Pig 1 Flashcards
What is the main issue with skin diseases in pigs
Downgrading penalty
- 6% + trim loss
- Applies to all carcasses with skin removed
- SKIN IS COSTLY IF IMPACT ON QUALITY OF MEAT
What are 6 important questions to ask when you know pigs have a skin condition
- What is it?
- How will it affect my pigs?
○ Decreased feed intake
○ Decreased growth
○ Reduced feed efficiency -> feed is the biggest cost in pig farms so IMPORTANT
○ Variation in growth rate
○ Death - Will I lose $$?
○ Carcass downgrade
○ Condemns - Can I catch it?
- How do I treat it?
- How do I prevent it spreading to other pigs and/or happening again?
Bite wounds why significant, control/prevention and treatment
- Skin is important as it isn’t removed in the abattoir
• Control/Prevention - Clip needle teeth
- Minimise fostering -> more move around more fight
- Milk supply crucial -> if not milking piglets fighting more
• Treatment - Antibiotics – Penicillin….Trimethoprim Sulpha
- Anti-inflammatories – Flunixin, Metacam, Tolfedine
- Antiseptic
- Udder cream
Flystrike what attracted to, treatment and prevention
- Attracted to wounds or skin soiled by urine or droppings
• Treatment: Remove maggots, clean wounds using an insecticidal cream or powder
• Prevention -> Fly control: traps, fly papers, improve hygiene
Greasy pig disease what is it caused by, transmitted, what age and diagnosis
- Staph hyicus
- Transmitted from sow to piglets during lactation
- More common in gilt litters
- Pre & post-weaning - tends to start
- More likely to occur if there is excessive fighting
- Can be transmitted by biting flies
- Diagnosis -> swab under scab -> pure culture
Greasy pig disease control/prevention and treatment
• Control/Prevention - Beware gilt litters - Rough floors/equipment - Reduce fighting - Liquid feed weaners • Treatment - Antibiotics – Penicillin, potentiated sulphonamides - Anti-inflammatories – Flunixin, Metacam, Tolfedine - Antiseptic - topically - Udder cream
Pityriasis/pig pox how common, transmission, control/prevention and treatment
- Rare and transmitted by mosquitoes • Control/Prevention - Improve hygiene - Control biting insects • Treatment - Usually not needed - Iodine - Antibiotics for secondary infections
Ringworm in pigs what are the main species, where is lesions, diagnosis, zoonosis and control
- Microsporum nannum, M. canis, Trycophyton verrucosum
- Lesions often behind ears, on neck, flanks
- Small circles extend to larger with dark, crusts
- Diagnosis: Deep skin scraping, hair follicles, histo -> Fungal culture
- ZOONOSIS -> important to tell farmer -> infected through close contact with infected pigs
• Control: clean up fungacidal; iodine in oil 1:1 -> can also just go away
Mange in pigs what is the species, clinical signs, epidemiology of mites and diagnosis
Sarcoptes scabei var suis
- Clinical signs/effects
○ Decrease ADG (average daily gain) by 5-10g/d, pigs rub
○ Encrustation in ear, skin thickens
○ Dermatitis evident at slaughter -> ITCHY -> financial penalties
- Mites burrow into skin inside the EAR…lay eggs which hatch and larvae mature in about 10-14 days
- Mites don’t survive off host
- Diagnosis: Examine ear wax; skin scrapings may be negative
Mange in pigs control products, when to treat and aim for eradication
- Products:
○ Injections-Dectomax (longer duration of action); Ivomectin
○ Pour-ons-Taktic
○ Sprays-Taktic EC
○ Feed -> noramectin - Control if you must-treat sows pre-farrowing & piglets at weaning
○ Prevent transmission from sows to piglets
○ Boars every 6 months - Aim for eradication
○ If treat ALL the pigs at the same time for a long duration (dectomax) to ensure all mites die off host before end of duration
§ Finisher pigs do not give dectomax as 35 day withholding -> just spray
○ Need to inspect ears of the pigs and if gunky then cull those pigs -> act as carriers
Lice in pigs diagnosis, effects and treatment
- Large and easy to see – usually on head and neck & between the legs
- Cause skin irritation, scratching
- Treat with insecticidal sprays
Abscesses when can occur and treatment
- Care with needling pigs
- Promptly treat wounds
• Treatment: - Antibiotics - amoxicillin
- If soft - cut with sharp blade & clean with water & disinfectant
- Fly repellent
What are the 4 main skin conditions causing different skin colours
- Erysipelas (diamond skin disease)
- Fever
- Sunburn
- Ergot poisoning
Erysipelas what is the pathogen, significance, and clinical signs
- Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
- ZOONOTIC -> rarely leads to milk skin condition (entry through skin abrasions)
- Clinical signs
○ Per-acute: sudden death
○ Acute: septicemia, fever with diamond skin lesions, abortions
○ Chronic: arthritis
○ Carcass damage!!!
Erysipelas pathogenesis and predisposing causes
- Pathogenesis
○ 30-50% of pigs carry the organism- tonsils -> always present
○ Long survival in soil-ecoshelters - dirt floors
○ Entry via GI tract or tonsil
○ Dx: signs & culture
○ Zoonosis - Predisposing cause- environmental stresses
○ Fatigue
○ Nutrition changes
○ Temperature
○ Failure to vaccinate
Pig farm vaccination strategy
- Before joining (22weeks) -> Parvo, lepto and erysipelas
- 26 weeks -> booster of above + possible E.coli vaccination
Joined at 30 weeks of age, farrow at 46 weeks - 3 weeks before farrow booster of all again (including E.coli)
- So booster every 6 months -> boost piglet antibodies from mum
Erysipelas control/prevention and treatment
• Control/Prevention
- Always vaccinate sows -> all farmers will vaccinate
○ If in growers then need to vaccinate these as well
§ Consider vaccination of progeny.
- Strategic use of in-feed medication.
- Re-infection a problem (esp. ecoshelters)
• Treatment
- Penicillin by injection to sick pigs.
- Anti-inflammatory for the arthritic pain.
- Amoxycillin (off-label), tylosin, tetracycline in water for 3 days. May need to increase dose to compensate for poor consumption (eg. Amoxycillin 10-30mg/kg).
Porcine dermatitis nephropathy syndrome clinical signs and prevention
- Clinical signs ○ Pale kidney and enlarged ○ Oedema of the limbs ○ Fever non-specific sign § Diarrhoea, respiratory disease, ○ Can look like erysipelas - Commercial vaccines give at 3 weeks of ages
Ergot poisoning what caused by, results in
- Caused by fungal contamination of food
- Results in dead skin on feet, tips of ears and tail
- Feed fresh, non-moldy feed
Zinc deficiency how common in pigs, effects, differential diagnosis, diagnosis and treatment
- Uncommon - Zinc omitted from premix or XS Ca competes
- Thickened skin, subacute inflammatory change, incomplete keratinisation
- DDx: mange
- Dx: serum Zn, Histopath, response to Zn
- Tx: restore Zn
What are 4 main ways to diagnose pig skin infections
1/ Previous experience 2/ Other signs ○ Erysipelas ○ Mange 3/ Response to treatment ○ Antibiotics ○ Increased zinc ○ Replace feed (Ergot/Zinc) ○ Remove antibiotics (scald) 4/ Lab tests ○ Skin biopsy ○ Skin swab for culture (greasy pig, erysipelas ○ Examination of ear wax (mange
What is the goal of a farrowing house and 4 ways to achieve this
What are we trying to achieve?
- . A maximimum & consistant number of good quality, appropriate-weight piglets weaned per week !
- Provide an environment where sows are weaned in optimal condition for re-breeding
• Q. How do we achieve this 1.. By minimising stillbirths…more piglets born alive
2. By minimising piglet mortalities
3. By optimising lactation performance (weaning weight >8kg at 4 weeks old).
4. By managing sow feeding and care.
Farrowing shed performance targets, born alive, weaned, lactation length, weaning to service
- Born alive -> 11
- Weaned -> 10
- Lactation length:~21-28 d - weaning length - longer increase weaning weight
- Weaning to service: ~6 d
○ On heat within 7 days of weaning
Record keeping in the farrowing shed what is important to keep at record of
- Sow ID
- Sow history
- Sow events:
○ farrowing date
○ treatments
○ interventions
○ feed intake - Piglet events:
○ totalborn, born alive, stillbirths, mummies
○ fosters on and off
○ deaths
○ treatments
○ weaning age
○ (weaning weight) - This is considered for culling as well as monitoring the next farrowing
what are the 3 main importance of stockpersons
- Supervise farrowing sows ○ Stillbirths ○ Overlays - Care for sows ○ Identify sick sows & treat ○ Daily monitoring (feed & water) - Care for piglets ○ Compromised
What is done to the pigs before farrowing
- Come in about 5 days before farrowing
- Check number of functional teats and udder access -> can you get colostrum out of all of the teats
○ Important as this is how many piglets can raise -> if more born need to move to another pig
Farrowing induction why done, what used, when used, OHS and the steps
- Synchronize farrowing
○ supervision to reduce stillbirths and/or PWDths
○ AIAO farrowing rooms - PG or synthetic analogues
○ Lutalyse
○ Estrumate (not regd pigs-cattle, horses) - Not proper synchronisation just induce farrowing
- Not < 112 days gestation
- OH&S-pregnant women or asthmatics
- IM or ½ dose if given IVulva
○ Split dosing best -2 shots 8am & 2pm on Day 114 > 75% of sows farrowed in working hours next day - Synchronisation -> If give 7am PG and then oxytocin 24 hours later -> will farrow straight away -> will increase risk of stillbirth
Pig stillbirths what are 3 main characteristics that indicate piglet died during farrowing
- Floating the lungs in a bucket -> know took a breathe
- If meconium is present likely to be stressed during farrowing so stillbirth
- Tips on the pigs feet (slippers or snow shoes) if walked around will have been removed)
Stillbirths prevention and risk factors
- Prevention
○ Observe farrowing esp. older parity
○ Cull sows with excessive history of SBs >30%
○ Cool sows in summer -> drip coolers
○ Don’t over-feed in gestation
○ Do manual examination if there are delays of 45 min
○ Judicious oxytocin 5 I U (will not move stuck pigs) - Risk factors
○ Anything that makes the parturition go longer -> older, fatter, larger litter sizes, dystocia
What is involved in the manual examination of a sow
Train the staff to do this
Place calving glove and lots of lube
Skinny long arms
Ensure check both uterine horns for piglets
Give 1ml oxytocin IM after remove piglets
What are the 2 main things piglets need when born and how to achieve
- Energy -> so reduce the loss of energy on warming themselves -> give warming lamps, ensure not chilled
○ Require about 38 degrees when come out of the sow
○ TOUGH -> because sows want about 20 degrees - Colostrum
Colostrum what is it, composition, when absorbed,
- First milk let down post farrowing
- Rich in antibodies and energy -> needed as not getting antibodies during gestation
- Produced continuously until afterbirth expelled
- Only absorbed first 24 hours -> Vital for piglet survival
Colostrum what is important principles to get all piglets to get colostrum and what if piglet doesn’t get enough by itself
- Ensure small pigs suckle -> larger piglets generally on the front teats (get more colostrum and less likely to get
- Timing of fostering is critical -> pecking order generally occurring within first 2-3 days so ensure done within this period otherwise increase fighting and sow will become stressed and reduce let down
- Weaker piglets less chance
- Split sucking -> rotate the piglets around on the teat within the first 24 hours so all get colostrum from mum if too many piglets and not enough functional teats
○ Can also milk colostrum from sows, manually or breast pump, freeze and thaw in hot water for piglets
§ Stomach tube the piglets if giving colostrum (20-30mls)
What are the 4 steps in the milking sequence for sows and how much do they produce per day
- Hungry piglets initiate letdown or tight udder sow calls to piglets
- They gather at the udder, find their teat and stimulate the udder
- The sow grunts more frequently- oxytocin
- She lets down for 10-20 seconds every hour
○ Important for the piglet to be on the teat at this point -> cannot be weak, sick, lame as will then miss milk for another hour -> further weak
- Production: about 12 L per day (1L/piglet)
What are 5 factors that influence how good sows are at looking after piglets
1. Body condition ○ Over-fat > stillbirths, poor milkers ○ Too lean > pressure sores 2. Parity ○ Gilts>infectious diarrhoea -> less protection in their colostrum § E.coli and diarrhoea ○ Older gals >increased piglet birthweight variation; more stillbirths & overlays; blind teats 3. Past history ○ Stillbirths, mothering ability 4. Enough functional teats 5. Immunocompetence – E coli vaccination
Management of heat for the piglets what is needed
- Heat lamps ○ Ideally ○ 2 lamps at birth ○ Movable ○ 175 watt lamp ○ Correct height ○ Mats in creep area ○ Covered creeps ○ Judge by piglet lying pattern
Metritis in sows signs and treatment
- Signs: ○ Off white, blood stained, or custard coloured discharge ○ More than 3 days post-farrowing - Treatments: ○ Oxytocin and antibiotics
Septicaemia in sows signs and treatment
- Signs: ○ Red to purple colour to skin ○ No appetite, fever, reluctant to move - Treatments: ○ Broad spectrum antibiotic. ○ Anti-inflammatories
Piglet diseases what are the main ones
- Trauma/overlays (40-55% of deaths)
- Small and or weak (15-25%)
- Starvation and chilled (5-10%)
- Abnormalities (splays, blind rectum 3%)
- Scours (5%)
- Systemic ie arthritis, pneumonia etc (5%)
- Can be a combination of causes
○ overlay
○ starvation
○ low viability
