Page 9 of articles about management in Articles

Traditional culling policies have a threshold number of farrowings after which sows are culled —after weaning. But, what would happen if this policy were to be modified to actually consider the performance of each sow?

Minimizing sow losses in the initial cycles has three positive effects for the economic efficiency of the farm

Great care is needed particularly when handling young pigs above 6kg/3 weeks of age, to avoid causing lasting damage.

A simple, economical and practical trick is to identify the replacement gilts with tags of different colours according to the batch they belong to.

Although the use of vaccination was effective in stabilizing the sows, the results of these case studies emphasized that elimination of PRRSV from the nursery can only be accomplished if vaccination and partial depopulation/ disinfection are supported by strict implementation of all recommended management procedures, including AI/AO.

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).

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!

This second part deals with the problems caused by not  recording properly the cause of abortions, sows and piglets deaths, nurse sows and hormonal treatments.

This first part deals with backward and impossible data, i.e. the sows that are no longer in the farm but still appear both in the management softwatre and the 100% delivery rates in gilts.

Exposure during acclimatization can be considered the first dose of a vaccine, and pre-farrowing exposure its booster.

An easy solution to store these feeders is to hang them in the corridor of their room. In this way, they do not stand in the way and they can dry well before being used again.

Management factors and environmental conditions are often triggers or predisposing agents, not only to the clinical presentation of the disease, but also its severity and course.

The isolation and acclimation period is not negotiable, it is an investment.

Use a rake to pick placentas more easily.

Gilts are the population most likely to excrete M. hyo during lactation because they will probably have become infected within 200 days prior to their first farrowing.

Meeting the needs of the newly weaned pigs often proves to be difficult in many production settings.