In winter pig farming, high mortality, a high feed-to-meat ratio, and high input costs are a “hot potato” that many pig farms find challenging yet have no choice but to face. In view of this situation, here are five reminders on disease prevention and control.
1, first, pig farms of all sizes should take steps to prevent and control porcine respiratory diseases, especially swine influenza and enzootic pneumonia.
Because temperatures are low in winter, many small and medium-sized pig farms close the doors and windows of their pig houses to keep them warm. However, manure and urine inside the pig houses are not cleaned up promptly, resulting in poor air quality. This can impair the pigs’ resistance and lead to infections by various pathogens.
Porcine respiratory disease syndrome is often caused by multiple factors. The most common cause is poor environmental conditions, which lead to outbreaks among large groups of pigs. This occurs at nearly all pig farms. In addition to causing direct pig deaths, it can also significantly slow pigs’ daily weight gain, increase feed consumption, delay their market date, and result in them carrying various related pathogenic microorganisms for a long time.
2, secondly, focus on preventing foot-and-mouth disease.
Although this disease can occur throughout the year, it is more prevalent in winter. Foot-and-mouth disease can infect piglets in farrowing rooms, and piglets often die suddenly from acute myocarditis. The mortality rate can exceed 50%. Although foot-and-mouth disease has a lower fatality rate in adult pigs, its impact on pigs’ daily weight gain is significant.
If your pig farm has not yet promptly vaccinated all pigs against foot-and-mouth disease, it is recommended that you complete the vaccinations as soon as possible. One additional point: breeding pigs generally need to be immunized against foot-and-mouth disease once every 3-4 months.
Foot-and-mouth disease
3, foot-and-mouth disease, and diarrhea have long gone hand in hand.
The two always affect pig farms severely, one after the other, so preventing diarrhea in farrowing-room piglets is a top priority. Winter nights are cold, and when some pig farms do not pay enough attention to sanitation, piglets are prone to yellow and white scours.
In fact, viral diarrhea is even more prevalent and challenging for pig farms, especially medium- and large-scale farms. These diseases can cause large numbers of piglet deaths, making them a key focus of disease prevention and control on pig farms!
Recommendation: Pig farms should carry out vaccination and provide appropriate medication for health care. They should also protect pig housing against the cold, keep pens dry, and maintain good hygiene and cleanliness.
Provide timely treatment and care for piglets that have already fallen ill. Administer intraperitoneal fluids to severely ill piglets to reduce deaths from dehydration.
4, then the pig farm should conduct routine antibody-level testing regularly.
Use serological immune monitoring to accurately determine antibody levels on your pig farm for diseases such as classical swine fever, PRRS, porcine circovirus disease, pseudorabies, foot-and-mouth disease, and porcine epidemic diarrhea; correctly assess the health status of the herd, identify health problems early, and provide targeted solutions. At the same time, vaccine antibody monitoring can be used to develop a scientific and appropriate immunization program.
Disinfect the overall environment of the pig farm
5, finally, pig farms must implement strict biosecurity measures.
As is well known, infectious diseases occur only when three conditions are present: a source of infection, a route of transmission, and susceptible animals. Especially with the arrival of winter, some pathogenic microorganisms become more active. Strengthening biosecurity awareness is urgent.
In short, winter is a golden season for achieving good results in pig farming. All pig farm personnel must be on high alert and guard against the intrusion of various diseases. Ensure the pig farm gets through the winter smoothly!