5 – Nursery Flashcards

1
Q

What are the goals of nursery unit?

A
  • Provide a LOW STRESS environment after weaning
  • Successful transition from MILK TO SOLID FEED
  • Maintain HEALTH and low mortality
  • Provide optimum conditions for efficient GROWTH
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2
Q

Weaning procedures

A
  • Sows relocated to breeding barn
  • Piglets transferred to the nursery
  • Day of week predetermines day of breeding and next farrowing
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3
Q

Day of week predetermines day of breeding and next farrowing

A
  • Wean: Wednesday or Thursday
  • Bred: Monday/Tuesday
  • Farrow: Thursday/Friday
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4
Q

Weaning age

A
  • Generally 3-4 weeks
  • *considerable variation around average (7-10 day spread within a weaning batch)
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5
Q

Physical environment of nursery

A
  • Clean, warm, dry
  • All-in all-out flow
  • Flooring: 100% porous
  • Ad libitum feed & water
  • 20-100/pen
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6
Q

Pen placement in nursery (‘organization of groups’)

A
  • By litter
  • Random (gate run)
  • Split sex
  • By weight
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7
Q

Room temperatures

A
  • Increased to compensate for low feed consumption
  • DROPPED GRADUALLY ~1 degree C/week until 22-24 degree C
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8
Q

Water

A
  • Ad libitum (0.5-1L/min)
  • Bowls or fixed or swing nipples
  • Adjusted to SHOULDER HEIGHT
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9
Q

Code for sick or injured pigs

A
  • Need to have a spot to segregate sick or injured
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10
Q

Code for lighting

A
  • Minimum of 50 lux of lighting
  • Minimum of 8 hours per day
  • Have access to a darkened area for at least 6 consecutive hours per day
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11
Q

Code for temperature

A
  • Temperature that will assist piglets to reach and maintain normal body T
  • Need to prevent overheating or cold stress
  • 35 degree C
  • Later: 27 degree C
  • *based on watching the PIGS
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12
Q

Ventilation

A
  • *Essential for comfort and disease prevention
  • Supply fresh air
  • Eliminate drafts
  • Exhaust moisture produced by pigs
  • Exhausts noxious gases from pigs, manure pit and heaters (CO2, H2S)
  • Provide supplementary HEAT as required
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13
Q

Space requirement

A
  • Increases proportionate to metabolic body weight according to a formula
  • Floor area/pig = k x BW^0.667)
  • *performance negatively affected when k<0.0335
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14
Q

Code space allowance

A
  • Short term allowance if need to increase stocking density (ex. disease outbreak)
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15
Q

Susceptibility varies among pigs based on

A
  • Decay and variation passive immunity level
  • Lack of previous exposure (priming)
  • Slow active/adaptive immune response
    o Do NOT vaccinate earlier (decreases active immunity)
  • Stress of weaning (increased cortisol)
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16
Q

Reasons for segregation of weaned pigs from sow facilities

A
  • Disease control
  • Manure disposal
  • Staff specialization
17
Q

Sanitation: removal of organic matter

A
  • Multiple-step sanitation program
    o Rinse
    o Detergent application
    o High pressure wash
    o Biofilm removal
    o Disinfect
    o Dry
18
Q

High pressure washing

A
  • Hot or cold water machines
  • 1200-2000 psi
  • Skin injury results from close range
19
Q

Removal of biofilms:

A
  • *microbial community that populate environmental surfaces
  • Organic matter and moisture=excellent substrate
  • Encase in matrix of bacterial polysaccharides and mineral scale
  • *protected from disinfectants
  • Acid and alkali detergents needed to dissolve scale and digest biofilm
  • *easier to kill big viruses
20
Q

Application of disinfectants

A
  • Many classes and products available
  • Effectiveness varies with
    o Contact time
    o Concentration
    o Method of application
    o Product type
    o Presence of organic matter
    o Temperature
    o Water quality
21
Q

Physiologic factors affecting weaned pigs

A
  1. GIT development (enzymes: lactase, proteases; villi health)
  2. Weaning age and weight
  3. Social STRESSES (weaning, relocation, mixing)
  4. Exposure to creep feeding (provided to some litters)
22
Q

Considerable enzymatic changes coincide with weaning

A
  • Decreased lactase
  • Increased amylase and protease
  • *microbiome shift: complete shift (increased diversity!)
23
Q

How can we minimize the post weaning shift in microbiome?

A
  • Let them have access to creep feed pre weaning
24
Q

Villi health: blunting causes

A
  • Diarrhea due to MALABSORPTION
  • *small intestine
25
Q

Causes of villi blunting

A
  • Weaning STRESS
  • Soybean meal HYPERSENSITIVITY (allergy)
  • Starvation/ANOREXIA)
  • DISEASE (pathogens)
  • Environmental stress (CHILLING)
26
Q

Variations exist in weaning age and weight

A
  • OLDER and HEAVIER pigs are always at a COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEOUS
  • 19-20d old (some 26d old)
27
Q

Principles of nursery feeding

A
  • *extremely important period
  • Small appetite: EVERY MOUTH FULL COUNTS
  • Radical changes in ingredients needed to match changing GIT enzymes
  • Appetite increases as pig grows
  • Inadequate nutrition can trigger diarrhea or scours
28
Q

Weeks 1-2 feeding stage

A
  • 3-4x/day
  • Creep feeders or tray increased exposure to feed
  • Complex/expensive diets
  • Moist feed or gruel preferred
  • *get some waste but it is worth it for the gain (as they don’t eat a lot of it)
29
Q

Weeks 3-8 feeding stage

A
  • SELF FEEDERS used
  • Filled 1-2x/day
  • Least cost diets used
  • Less complex diet
30
Q

Factors affecting growth and feed intake: early nursery period

A
  • Temperature
  • Feed presentation (trays, feeders)
  • Frequency of feeding
  • Disease
31
Q

Factors affecting growth and feed intake: later nursery period

A
  • PEN DENSITY
  • Feeder space, type, size
  • Water availability, delivery
32
Q

Nursery performance target: exit weight

A
  • 28-30kg
33
Q

Nursery performance target: average daily gain

A
  • 450g/day
34
Q

Nursery performance target: feed:gain ratio (FCR)

A
  • 1.2-1.3
35
Q

Nursery performance target: feed cost

A
  • $12-15
36
Q

Nursery performance target: mortality

A
  • <2%