Give all the piglets the same opportunity:
Secure colostrum-intake for all
Combine different interventions
Iron supplementation from day 3 or later
Preventative pain treatment = not only for male piglets
Apply pain-relieving/ anti-inflammatory medication with a broad spectrum of activity for docked tails or arthritis
Sucking pigs have an irrepressible desire to live. However, painful events may have a negative impact on the further development of pigs by:
Lowering milk-intake
Restricting self-preservation instinct (reflex to flee)
Early and excessive iron supplementation can negatively influence health
Piglets are born with minimal iron-reserves (40 mg). This low iron concentration is a natural defence mechanism directed at combatting bacterial infections during and after birth.
Sow milk provides piglets with about 1 mg Iron/day. With a daily need of about 7 mg there is only sufficient iron for about 4 to 5 days.
Systematics in sucking pig management:
Checklist for a good start
1. Number of functional teats checked and recorded
2. A number of pigs, to leave two fewer piglets than the number of functional teats, are fostered out of a litter
“Our recent work demonstrated the presence of the PCV-3 genome within mild-to moderate histological lesions of aborted fetuses.
MEXICO - Innovative swine health solutions to improve pig health and optimize pig production will be the key focus of the Boehringer Ingelheim IPVS Symposium 2014.
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