Articles - Management

In this chapter we will look at how hormones can be used to influence the time of farrowing according to our needs.

Since concentrated feeds were first used it has been possible to see that mixing them with water has certain advantages. Probably the most important are a higher consumption and an improved exploitation.

Regardless of the causes we often waste food and the animals do not consume everything that arrives to the farm.

When the sow is pregnant, the corpus luteum remains and continues to produce progesterone. While the levels of progesterone are high the sow does not become in heat and maintains gestation.

So far we have seen different options for retaining the males and for stimulating the stalled sows that maximize speed and stimulus. Once stimulated, now we are going to mate them.

Without a doubt weaning is the most stressful process suffered by a pig, or at least it is up until that moment in its life.

For hormones to be efficient it is essential to use them with the right approach. For this we must know the reproductive cycle of the sow and the hormones that are involved.

Different systems of boar’s retention during stimulation and mating in stalls have already been seen. Now we are going to put it into practice.

Colostrum offers 3 essential properties to the piglet: very useful energy source (vital for generating movement and avoiding temperature loss), immune supply (protects against germs that the piglet begins to come into contact with) and natural growth factors (complete the maturity of the piglet).

For the animals to be comfortable it is important to know their needs. The more needs that we can fulfill the more productive the animal will be.

Both for heat detection and for mating, maximum efficiency is achieved if the sow is well stimulated.

A breeding chart would be like a type of computer without wires, screen or keyboard.

Piglets are born with very limited energy reserves: compared to other newborn mammals, they have much less energy stored per kg liveweight.

The use of pulped food incites consumption and allows a smoother transition from milk to feed.