Page 6 of articles about farrowing room in Articles

A large part of the work on a swine farm can be divided into 3 key tasks: weaning, mating and farrowing. The day chosen for weaning determines the other two tasks; first, the matings, and then, as a consequence, the farrowings (the 2 ‘great events’ of which productivity of a farm depends on).

It isn’t easy to compile a bibliography referring to this subject matter in specific cases; one has to search for it among the footnotes of other, more general works. The aim of this article is to sum up aspects of feeding that can be important at the time of farrowing.

During the last 10 years we have been trying to optimize the different Batch Management systems (BM), searching for the most effective system. We had come to the conclusion that each one of the different traditional BM options had their pros and cons, and neither is better or worse than the other. Electing the best system depends on the necessities and the calibration of space on each particular farm. However, we have recently “discovered” a new BM option that opens the door to new possibilities.

In swine, dystocia is usually caused by oversized piglets (or by a narrow birth canal) instead of foetal positioning problems.

A correct supervision is one of the key points of a farrowing.

In the last chapter we examined the advantages of positioning crates facing inwards and outwards. Now we are going to explore two other options: Aisles both in front and behind the crates and crates on both sides of the aisle.

When designing farrowing rooms, sows can be placed in different ways: facing inwards, facing outwards, with aisles both in front and behind the crate, or on both sides of the aisle.

Next we will consider some aspects that can be taken into account in order to adjust the day to induce farrowing.

The gestation period in the majority of sows is usually around 113 to 115 days. However, a percentage of sows can farrow normally up to 3 days before or after.

In the last chapter we looked at the importance of achieving homogenous farrowing batches (age distribution + nº sows). In this chapter we will begin to see how to achieve this.

Injecting prostaglandin F2α (PGF) or its analogues is effective for induction of farrowing, although a large range in the interval between treatment and farrowing is usual. Experience has shown that only 50% to 60% of PGF-treated sows farrow during the working day after injection and only these sows are candidates for farrowing supervision.

Until now we have spoken about the general parity structure of the herd, but in an ideal situation this optimum distribution should be put into practice in each of the productive batches of sows.

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

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.

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.

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).