The opinion of the bloggers do not necessarily reflect the opinion of PigProgress.net or Reed Business. Comments welcome.
Latest Blogs (171-180 of 249)
Curtains - quartiling the building
Motorised curtains are an increasingly popular way of
naturally-ventilating piggeries in hot climates - those that are not exposed to
strong winds in winter.
Lactating sows and heat stress
I believe it is now the right time to discuss ways to increase nutrient
intake in lactating sows under heat stress. With summer approaching quickly, and
a hot summer is predicted to be, changes and adjustments should start now to at
least alleviate the negative effects of heat stress on feed
intake.
Responsibility sharing / cost sharing - the future of animal health in Europe?
There are active consultations going on in the UK on responsibility
sharing, between the livestock industry and government - and the inevitable cost
sharing. It is part of an EU Animal Health Strategy initiative but what is
happening in other European countries?
The vitamin C question
This is a quite old question, which has yet to receive a definitive
answer! Despite the fact that pigs, like most animals (excluding humans,
primates, and guinea pigs), can readily synthesise enough vitamin C to cover
their requirements, many manufactured diets and premixes contain large
concentrations of this vitamin. Let's explore this issue a bit
further…
Health and productivity - 'Disease control is king'
'Disease control is king' and 'Pigs are precious' were two of the remarks
made by John Dean, professor at Minnesota State University at a recent
conference in Rovereto, N. Italy. Analysis of the major components of production
profitability variation were the CDL group (culls, deads and lightweights) which
accounted for 55%, followed by feed conversion efficiency (FCE) at 28% and
finally average daily (ADG) gain, 17%.
Enough Colostral Energy?
I continue my aim during the present feed price crisis of only writing about
actions you can take which do not involve any additional expense at all - apart
from more attention to detail. One such is in the area of
colostrum.
Making Weaners Eat
Not an easy task, sometimes even impossible.
Pigs weaned without substantial pre-weaning feeding experience are almost
invariably suffering from depressed feed intake post-weaning. And, this is a
problem. The less weaned pigs eat the first week post-weaning, the less
efficient they are throughout the growing finishing period. Plus, or rather
minus (!), their health is in great danger during this transition period when
stomachs remain empty. So, what can be done? Here's a short list that may be of
some help. Not all recommendations work simultaneously in all farms, but at
least one of them should be working in most cases.
Controlling high levels of PRDC mortality with PCV2 vaccines
On a recent visit to Korea, where the average number of pigs
finished/sow/year is about 13 and the mortality is caused primarily by the
porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC), I was asked if the new PCV2 vaccines
would solve the problem?
Autumn infertility
Outdoor sows are very much at the mercy of increasing and decreasing
seasonal light patterns. Their hormone system cannot be fooled by controlled
indoor lighting to get breeding 24/7. Still, autumn fertility can be
resolved.
Acid questions
Organic acids are without doubt the most commonly used replacements for
antimicrobial growth promoters. As organic acids are quite expensive, questions
regarding their correct use never cease to come up in conversations. Here I
describe some common recent issues.
