Pig Farming Management Practices Quiz

Learning Objectives

• Construct a differential diagnosis list based on clinical presentations for GIT and liver disorders, and choose appropriate diagnostics.
• Determine appropriate interventions for the management and treatment of GIT and liver disorders in pigs.
• Determine preventative measures appropriate for GIT and liver disorders in pigs.

Mouth Lesions

• Oral cavity lesions can be caused by:
  • Notifiable diseases (e.g., FMD, vesicular stomatitis).
  • Foot lesions.
  • Uraemia due to systemic disease (kidney failure).
  • Dental clipping.
  • Toxin ingestion (e.g., corrosive substances, mycotoxins).
• Refer to year two pathology notes for specific diseases.

Good Nutrition

• Maintain good welfare and maximize production.
• Establish a good microbiome.
  • The assemblage of microorganisms in a defined environment.
• Immunity.
  • Barrier, competitive exclusion, production of antimicrobial factors.
• Good growth.
  • Synthesis of vitamins (especially B-vitamins).
  • Fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates into short chain fatty acids (e.g., acetic, butyric, propionic acids) for energy.
• Healthy gut = healthy pig.

Factors Affecting Piglet Microbiota

• Mode of delivery.
• Diet of the sow.
• Microbiome of the sow.
• Diet of the piglet.
• Environment.
• In-feed antibiotics.
• Pathogen exposure.
• Handling and stress.
• Injectable antibiotics.

Gestation Transition Diet

• When sows move from straw-based to slatted farrowing houses, constipation can arise.
• This increases risk of stillborn piglets.
• A fibre-rich transition diet can mitigate these issues, leading to greater satiety/contentment and a higher feed intake during lactation, reducing constipation issues.
• Increased birthweight = increased colostrum intake.

Piglets & Colostrum

• Colostrum is consumed within 2-3 hours post-farrowing, and provides energy (lactose & oligosaccharides) and immunoglobulins (MDA).

Colostrum Intake & Survival

• Lower birth weight piglets take longer to consume colostrum and face a reduced chance of survival.

Colostrum Management Strategies

• Milking sow.
• Split sucking.
• Cross-fostering.
• Shunt fostering.
• Swapping litters.
• Nurse sows.

Milk Replacers

• Supplementary, not replacement.
• Should start after colostrum management (e.g., split suckling).
• Fresh, warm, and often (7-10 days old).

Creep Feeding

• Introducing solid feeds before weaning.
• Supplement pre-weaned piglets with a solid diet while suckling.

Weaning

• Aims:
  • High weaning weight (>8 kg/pig).
  • Uniformity.
  • Smooth transition from milk to solids.
  • High feed intake post-weaning.
• Development of gut villi in newborn piglets and implications of weaning.

Weaning Challenges

• Changes post-weaning.
  • From 16 meals a day to ___.
  • From warm liquid to ___.
  • From high protein, fat, and lactose to low fat, low lactose, lower protein and high carbohydrate dry diet.
• Failure to eat, cold, and confused (within 3 hours of stomach emptying).
• Feed and Feed Application (keep consistent):
  • Aim for 300g intake first 2 days post-weaning.
  • Stimulate feed intake before weaning.
  • Feed the same diet 5 days before and 5 days after weaning.
  • Use same feeders as in farrowing house.
  • Enough feeders so all can eat at same time.
  • Activate piglets.
  • Supplying water manually at least twice per day.
  • Lights on to start feeding.
  • Maintain consistency in feeding and environment.

Stimulate Feed Intake

• Feed porridge to stimulate feed intake.
• Cosy kennel.
• Wean smaller piglets later.
• Wean piglets in similar sized batches.
• Hospitalise compromised piglets.
• Provide fresh water (water:feed = 3:1).

Pre-Weaning Diarrhoea

• What is the most common cause?
• Identify sampling methods (e.g., faecal smear, post-mortem samples of small and large intestines, etc.).
• Identify potential causes of diarrhoea (e.g., E. coli, rotavirus, salmonellosis, campylobacter, clostridium perfringens, coccidiosis).
• What sampling techniques might be used to diagnose diseases.

Pre-Weaning Treatment & Prevention

• Treatment: Electrolytes & vitamins, specific therapy (apramycin or penicillin), toltrazuril (coc), suckling, or bottle feeding, clean out the pen, and heat the pen.
• Prevention: Husbandry (adequate colostrum), health monitoring, hygiene, vaccinate dam, epidemiology (PCR).

Weaned Pigs

• Diseases: Brachyspira hyodysenteriae, Brachyspira pilosicoli, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp.
• Diagnosis: Culture gut content/faeces.
• Treatment: Tylosin & Tiamulin (B. hyodysenteriae), Clostridium perfringens (vax dam), and anthelmintic drugs (e.g., Doramectin, ivermectin, fen/flubendazole).
• PMWS (Porcine circovirus Type 2): Unthriftiness, pallor, rough coat, dyspnoea, jaundice, lymphadenopathy, diarrhea, high mortality in naive and growing pigs.

Adult Pigs

• Ulcers & accidents (refer to Taylor, Pig diseases).
• Feed analysis (vitamins, trace elements).
• Increase fibre in feed (e.g., straw, oats, sugarbeet).
• Increase ration particle size.
• Feed wet meal.
• Pets (ranitidine).
• Vaccination (Salmonella & C. novyi).

Lawsonia Intracellularis / Ileitis

• 3 forms: Porcine intestinal adenomatosis, necrotic enteritis, and porcine haemorrhagic enteropathy.
• Diagnosis: PCR to detect the organism, Mucosal scraped stained with MZN to confirm curved bacilli, +/- histopathology confirmation
• Treatment: None, prevention is key.

Swine Fevers

• Widespread depression, anorexia, pyrexia, constipation, then diarrhoea, and incoordination are symptoms.

Hospital Pens

• Separate pigs into different hospital pens based on their age group.

Cleaning and Disinfection

• Environmental temperature ranges for different pig categories (Sows, Suckling pigs, Weaned pigs...).

Vaccination

• E. coli, Clostridial.
• PCV2 (Porcine circovirus 2) against PMWS.
• Salmonella, Ileitis

Liver Diseases

• PM (post-mortem).
• Gross pathology.
• Toxin screening (frozen sample).
• PCR.
• Culture.
• Ascarids.
• Aflatoxins (Aspergillus poisoning).
• C. novyi (aero chocolate liver) – penicillin/amoxycillin.

Summary

• Learning objectives.
• Common causes of disease: Husbandry and Pathogens.

Test your knowledge on various management practices in pig farming, including the techniques for enhancing survival and growth among piglets. This quiz covers creep feeding, common symptoms of diseases, and the management of sick pigs. Assess your understanding of important practices in porcine care and health.