Tagging animals to check your all-in-all-out
A system to check your all-in-all-out management and the consecuences of violating internal biosecurity practices.
How to reduce the replacement rate and have a better parity distribution
Minimizing sow losses in the initial cycles has three positive effects for the economic efficiency of the farm
Handling young pigs on-farm
Great care is needed particularly when handling young pigs above 6kg/3 weeks of age, to avoid causing lasting damage.
How to know the age of replacement gilts
A simple, economical and practical trick is to identify the replacement gilts with tags of different colours according to the batch they belong to.
On-farm Euthanasia of Growers/Adult Pigs
Captive bolt humane stunners do not kill larger growing pigs or adults, they render the pig unconscious. Further action is needed to ensure the pig is dead.
Water consumption and quality: Relevance at postweaning
To achieve a good feed intake it is essential to reach adequate water consumption
4 week batch farrowing: another option for small farms
This article discusses 4-week batch farrowing (4WBF), very common in small farms (250 sows) in some other countries, including France. Analysis will be based on a comparison with 3-week batch farrowing (3WBF).
Paper in the farrowing quarters: not only for the piglets...
It is easy to see the reaction of the sows (of all of them!) when we supply them with paper. A handful in front of their snout or at the reach of their mouth is enough... oxytocin! It is like giving an injection!
