Pig Reproductive Diseases Flashcards
When do pigs reach puberty? (females)
5-7 months
85-90kg
When should you aim to serve a gilt?
@ 2nd or 3rd estrus (@ 34 weeks)
-by age, not weight
When should gilts start to get boar contact?
160-170d
What kind of breeders are pigs?
polyestrus
How long is the pig estrus cycle?
20-22 days
What are some signs of estrus?
Edema and hyperemia of vulva Restlessness & variable appetite Mounting / being ridden Grunting Standing near boar Standing heat reflex (will stand solidly if you push on back)
How long does estrus last in pigs?
36-72 hours
When is Fertility in boars?
fertile 7-9 months
What is target wean to service interval? when do you intervene?
5d, intervene @ 7d
How many litters/sow/year is the target?
2.4
What is lactation length? When are pigs weaned?
21-28d
weaned at 28d (4 weeks)
how often are boars put to work?
1 double service / week = capacity
Indoor mating vs. outdoor mating (problems w/ both)
Indoor = could be too dark, and boars may be housed directly opposite sows
Outdoor = worry about weather, (should have somewhere covered), don’t have control (don’t know who has been served properly)
How long does sperm survive? egg?
48 hours = sperm
12 hours = egg
What is the minimum embryo number for pigs?
4
How long is pig gestation?
115 d (3 mos, 3 weeks, 3 days)
What supplies progesterone during pregnancy?
CL supplies until implantation, then embryos supply progesterone (and if t support pregnancy)
What BCS do you want for sows @ service and farrowing?
- 5 @ service
3. 5 @ farrowing
What three vaccinations are important wrt reproductive status?
- Parvovirus (single dose to gilts, 3 weeks pre-service)
- PRRS (single dose to gilts, 2-4 weeks pre-service)
- Swine flu (gilts, 6 and 3 weeks pre-service)
How and when do you diagnose pregnancy? (4)
1) detect returns to estrus (17-24d)
2) B-mode US (25d - term)
3) Doppler US (29-34d - picking up fremitus)
4) Rectal palpation (29d - term)
What is target weaning to service interval?
5-6 days
What is an “empty day”
any day a female isn’t pregnant or lactating
What are some common infertility problems?
1) Regular returns to heat
2) Delayed returns to estrus
3) Emptry sows at PD
4) Failure to farrow
5) Abortions
6) Low # piglets born
7) High # empty days
What could cause regular returns to estrus? (high levels)
Incorrect heat detection Poor sow fitness Poor mating management Poor semen quality Poor AI technique Infectious failure
How can you tell around how many days old an aborted fetus is?
Measuring crown-rump length
What do you need to investigate when you have a sow that has aborted?
Count the fetuses (needs at least 4) Are the fetuses fresh? mummified? Measure crown-rump length (find out about how old they are) Examine for specific pathogens Examine sow for fever Examine herd for specific disease
What can cause a low # of pigs to be born?
Low ovulation rates Poor sow condition Low fertility Poor Boar Mummies/stillborn Season (summer or autumn infertility) Specific diseases
What can cause poor production of semen (poor quality semen)?
young/old/congenital high ambient temperature fever up to 6 weeks before overuse (boar teams) specific disease
What are the indications for Altrenogest? (regumate)
For synchronization of estrus & improvement of litter size in sexually mature gilts (and also to improve farrowing rate in sows)
For how long do you give Altrenogest to gilts? sows? and how is it given?
18days for gilts
3 days for sows
Orally, with feed
At what days during gestation do you increase feed (kg/day)?
~day 22 (to prime muscle fibers of fetus for growth)
~day 78 (for last part of trimester with most fetal growth)
Don’t give increased meal the whole time b/c don’t want fat pigs
How do you treat anestrus in sows?
PG600 for anestrus
Estrus for 5 days
Wait 10 days before repeat
What can cause IRREGULAR returns to estrus?
Implantation failure (<13-14d) Embryonic failure (14-35d) Fetal failure (35d - term) failure to establish failure of established conceptuses
Non-infectious causes
Number
Timing of matings
Local & systemic infection
When do you get seasonal infertility?
Summer and Autumn
Describe summer infertility and how you control it.
Late June/July
Increased returns to service (often irregular)
Delayed puberty in gilts
Subsequently reduce litter size
Controls = provide shade/shelter/wallows, increase boar contact, maximize nutrient intake of lactating and weaned sows, inseminate at coolers times of day, increase frequency of estrus detection (ovulation can occur earlier in summer), serve extra gilts and/or culls to enure sufficient in pig
Describe autumn infertility and how you control it.
Late August/September
Increased returns to service (often irregular)
(can return earlier vs summer infertility)
Subsequently reduced litter size
Controls = increased nutrient provision, provide max of 16 hours of good light in dry sow accomodation / service shed, paint walls white to increase reflected light, increase boar contact, serve more gilts to cover early pregnancy losses, use of PG600 (gonadotrophin)
What are some bacteria that can cause local infections leading to infertility?
A. pyogenes, E. coli, Streptococci, Actinobacilli, Actinobaculum suis, Arcobacter cryoaerophila
Endometritis
When are normal vaginal discharges gone after farrowing?
5 days
When should you definitely NOT see vaginal discharge?
during pregnancy
What kind of vaginal discharge would suggest endometritis?
profuse, creamy discharge
What are some infectious causes of infertility (most viruses)
Porcine parvovirus PRRS Porcine enterovirus Lepto Swine flu
Why is porcine parvovirus not as common in the UK anymore?
vaccines
What is the pathogenesis of porcine parvo?
Oronasal or venereal infections
Viremia occurs, virus crosses placenta in 10-14d
kills piglets to 67days gestation (attaches to zona pellucida)
CS of porcine parvovirus?
Returns to estrus Failure to farrow Small litters Infertility MUMMIFIED FETUSES! (later than day 35 - reabsorbed before then) Stillbirths
Dx of porcine parvovirus?
returns to estrus
small litters, mummies, stillbirths
Confirmation w/ ELISA (presence of Ab in fetus)
Control of porcine parvovirus?
Vaccines - (Procilis ery-parvo, Suvaxyn parvo ST)
- single dose IM @ 2 weeks before service minimum
- annual booster in farrowing for procilis
- booster @ each parity for suvaxyn
What is SMEDI, and what does it refer to?
Stillbirth, mummies, embryonic death, infertility
Enteroviruses
Dx of swine flu?
- CS or respiratory dz affecting all ages of pig in herd w/ no response to abx
- Pair serum samples essential if chronic
- virus isolation possible from nasal or tonsillar swabs
Control of swine flu?
Vaccination
2 doses given IM 3 weeks apart, course completed by 3 weeks pre service in gilts (any time in sows)
booster pre-farrowing
Porcine lepto pathogenesis?
Ingestion, abrasions, direct contact, venereal spread
Bacteremia -> septicemia
7-10d circulating Ab
Fetal infection <50d = kills (abortion 10-4 weeks after infection)
CS porcine lepto?
Inapparent in many pigs
Acute disease fever up to 40C
Dull, anorexic, icterus
Pm findings for porcine lepto?
Septicemia Jaundice Liver damage Fetuses w/ pomona / canicola have fresh hemorrhages Renal lesions in clinically normal pigs Histo demonstrates organisms
Spread of porcine lepto?
Urine, venereal, rats/wildlife
Zoonosis!
Dx of porcine lepto?
CS in non-breeding pigs suggestive
stillbirths, mummies, weak born piglets
Demonstration of rising Ab titer in paired serum samples
Demonstration of organism in tissue from aborted fetuses by FAT, PCR, Immunoperoxidase
Tx porcine lepto?
Dihydrostreptomycin best abx for acutely ill tx, 2-3d
Use tetracyclines to tx infertility
Control of porcine lepto?
Tx sows and gilts w/ tetracyclines for 4-6 weeks in feed
no vx in UK, but elsewhere
What does Aujeszky’s disease cause in non-immune sows?
abortion
but repro signs are unlikely to be first evidence of this infection
What does toxoplasmosis cause? How do you tx it?
early abortions, stillbirths, mummies
Trimethoprim sulphonamide
what does MMA stand for?
Mastitis, metritis, and agalactia syndrome
What causes mastitis in pigs?
E. coli
ascending infection, endotoxin has local and central actions
CS of mastitis?
Depression Inappetance Fever (40.5-42) Pain over udder Firm udder or firm single gland Piglets thin and hungry
Tx / management of mastitis?
Tx w/ oxytocin
Parenteral abx suitable for E. coli (ampi, amoxi, trimethoprim sulphonamide)
NSAIDs (meloxicam, ketoprofen)
Supplementary feeding for litter
Name some causes of metritis?
E. coli Streptococcus spp. Staph spp T. pyogenes Clostridia Arcobacters
What diseases would you take a serology sample for?
Where clinical Hx is suggestive, take clotted blood for: PRRS Lepto Parvo Swine flu
