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December 30, 2021 Industry Insights, Location Highlights, News
Source: Molinos Champion
Working closely with highly productive sows brings challenges but also opportunities. The key factor is that the more piglets a sow produces annually, the higher the profitability of production becomes. Therefore, managing piglets effectively requires improving multiple parameters.
Here are seven tips for optimizing piglet management:
To ensure your sow is in top condition before farrowing and to guarantee optimal survival rates, it's crucial to record newborn weights accurately. The birth weight should not fall below 1.4 kg for individual piglets and could drop as low as 1.2 kg in larger litters. This variation directly influences the weaning bodyweight, as a difference of just 1kg at birth translates to an additional 1.75 kg by day 23.
Providing colostrum right after birth is essential for piglets' health and immune system development. Early intake ensures that the piglets absorb vital immunoglobulins necessary for their active and robust immune response.
, colostrum's composition changes drastically in a few hours, with its crude protein content varying from 15 to as low as 5.5. Make sure your piglets have access to this essential food promptly.
Piglets absorb the highest amount of immunoglobulins during the first 12 hours after birth and lose this opportunity as time passes due to a decline in both colostrum and milk quality.
Use nutritional products that support piglet vitality, especially when they're small or weak immediately after birth. Opt for properly formulated dry diets tlored to their needs.
Newborn piglets receive passive immunity from the mother through prenatal exposure. However, this immunity wanes within days post-birth, stimulating the development of an innate immune system based on colostrum intake.
Many farms fall short in optimizing environments for piglet development and close their year with a higher mortality rate than desired due to various factors, including inadequate feeding strategies or lack of effective management practices.
Ensure your environment promotes hygiene that minimizes health risks like diarrhea, weight loss, dysbiosis, and other unforeseen illnesses.
Frequently overlooked in piglet management is the importance of providing clean water to both sows and piglets alike. The quality and avlability of water play significant roles in reducing pathogen introduction risks into young pigs.
Sows require adequate water supply as they produce milk, which significantly exceeds their water needs compared to other groups:
During pregnancy, a sow drinks anywhere from 15 to 20 liters dly,
While lactating sows need more than 22 liters per day, with the quantity deping on the litter size.
Ensure you check and mntn appropriate flow rates. For gestation period sows, m for at least 3 liters of water every minute. Lactating sows require a minimum flow rate of 4 liters per minute.
Improving feed digestibility enables sows to absorb more nutrients efficiently, leading to the production of high-quality milk with better performance confirmed by scientific trials and commercial studies.
Piglet care encompasses creating an optimal environment controlling temperature, humidity, rflow, implementing advanced biosecurity measures, and employing skilled labor. This combination is essential for achieving excellent breeding results.
In addition to these strategies, consider complementing your approach with targeted nutrition tlored at:
Initial period
Growth phase
Finishing stage
Lactation period
Gestation period
We have provided a general overview based on the content's original source and may require additional context or information specific to your region or farm for complete implementation.
Editor's The last paragraph was added as an aside suggesting readers seek more localized advice.
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Optimal Piglet Management Tips Effective Sow and Piglet Care Strategies High Nutrient Dry Diet for Piglets Importance of Colostrum in Early Life Closing Immune System Development Gap Ensuring Clean Water Supply for Sows