Swine intro to medicine

INTRODUCTION TO SWINE MEDICINE

  • Presented by: Munetsi Tagwireyi, Assistant Professor of Large Animal Medicine

  • Co-presenter: Ailbhe King, MVB, DACVIM (LAIM), Assistant Professor in Production Animal Medicine

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  1. Understand the basics of pig production.

  2. Understand the basics of swine herd health.

  3. Understand the basics of swine production indices & how they can be used to identify problems.

  4. Describe basic piglet processing.

  5. List normal swine vitals.

  6. List & describe the various methods of swine venipuncture.

SWINE FARMING

  • Approximately 800 million pigs are kept worldwide.

    • Breakdown by region:

    • China: 434.2 million pigs

    • EU: 133.6 million pigs

    • United States: 75.8 million pigs

    • Brazil: 33.1 million pigs

  • Structure of commercial breeding farms:

    • Pyramidal structure consisting of nucleus herds, breeding herds, and finishing herds.

HERD TYPES

  • Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) Herds

    • Stringent biosecurity protocols, including:

    • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

    • Rodent and bird control

    • Disease monitoring and eradication.

    • Practice of showering in and showering out, changing clothing.

    • No introductions of other pigs.

  • High Health Herds

    • Focus on maintaining health and minimizing disease risk.

  • Conventional Herds

    • Industrial-sized herds, potentially up to 200,000 sows per herd.

  • Free Range & Organic Farming

    • Emphasis on natural rearing conditions.

  • Backyard Farming in developing countries

    • Common practice with increasing numbers of pet pigs.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE SWINE INDUSTRY

  • Historical context:

    • 40 years ago:

    • Piglet production was 16 piglets per sow per year.

    • Daily growth rate of grower finishers was approximately 650 g/day.

    • Current statistics:

    • Piglet production has increased to 30-34 piglets per sow per year.

    • Daily growth rate has risen to between 950 g/day and 1200 g/day.

HERD HEALTH MANAGEMENT

  • Definition: A systematic method to optimize health, welfare, and production in a pig population by:

    • Conducting data analysis and regular observations.

    • Making informed decisions to improve herd management over time and based mainly on prevention.

  • Key elements of prevention include:

    • Identifying risk factors for disease:

    • Agent: Various strains of pathogens.

    • Animal: Factors including age and breed.

    • Environment: Factors such as hygiene, ventilation, and nutrition.

  • Goals of herd health management:

    • Optimize health status to prevent health, production, and reproductive problems.

    • Enhance productivity via improved herd management practices.

    • Foster animal welfare and enhance ecological quality of the environment.

    • Improve the quality and safety of meat products.

    • Increase profitability of the enterprise.

FARMER NEEDS TO…

  • Be knowledgeable about modern farming methods.

  • Plan effectively:

    • Both strategically (long-term vision) and operationally (for daily activities like feeding, cleaning, etc.).

  • Maintain accurate and up-to-date data, including:

    • Animal health records.

    • Production records.

    • Financial records.

  • Ensure individual animal identification for effective tracking.

VETERINARIANS NEED TO…

  • Possess broad knowledge in:

    • Functional structure of the farm concerning health, production, economics, animal welfare, and the environment.

    • Pathophysiology, diagnosis, disease prevention, and production deficiencies.

    • Epidemiological skills for diagnostic testing, outbreak investigation, disease parameters, and result interpretation.

    • Data processing techniques, mainly focusing on production data.

    • Effective communication and farmer education strategies.

    • Understanding meat quality and food safety/public health aspects.

PRODUCTION STAGES

  1. Breeding & Gestation

  2. Farrowing & Lactation

  3. Nursery

  4. Grower & Finisher

PRODUCTION STAGES DETAILS

Stage

Age

Weight

Suckling

0-3 weeks

-

Weanling/Starter

3-8 weeks

Grower

8-12 weeks

35-60 lbs - 120-150 lbs

Finisher

5.5-6 months

120-150 lbs - 230-270 lbs

PRODUCTION DATA MONITORING

  • Purpose: Provides reflection on:

    • Clinical and subclinical diseases.

    • Sub-optimal husbandry, including:

    • Imbalanced diets.

    • Stressors (temperature, fighting).

  • Note: Monitoring diseases alone is insufficient for ensuring optimal production.

  • Use of computer software in larger farms, e.g., PigChamp for data management.

TARGETS

  • Check PigChamp for up-to-date performance metrics of US herds.

TABLE 1.2: ENTIRE FARM TARGETS

  • Key Performance Indicators (KPI):

    • Lactation Length:

    • Intervention Target: 21 days

    • Target Level: 28 days

    • Farrowing Rate:

    • Target: > 92%

    • Intervention Level: < 90%

    • Litters/Sow/Year:

    • Target Level: ≥ 2.50

    • Intervention Level: ≤ 2.45

    • Average Total Born:

    • Target Level: ≥ 16.0, Intervention Level: ≤ 15.0

    • Average Born Alive:

    • Target Level: ≥ 15.0, Intervention Level: ≤ 13.8

    • Average Weaned:

    • Intervention Target: ≥ 14.0, ≤ 12.5

  • Other metrics include Piglet Conversion, breed-back percentage, average wean-to-service intervals, and annual sow mortality rates.

TABLE 1.1: PERFORMANCE TARGETS (PIC FULL PROGRAM)

  • Definitions and example performance targets for nursery, grow-finish stages including average daily gain, feed conversion ratios, and mortality percentages.

SUMMARY OF PRODUCTION TARGETS

  • Farrowing Rate: > 92%

  • Litters/sow/year: ≥ 2.5

  • Average Total Born: ≥ 16

  • Average Live Births: ≥ 15

  • Average Weaned: ≥ 14

BREEDING AND GESTATION

  • Selection Criteria for breeding sows:

    • Rate of gain.

    • Conformation.

    • Number of functional teats, specifically:

    • Minimum of 2 rows of 7 teats on each mammary chain to ensure feeding of at least 10 piglets.

  • Gestation length averages 114 ± 2 days (3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days).

PIGLET PROCESSING

  • Iron Dextran Injections: 100-200 mg/piglet IM in the neck (do not exceed).

    • Importance of iron as sow milk is not a sufficient source; risk of anemia if not provided.

  • Key procedures include:

    • Tail docking: performed within the first week of life.

    • Tooth clipping: targeted four deciduous canine teeth before the piglet is more than 18 hours old.

    • Ear notching for identification.

    • Castration for male pigs conducted surgically before 14 days of age to prevent undesirable boar taint.

EAR NOTCHING SYSTEM

  • Assigned values for notching for litter and pig identification:

    • Right Ear: Litter Number

    • Left Ear: Pig Number

  • Example Calculations for ear notching:

    • Litter No. = 1 + 1 + 81 + 9 = 92

    • Pig No. = 1 + 3 + 3 + 9 = 14

SWINE VITAL SIGNS

  • Adult Swine:

    • Temperature: 100.4 – 102.2°F

    • Pulse Rate: 60 – 90 bpm

    • Respiration Rate: 10 - 20 breaths/min

  • Piglets:

    • Temperature: 102.2 – 104°F

    • Pulse Rate: 100 – 120 bpm

    • Respiration Rate: 24 - 36 breaths/min

BLOOD COLLECTION METHODS

  1. Jugular Collection:

    • Requires snaring; extend the head and insert the needle.

  2. Cranial Vena Cava Collection:

    • Sedation needed; insert spinal needle into specific anatomical locations.

  3. Tail Collection:

    • Similar to cows where blood is captured as it drips from the needle.

  4. Ear Collection:

    • Typically involves sedation; identify veins and obtain serum.

PRECAUTIONS WITH PURCHASED GILTS

  • Source from a single known health status.

  • Regular veterinary reports from the source herds.

  • Isolate incoming gilts for 6-8 weeks to mitigate disease risk.

ISOLATION UNIT PROTOCOL

  • Should be at least 400 meters from the main herd (ideally 5 km).

  • Operate on an All-In All-Out basis, avoiding contact with other pigs.

  • Regular health checks and proper veterinary interventions when needed.

GILT VACCINATION PROGRAMME

  • Immunization against:

    • Mycoplasma Pneumonia: For gilts transitioning into a positive herd.

    • Erysipelas: Initial dose upon arrival with boosters.

    • Parvovirus: Initial dose around >60 kg with booster prior to mating.

PARASITE CONTROL

  • Mange: Treat all gilts before entry into breeding herds.

  • Worms: Utilize broad-spectrum dewormers for incoming gilts.

KNOWLEDGE CHECK

  1. The average farrowing duration of 100 days gestation and typically yielding 9-10 piglets is below expected averages; both gestation time and litter size are points for evaluation.

  2. Venipuncture sites include jugular, cranial vena cava, ear, tail, etc.

  3. Commercial piglets are typically weaned around 3-4 weeks of age.

QUESTIONS?

  • Open up for inquiries regarding the material presented.