Neonatal diseases and problems Flashcards
4 most common causes of pre-weaning mortality:
- Crushing/Overlay/Trauma –> biggest cause
- Low viability/chilling/starvation
- Savaging by sow
- Disease
What is the most common cause of pre-weaning mortality?
Crushing/overlay/trauma by the sow
The most deaths to crushing occurs in the first ____ hours.
72
Crushing increases as parity of sow ______. It is also common in _____ litters.
increases; larger
The best prevention for crushing mortality in nenonates is:
Good farrowing crate design - comfortable creep (safe) area for piglet in crate where they won’t be at risk of being pressed by the sow
Piglets that are born small (less than 2lbs) are often weaker than larger littermates, more susceptible to ____ stress, have a more difficult time competing for colustrum and milk, and are more likely to become ______.
cold stress; hypoglycemic
Low viability/chilling/starvation can be preented by cross fostering and nursing care. In cross fostering, you sort by size to the extent that every pig has the opportunity to ____. We are NOT sorting to make a “uniform” litter.
Suckle
The neonatal piglet is dependent on a steady intake of milk from the sow. Interruptions of intake can quickly lead to ______.
Hypoglycemia
Hypoglcyemica may result in ____ disturbances and hypothermia.
CNS
Savaging by sow is more common in _____. It is important to supervise farrowings and tranquilize the sow.
Gilts
All farms have an inherent level of pre-weaning mortality. If the level is consistent it is not usually disease. This is known as ______ PWM.
Endemic
A sudden spike or deviation from the background level of PWM is often due to disease, and known as ______ PWM.
Epidemic
“Theory of Relativity”
Immunity is relative to the challenge dose of the pathogen.
As long as the level of immunity is greater than the pathogen challenge, pigs remain healthy.
If either the immunity is too low or the pathogen challenge too high, disease is the result.
Factors which make the “Theory of Relativity” work for us:
Enhance immunity via _____, ______.
Decrease pathogen challenge via __________.
- Enahnce immunity via good colostral intake and sow vaccination
- Decrease pathoen challene
- Cleaning, disinfection
- All-in, all-out
- Biosecurity
