The farrowing House Flashcards
1
Q
When to bring in sow?
A
3-4 d prior to farrowing
2
Q
Where do we put the sow?
A
Indoor sow -> crates
Outdoor in arks in deep straw
3
Q
Feeding prior to farrowing?
A
Increase feed in later gestation,
◦ up to an additional 0.5kg once/day to improve piglet viability BUT not if sow too fat
Avoid over feeding
◦ Can cause constipation
◦ Predisposes towards mastitis, metritis and agalactia
4
Q
Why is enrichment of environment important at this point?
A
-> for nesting bhvr
- Reduces stillbirths and prevents constipation
- May reduce stress
5
Q
SI assistance at farrowing common?
A
Nop
Piglet can come forward, backward, or with legs back
6
Q
How to assist?
A
- Hygiene!
- Hand through pelvis to check both horns of uterus
- Be gentle and use lots fo lub
7
Q
What complications might we see?
A
- Oversized, oedematous +/ or emphysematous piglet
- Uterine torsion
- Uterine tear
- Prolonged farrowing
- sick sow/dead piglets
- Retained piglet = sow paddlign leg
- Metritis + endoM
8
Q
Describe piglets born dead
A
- Should be <10% total
- Meconium staining
- Lungs fail to float
- ‘slippers’
9
Q
What non infectious causes of inc piglets born dead?
A
- Older sows
- Overfat sows
- Slow farrowings
- Excessive – or inadequate – manual
- interference
- Nervous/agitated mothers (esp gilts)
- Last piglets born
- Low birth weights
- Stress during early pregnancy / implantation
- Disease
10
Q
What infectious causes of increased piglets born dead?
A
- Lepto
- PArvo
- chlamydia
- PRRS
- Aujesky’s
11
Q
Mummified piglets shoudl be < ..% of TBA
A
2%
12
Q
Causes of Mummified piglets?
A
External causes -> mycotoxins
13
Q
Diseases causes:
A
◦ Increase in irregular returns
◦ Increase in % mummified
◦ Early farrowing leading to non viable
◦ Increase in ‘NIPs’ = not in pig at farrowing, ie empty sows
14
Q
Infectious causes fo mummified piglets?
A
- PRRS
- Parvo
- PCV2
- Ajuskeys
- Mycotoxins
15
Q
Importance of colostrum? (7)
A
- Antibodies
- Cell mediated immunity
- Hormones + growth factors that influence live weight gain in later life
- Food = heat
- Vitamins A, D, E
- Laxative
- Induces pH fall in stomach, changing pepsinogen to pepsin
16
Q
Why are piglets particularly at risk?
A
- Small size/large surface area means they lose heat fast
- Lack of brown fat (no internal heat source)
- Little surface fat and no hair (no insulation)
- Born wet with birth fluids (further chilling)
17
Q
What is the ideal amount of colostrum they shoudl consume?
A
100 ml of colostrum within 16 hours is crucial to provide the energy, nutrients and antibodies
needed for survival.
18
Q
Describe colostrum importance more specifically
A
- Antibodies absorbed for 24 hours, regardless of the maternal source
- Lymphocytes, conferring cell mediated immunity, MUST come from the piglets own mother
- Hence ideally do not cross foster for the first 12 – 24 hours
- Later milk contains surface acting antibodies – IgA - hence piglets on artificial milk may scour
- Can measure colostrum intakes using simple blood test – field tests show piglets with lowest
- intakes have lowest survival levels
19
Q
Poor intakes of colostrum an arise from ….
A
- Low birth weights
- Insufficient working teats
- Stressed sow / gilt
- Mastitis
- Chilling – vital that piglets keep warm
- Cross fostering before first suckle
- Management interventions performed too early
20
Q
MMA prevention?
A
- Control feeding around farrowing
- Avoid udder oedema (overfeeding, overfat sows)
- Avoid constipation - ? Effects of move from straw yard to farrowing area
- Hygiene in farrowing area – wash sows / dry disinfectant
- Stimulate appetite – may use sweeter food initially
- Clean out trough regularly
- Ensure ample water
21
Q
How can we use creep area?
A
- Piglets have different temperature requirement to the sow
- Lamp over rear end of sow during farrowing, then move forward to creep. Move bedding
- Shut piglets in creep for 30 to 60 mins
- Can use enclosed creep
mayeb use half of creep area intitially
22
Q
Describe split suckling
A
- May be useful where there are larger litters
- Prolonged farrowings
- Ensuring adequate colostrum intake
- Use phone / timer as reminder
23
Q
Why /when do we want to consider fostering?
A
- If that teat is low/non functional, piglet growth reduced or dies > 5 days
- Important to move early before piglet is too disadvantaged
24
Q
Options for piglets in need of fostering?
A
◦ Move to another sow – but only if she has spare
teat
◦ Wean early, eg into Nurtinger unit
◦ Provide artificial milk, (or cow colostrum)
◦ Forward fostering
◦ Using nurse sows
25
Forward/ cross fostering?
* PLAN CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU START
* Move all smaller piglets onto one sow (low parity) after 18-24 hrs
* Do not move piglets back, or to younger rooms, avoid “piglet tourism”
* Can move weaned sow into current farrowing house
* Shunt foster, eg if sow dies
26
Describe shunt foster
◦ Early wean a strong 3wo litter
◦ Move 7do piglets onto the early weaned sow
◦ Move piglets from dead sow onto 7do sow
27
Options for the disadvantaged piglet?
* Move to another sow?
* Move back a week?
* Shunt foster?
* Artificial rearing in Nurtinger unit (no
* antibodies in milk)
* Use a weaned sow to be sold barren?
* Use milk replacer in the crates?
* Definition of “weaning
28
What can help increase intake?
Nurtinger unit with larger dunging area and liquid food
29
What is savaging associated with?
◦ nervous mother,
◦ often first parity gilt,
◦ noisy farrowing house
◦ Large piglets being born
30
How can we prevent savaging?
* Bring gilt in 2 – 3 d before farrowing
* Straw or other nesting material
* Genotype
* Music
* Reduce sudden noises
* Calm handling by stockman
31
Control of savaging?
* Often associated with pain of farrowing plus
* squealing of piglets – keep noise and
* disruption to a minimum
* Consider using NSAID’s e.g oral meloxicam as
* farrowing starts
* Remove piglets into box or creep (away from
* sow) as soon as born
* Sedation - chemical using **Azaperone**
32
Causes of shoulder sores in sow?
◦ Thin sows
◦ Rough floors or slats
33
Tx of shoulder sores?
◦ More food / higher energy feed
◦ Better floor quality
◦ Improve weight gain in dry period
◦ Carpet / shoulder pads
34
Causes for sow not eating at farrowing?
Mastitis
Pyrexic
Faecal colour and consistency
◦ Ulceration
◦ Constipation
Other clinical signs of illness
Vaginal discharge
Piglet condition
35
Txfor sow not eating?
Depending on the clinical signs:
* Antibiotics
* NSAID’s
* Oxytocin
* Antacids (cimetidine)
Remove uneaten food and replace with small amounts of fresh food
Ensure fresh water provision
36
detail Sow vaccinations
37
What legislation around management interventions (teeth reution& tail dock)
BOTH REQUIRE A VETERINARY DEROGATION
To comply with the legislation and Farm Assurance Standards you must have a farm specific
policy for both – this is reviewed regularly.
38
Teeth reduction in cases of facial necrosis?
* Teeth may be ground or clipped
* In both cases, care should be taken to
* remove only the sharp tips of the
* teeth
* Check regularly that it is being done
* properly
| Avoid leaving sharp edges & avoid gum/tongue damage
39
How can we tail dock?
* Can use gas heated dock – cauterises
* If clippers are used they must be sharp
* Separate teeth and tail clippers should be used
* Equipment should be disinfected between litters at the VERY least
40
How do we address iron deficiency?
* Most indoor piglets are injected
* Inject at 24-48h, often when teeth / tail. May be combined with coccidiostat
* Too early could interfere with colostrum
41
How to inject for iron deficiency?
Clean needles
◦ Reduces joint ill
◦ Lameness
◦ Inject into hind leg
42
Causes of mortality to weaning?
50% overlays
25% starvation
25% ‘other’
43
Overlays - control options?
* Warm dry creep
* Heated floor pads
* Ideally piglets at 28C for survival but sow at 18C for comfort and good feed intake
* Excess hot sow restless and causes overlays
* Well spread/shaken dry straw if outside farrowing
* Ensuring good colostrum / milk intake
44
Causes of overlays?
* Farrowing crate too small / oversized sow
* Sow uncomfortable / stressed / lame / shoulder sores
* Piglets hungry, eg sow with mastitis, so that piglets are always around the sow
* Often secondary to something else, eg lame or weak piglet does not move fast enough when
* sow lies down
45
What does the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations 2007 state?
46
Describe starvation
Piglet moves from teat to teat during first few days, then establishes on one teat – even if its non
functional!
Hence starvation seen from day 5 onwards
47
Causes of starvation?
Mastitis in previous lactation
Insufficient teats
Blind teats
Inverted nipples
Trauma
48
Runts vs starvation
Runt = born small – litter size, birth weights
Starvation = normal size at birth, but then fades, especially from day 5 onwards
49
Uneven birth weights?
* Transfer all small piglets onto one sow after colostrum
* Small piglets may have to be held to suckle
* Need to decide if too small to survive
* ‘Domed’ head / splay leg / obvious malformation
50
Describe Blind teats
* Piglets born onto rough concrete get rubbed nipples
* Teats then no longer functional
* Often taped or copydex at birth
## Footnote
Ensure gilts have a full litter – teats that are not used in first lactation do not milk as well in subsequent parities
51
Piglet diseases ?
* Overlays
* Starvation
* Congenital deformities
* Scour, neonatal and later
* Lameness
* Joint ill
* Nervous signs / meningitis
* Respiratory disease
* Skin lesions
52
Lame piglets - why?
* Large litters
* Low colostrum
* Rough floors; rough slats
* Injury from sow
53
Tx for lame piglets
Antibiotics by injection
54
Consequences of Lame piglets?
Deaths
Arthritis
Pyaemia
55
Describe foot and knee damage?
* Piglet foot very soft at birth
* Rough, wet floor surface
* Stallosan or equivalent on floors – dries,
* hardens and disinfects
56
Other piglet lameness?
* Sudden onset acute lame piglets or weaners
* Strep suis type 14
* Joint ill (from pyaemia)
* Trauma – Iron injections
* FMDV / SVD
57
What to look for in scouring piglets? (hard to see)
◦ poor body condition
◦ Hairy piglets
◦ Red anus + vulva
◦ wet around tails
◦ “hollow” flanks
◦ Smell!!
58
Causes fo piglet scour from 0-48hrs
= bacterial, E.coli or Clostridia
59
How do we deal with eColi from 0-48hrs
C/S
Prevent by vaccinating sow with clostridial vaccine
Appropriate AB tx
60
Scour from 7-10d causes?
Rotavirus, E.Coli, later on cocci
61
Control of piglet scour 7-10d
Hygiene
Oral Baycox (= toltrazuril) given at ~4 days old or combined Fe+toltrazuril given I/M
Supportive therapy
62
Controlling infections
* Control flies in the farrowing house
* DO NOT foster scouring piglets
* Disinfect wellies when moving between pens and houses
* Disinfectant – foot dips / powdered disinfectant
* Treat scours promptly – injectable or oral dosers
* HYGIENE – particularly hands / gloves
* Record treatments
* Thorough clean and disinfect of crate and stall / room when vacated
63
How to we use medicines responsibly
DIAGNOSIS
CULTURE
SENSITIVITY TESTING
MONITORING
64
PEDv name?
Porcine Epidemic D+
65
Describe PEDv
Severe in N America and Asia, less virulent strains
in Europe
explosive outbreak of watery diarrhoea with
reduced appetite and lethargy, sometimes with
vomiting,
◦ affecting all ages of pig
often high mortality (30-100%) in sucking piglets
in litters from all parities of sow
◦ could be found dead before diarrhoea is noticed if
on outdoor units.
in weaned and older pigs PED is transient and
pigs recover
66
Id PEDv notifiable?
In england - YES
67
What neuro signs can we see in piglets?
- Hypoglycaemia
- Congenital tremors
- S.suis meningitis -> Peddling/ nystagmus (AB!)
68
What notifiable neuro diseases?
- Aujesky's dx
- ASF
- Taflan/Teschen
69
Skin lesion in piglets
* Trauma
* “Greasy Pig" ->Antibiotic &Topical treatment
* Epitheliogenesis imperfecta
* Pityriasis rosea
* Abrasive necrosis
70
Congenital deformities in piglets?
Splayleg
Atresia ani – cull
Cleft palate
Thickened forelegs
Congenital tremor
◦ OK when asleep, but severe tremor prevents suckling and may cause knee damage
hydrocephalus
71
Explain splay leg
* Weak piglets-> low birth weights; compounded by smooth floors
* Genetic, especially Landrace, but can be any
* line
* Strap legs together / elastoplast
* * Usually die from starvation or overlay
72
Hwo do we prepare piglets for weaning?
-> Creep feed from 10 days, little & often, creep feeder near sow's head
-> Vaccination -> PCV2 & PRRS
-> Sizing and sexing
-> Mixing and moving
73
What are some requirements for weaners
* A good birthweight to start – maximum colostrum intake at birth
* The correct diet for the age of pig
* Good feeding procedures
* Good building design and maintenance
* Good environmental contro
74
How can we reduce post weaning check?
Good Feed Intake, Growth and FCR
Low Disease Challenge
High Welfare
Uniformity
75
What are some stressors at weaning?
* Maternal separation
* New social hierarchy – mixing outside their litter
* New environment and temperature
* Necessity to locate new feed and water sources
* Dietary change from liquid milk to a cereal based diet (pellets / meal)
76
What is a major effect of stressors at weaning?
POST WEANING ANOREXIA
-> principle contributor to growth check post weaning
77
What happens to the gut after weaning /anorexia
* The stomach becomes suddenly less acidic
* The absorptive surface of the gut decreases
* Dehydration due to poor water intake
* Marked villous atrophy
* Malabsorption occurs as the gut is not ready
* for cereal digestion
* Protective immune factors in milk removed
78
Main effects of the stressors / damaged gut ?
* Malabsorption
* Diarrhoea and dehydration
* Gut inflammation
* Systemic disease
79
growing after weaning
Feed efficiency declines with age
Lost lean growth at this stage will not be
regained later
Capacity for lean growth declines with age
◦ “middle aged spread”
80
Hygiene importance
- Dx control
- Improving performance
- WELFARE
- Carryover of disease
- Maintenance of buildings
81
What is the thermoneutral zone?
“The range of temperatures within
which a pig feels comfortable and
performs optimally. It is critical to
maintain the pig within the thermo
neutral zone when other changes are
going on”
82
temperature: effect on growth rates
“For every 1°C below lower critical temperature, a pig loses 10 - 12g live-weight gain per day.”
83
How can we stop pigs getting cold
Kennels - Use plywood, straw
bales, touran, plastic sheeting, tin
sheets etc…
Curtains on Kennels - Use plastic
sheeting, touran, feed bags,
hessian etc…
Stop Drafts - Block open sides
with curtains or touran, consider
using ply to block Yorkshire
boarding holes in winter.
84
Daily Routine
Stock checks
Temperature and ventilation
Feed and water supply
Pig appearance and behaviour
Cleanliness / bedding / MM – EE
Sick pig management
Vice
85
Diet ?
Feed the smallest / youngest
Change diets gradually
Check drinkers and flow rates
Starter creep
86
Small Weaners
* Produces less heat – needs higher ambient
* temperatures
* Eat less food – need a better diet
* Prone to disease -?? Why are they small in the
* first place
* Less able to compete
* Will continue to be disadvantaged
87
What affects intake?
◦ Blocked hoppers
◦ Dust
◦ Wet / soiled feed
◦ Damage to feeders
◦ Incorrect diet
◦ Water flow rates
◦ Ambient temperature
◦ Health problems
88
aggression?
Gets worse as they get older......
Social hierachy
Avoiding vice
◦ Prevalent at ‘pinch points’ in the system
◦ MANY triggers
◦ Multifactorial
◦ Not always repeatable
89
weaned pig housing?
Good feed intake – fresh + palatable + easy
access
Easy access to water
◦ one drinking point per 30 pigs if ad lib food
◦ One per 15 if restricted access
Specialist accommodation for disadvantaged
pigs
90
Describe Weaner bungalo
* Insulated lid pulls back over dunging area to give access
* Feed just inside lid
* Subdivide pen in cold weather or low numbers weaned
* Need dunging area equal to lying area otherwise risk of pigs ‘reverse mucking’ and going dirty
91
Vaccination at weaning?
Commonly include
**◦ EP
◦ PCV-2**
◦ Glassers
◦ Strep suis
◦ PRRS
◦ Erysipelas
Oral vaccines
◦ Ileitis
◦ Salmonella
92
Post weaning D+
| (7-10d)
E.COLI -> causes bowel oedema or scour
Bowel oedema
◦ Good piglets growing well
◦ Squeaky squeal, puffy eyes
◦ Sudden deaths / neuro signs
◦ Scour is not a feature
## Footnote
also salmonella and PCV2
93
Post weaning D+ management?
* Dietary manipulation – reduce fermentation rates where bowel oedema seen
* Maintain even feed intakes, i.e. don’t let pigs run out of food then gorge themselves
* Meal vs pellets – pigs will eat meal more slowly (also may reduce risk of salmonella)
* 2500ppm zinc oxide in ration – likely to disappear shortly
* Soil into pen (?iron?)
* Antibiotic – in feed or water based on culture and sensitivity
94
Describe PMWS?
Post Weaning Multisystemic Wasting syndrome
- Porcine circovirus type 2
- Typically occurs 3-4 weeks after weaning
Pigs weaned well then yellow scourn lost weight and death
no useful tx
95
PM signs of PMWS?
* Massive haemorrhage and oedema of mesenteric + inguinal lymph nodes
* Yellow scour in colon
* Enlarged spleen + liver
* Lung congestion (hence sometimes increased coughing)
* ‘turkey egg’ kidney – enlarged and mottled
96
What is PDNS
porcine dermatitis and
nephropathy syndrome
97
What does PDNS cause
Massive dark black skin lesions, especially over
scrotal area
Most affected pigs die
Ear tips may drop off
98
PMWS & PDNS control
PCV2 vaccination of piglet
◦ most common
◦ Circoflex (most successful vaccine ever!)
Vaccination of sow – circovac
Vaccination of breeding gilts
## Footnote
Differential – Swine Fevers
99
Meningitis cause?
Strep Suis type 2
100
Sporadic causes of meningitis?
◦ Glassers disease (Glaeserrella parasuis)
◦ Consequence of pyaemia, eg from tail biting
◦ Salt poisoning/water deprivation
◦ Oedema disease
101
Meningitis precipitated by
environmental conditions
◦ Large temperature fluctuations, e.g. spring / autumn
◦ High humidity
◦ Poor ventilation
◦ Overstocking / stress
102
Meningitis – Strep suis type 2 tx & control
Treatment
◦ Antibiotics + NSAID’s
◦ water
Control
◦ Improve ventilation
◦ Reduce stocking density
◦ Strategic antibiotic use in feed or water, eg
trimediazine, lincomycin or amoxycillin **care
103
sustemic signs of strep ?
Clinical signs
Joint swelling
Lethargy
Inappetance
Seizure
Nystagmus
Sudden death
104
dx of strep
Post mortem examination
◦ Nothing
◦ Fibrin-polyserositis
◦ Endocarditis
Microbiology - CBA
◦ Heart blood
◦ Joint fluid
◦ Meningeal swab
