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Getting that just-weaned piglet to eat
Getting the newly-weaned piglets to eat enough immediately after weaning
can be a real problem. On every nursery I tour I look for the following. I see
from my notes that in the last 20 farms visited the following practices tended
not to be done.
There have been some memorable 'wise sayings' in the past. For instance, Prof
Colin Whittemore's 'acceleration and cruising' zones of protein growth,
or Dr Peter English's 'Farm for the smallest pig in the
litter'.
And that great pig farm manager, Howard Hill, 'Don't mix
those damned pigs!' And now a another one - Dr Mike Varley's recent
'Day one post-weaning is the longest day in the pig's life'. You
can probably think of several more.
Getting the newly-weaned piglets to
eat enough immediately after weaning can be a real problem. I have found that
the difference between this being done well and only typically is another 2 kg
heavier out of the nursery and some 22 kg more lean meat sold per tonne of feed
at 105 kg live.
On every nursery I tour I look for the following. I see
from my notes that in the last 20 farms visited the following practices tended
not to be done.
Hygiene
Newly-weaned pigs especially will eat
less if the surroundings are dirty! Four nurseries were clean enough but he the
upper walls and ceilings were not. Largely because they were old and decrepit or
through pressure of workload.
Temperature
Eight nurseries were
too hot at one week from entry date. Establish what the lower critical
temperature is for the pigs (it will vary on most farms and you need specialised
advice) and lower it by 1 to 2ËšC for a few days after weaning. They will be
keener to eat. Then you can resume the textbook
levels.
Lighting
Just like ourselves pigs sleep more soundly in
the dark. Try leaving the lights on all the time for the first 24 hours. This
encourages the submissives to visit the trough when the dominants are asleep.
There is a feeling of 'group safety' in the dark. None of the farmers did
this.
'Flat-matting'
This is the technique of giving just a few
pellets on a flat mat with 1 cm high flanged sides. These are replaced /added
to/ kept clean often - about four times a day. Six nurseries did this, but only
two sufficiently often. Remember - little and often. The mat is placed near a
feeder and should be well-lit.
Water
Two drinkers per pen are
essential, never just one, and set at the right height by using an adjustable
drinker. The right height for a nipple drinker is to get the pig's head inclined
at a 15Ëš angle upwards from the its backline.
Creep feeding prior to
weaning
The right formula - especially the right ingredients - offered
skillfully from four to seven days after being born gets the piglets accustomed
to solid food, especially those which are smaller or more
timid.
Mixing
As you know, great skill is needed to get the
groups settled and eating quickly. Try spraying the groups with a
lavatory-freshener aerosol as soon as they are mixed. Nobody did this. Not a
cure-all against fighting,.but it does seem to settle them
faster.
Pellet hardness
I discovered this in my feed
manufacturing days when the compounder I worked for had a spell of supplying
dusty pellets. The mill's response was to supply some rock-hard replacement
batches. That wasn't the answer either and eventually they managed to make a
tough pellet of the right softish consistency. Ideally, I could just crush the
pellet from really strong, slightly lateral pressure between thumb and index
finger. I do this test on every nursery I visit. The pellets need to be durable
and soft for newly-weans.
Moist-to-liquid starter meals
Yes,
this does increase first to second day intake considerably but there is a huge
cleanliness risk and the skills needed to keep the receptacles spotless at all
times are often lacking, otherwise scouring appears. This gives the concept and
the feed used a bad name.
To finish on a positive note - overstocking is
not a problem immediately post-weaning, but from two to three weeks onwards is
commonplace.
Ventilation is much better these days as producers have
spent money on this stage of the pigs life - but the older nurseries are still a
real problem.
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