70% in first 3d of life
o 50% (of the 10%) related to trauma by sow (crush, step on)=poor energy piglets
52
Common causes of PWMT: non-infective
- Trauma: 50%
- Starvation: 10%
- Low viability: 10%
- Chilling: 10%
- Savaging: usually with gilts: few
- Spraddle legs (splay) legs: few
53
Common causes of PWMT: infective
- Arthritis, lameness: 10%
- Scour, diarrhea: 10%
54
Target weaning weight
- 6-8kg/pig
55
Target, adjusted 21d litter weaning weight
- 65-70kg
56
Target of preweaning mortality
- <12%
57
Target wean to service interval
- 4-6 days
