What to Do If a Sow Has No Milk After Farrowing? 5 Methods to Promote Milk Let-Down

SummaryA sow that has no milk after farrowing needs to have milk let-down promoted promptly. The methods include: washing the afterbirth from the sow after farrowing, boiling it, chopping it up and mixing it with salt and feed, then feeding it in three portions; you can also give the sow vitamin E, putting in about 20 capsules per day mixed into the feed, once a day, and results will be seen after three consecutive days; for a first-time sow, you can use the method of massaging the udder, or you can soak dried kelp until it expands, mix it with cooking oil and boil it into a soup to feed her, or mix Leonurus japonicus powder into the feed and feed it, and so on.

What Causes a Sow to Have No Milk After Farrowing

There are many reasons a sow has no milk after farrowing, such as feed nutrition not being comprehensive enough, the amount fed being insufficient, a replacement sow being mated before her physiological functions have developed properly, and endocrine disorders caused by disease in the sow. If a sow has no milk, milk let-down must be promoted promptly to prevent the piglets from starving to death and affecting economic returns.

Methods to Promote Milk Let-Down

1. Do not throw away the afterbirth after the sow farrows. You can clean the sow's afterbirth thoroughly, put it in a pot and boil it, then chop it up, add a small amount of salt and feed, and feed it in three portions. This method is very effective at promoting milk let-down, but many people throw it away after the sow farrows.

2. You can give the sow vitamin E. Each vitamin E capsule contains 50 mg of vitamin E acetate. About 20 capsules can be put into the sow's feed each day, mixed into the feed for feeding, once a day, and results will appear after about 3 consecutive days of feeding.

3. For a first-time sow, the massage method of promoting milk let-down can be used. Massage her udder twice each morning and evening, for about 20 minutes each time. Massage can stimulate the sow to secrete progesterone and produce milk. If there is a blockage at the sow's teats, you can squeeze the teats appropriately, which helps discharge the blockage from the sow's teats, promotes lactation in the sow and achieves the effect of promoting milk let-down.

4. Buy 250 grams of dried kelp at the supermarket. First soak the kelp until it expands, then chop it up, pour in 100 grams of cooking oil and boil it into a soup for feeding; this also has a milk let-down effect.

5. Mix Leonurus japonicus powder into the feed and feed it to the sow. Preparation method: mix every 500 grams of Leonurus japonicus with 1000 jin of feed; adding an appropriate amount of cooking oil is even more beneficial for promoting milk let-down. The nutrients in the powdered Leonurus japonicus include Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Astragalus membranaceus and Leonurus japonicus, among others. The Astragalus membranaceus and others can improve the sow's immunity, soy isoflavones regulate the sow's progesterone secretion, and anti-inflammatory components such as Gynostemma pentaphyllum can reduce or eliminate inflammation caused by postpartum weakness in the sow. Leonurus japonicus is a mixed traditional Chinese medicine additive suitable for feeding sows throughout the whole process, and it helps improve the sow's feed intake, embryo implantation, increase the farrowing rate, enhance the sow's lactation capacity and improve milk quality, eliminate sow inflammation, and support the sow's estrus and mating, and so on.