articles about farrowing room in Articles

We focus on moving surplus piglets, which forces us to use nurse sows. We explain two ways to do this in a very visual video.

Drying and warming the piglets favors their survival only in farrowing units with moderate or suboptimal temperatures (<25ºC).

Neonatal diarrhoea is a serious problem for farmers and vets. Affected piglets can develop severe diarrhoea from 1–2 h to 7 days following birth.

The detection of a pathogen alone is not sufficient for elucidating the aetiology behind neonatal diarrhoea outbreaks. The diagnosis of neonatal diarrhoea is one of the most challenging ones in daily pig practice.

Side effects of perinatal medications on the microbiota can be detrimental to animal health.

There are many types of do-it-yourself sow card holders for farms, but this one stands out thanks to its simplicity and functionality.

To ensure that each piglet intakes enough colostrum and to help the smallest piglets get it, split suckling should be used.

In this article, we focus on the key aspects of management to optimize performance from this genetic line of sows. We talked with Carlos Martins.

The PigCHAMP Pro Europe database was used to analyze nurse sows, which wean almost twice the farm average.

Sows that try to recover after weaning no piglets have markedly lower performance and a significant chance of failing in lactation again.

Understanding the farrowing process and recognizing the signs for the different stages of birth, help us to develop management plans to improve the likelihood for live born piglets.

The ban on the use of zinc oxide starting June 2022 makes it necessary to review and improve many aspects of weaning, especially in its early stages. With Alberto García and Chretien Gielen we address key management points for successful weaning without the use of zinc oxide.

We describe the main alternative systems to farrowing crates for sows, from zero confinement to temporary restraint.

We spoke with Alberto Garcia (Inga Food SA, Spain) and Chretien Gielen (De Varkenspraktijk, The Netherlands), to discuss aspects related to weaning management and conditions.

We can place the weakest piglets from each litter to dry out and warm up in this incubator while we tend to the next sows.

Why is it important to take sow temperatures after farrowing? How does feed intake affect litter size?