Weaner pigs - managing them effectively Flashcards
What are targets for weaning?
- Weaned / sow > 12.7
- Weaning weight > 7.5kg (@~28 days)
- Bigger pigs fare better post weaning
- Aiming to wean > 100kg / sow
What are the best type of feeders?
- round so that all piglets can see each other eating - social = eat more
How can you tell if a pig is dehydrated?
- look at eye - very sunken if dehydrated
What can go wrong with weaning?
- Too young / small
- Failure of gut development
- Hypothermia
- Infection pressure too high
- Stress – space, allowances
- Loss of condition – tucked in
- Navel sucking
- Vices
- Susceptible to disease
What can cause poorer pigs from farrowing?
- Continued damaged gut - cocci
- Lowered weaning weight - E.coli, rotavirus, clostridia
- Joint ill
What post weaning problems can lead to gut problems?
- Dietary + feeding changes
- Temp changes
- Draughts
- Inadequate hygiene
- Overeating
- historical GIT damage
What can cause enteric infections?
- Mostly E.coli + Salmonella
- Tx = water medication + antibiotics
CS of E.coli?
- Sudden onset watery scour
- Loss of condition - dehydration
- Affect distal small intestine
- Mild pyrexia
- Sudden death
CS of Salmonella?
- Low grade scour
- High mortality necrotic enteritis
- Distal small intestine + LI affected
- Aggressive Tx - Ab
- Px = water acidification
What are other enteric possibilities?
- Nutritional imbalances
- Early ileitis
- Early colitis
- Rotavirus
- PCV2
- PED - notifiable (porcine epidemic diarrhoea)
What are nervous diseases of weaners?
- Bacterial meningitis - streptococcus suis, Glaesserella parasuis
- Oedema disease - E.coli - shiga toxin
- Water deprivation
- Middle ear disease
- Toxicities
- Notifiables
When do pigs tend to get meningitis?
- Trigger point 2-4weeks post weaning
- Give steroid + hydrate
How can you treat oedema disease?
- Toxins = difficult to treat
- NSAIDs
- Vaccinate from 4days of age
What is water deprivation / salt poisoning?
- Severe dehydration - usually in grower / finisher
- causes increase salt content in CSF
- Rapid rehydration = swelling of brain - osmosis
- Tx = slow rehydration + steroids
- High mortality
What is middle ear disease?
- CS = head tilt + shaking
- Indistinguishable from early meningitis
- Tx = antibiotics + NSAIDs
What can contribute to porcine respiratory disease complex?
- PCV2
- PRRS
- M. hyopneumoniae
- Glaesserella parasuis
- Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae
- Swine Influenza
What are the main strains of swine influenza?
- H1N1
- H1N2
- Coughing, pyrexia, depression, decreased feed intake
What is seen with the lungs on PM if viral challenge?
- Interlobular oedema
What causes progressive atrophic rhinitis?
- Pasteurella multocida type D
What does PMWS cause? what to do?
- Lymphadenopathy
- Immunosuppression = secondary infections
- is a Porcine circovirus type 2
- Vaccinate!!
What are skin diseases of weaners?
- Greasy pig disease - staph hyicus - Tx = penicillin + skin wash
- Ear tip necrosis - staph aureus
- Pox virus
- Sarcoptic mange - intense pruritus
- Ringworm - zoonotic - tx = UV light
- Pityriasis rosea - false ringworm
