Is there any medication to treat a sow biting her piglets?

After a sow finishes farrowing, she may develop the problem of biting her piglets and refusing to let them nurse, and there are many reasons for this situation. What are the reasons a sow bites her piglets? How can it be prevented and treated?

1. Reasons a sow bites her piglets

1. First-time sows have no nursing experience; after farrowing, they become nervous and fearful of the piglets suckling, or cannot stand the piglets pestering them, and bite the piglets in order to refuse them.

2. If a sow is moved to a new environment when farrowing, she will be tense and unable to adapt, and will show this behavior.

3. When a sow has plenty of milk, her udder becomes engorged every 1 hour, and lying down naturally to nurse makes her feel comfortable; if the sow has no milk, the piglets pester her and gnaw at her teats, which makes the sow irritable and causes her to bite them.

4. Because the sow gets an infection after farrowing, her body temperature rises and her milk production decreases; at this time she develops an aversion to the piglets suckling.

5. If the sow's teats are injured or she has mastitis, the pain when the piglets nurse makes her bite the piglets; if the piglets fight over teats, or an individual piglet's canine teeth are misaligned, too sharp or too long and hurt the sow's teats, the sow becomes irritated and bites the piglets in order to refuse nursing.

6. A sow eating the placenta after giving birth may also lead to piglet-biting behavior.

2. How to prevent and treat a sow biting her piglets

1. For an inexperienced sow, the keeper should stand watch beside the sow and patiently train her; when the sow lies down, scratch her belly and watch the piglets so they do not fight over teats, keeping the sow calm. As long as the piglets can nurse a few times, the problem will be mostly solved.

2. For first-time sows, it is best to massage their udders regularly in late pregnancy, so that when the piglets later contact the teats the sow will not become excited and restless, and she will be able to nurse smoothly after farrowing. If she truly will not let the piglets nurse, take forced measures when necessary: tie the sow up, and after a few times she will get used to it.

3. For a sow that does not adapt well to a new environment, move her to the new pig house a few days early so she has a process of adaptation; once her mood is stable, she will improve.

4. Besides soothing her, medication can also be used. Inject chlorpromazine hydrochloride into the neck muscle to calm the sow, using 2-3 mg per kilogram of the sow's body weight.

5. For a sow with poor nutrition and relatively little milk, strengthen her nutrition and begin increasing her feed amount three days after farrowing.

6. If it is a postpartum infection, reduce inflammation promptly; inject anti-inflammatory fluid intravenously, and at the same time add 0.5% Odeman A to the feed to raise the sow's body lysozyme level, improve the body's disease resistance, and reduce the occurrence of postpartum inflammation.

7. If the sow's teats are found to be injured or she has mastitis, treat it promptly: penicillin plus streptomycin plus Houttuynia cordata can be injected between the teats; for the piglets' tooth problem, use scissors to cut the sharp canine teeth flat.

8. After assisting with the birth, promptly clear the placenta out of the pig pen.

Generally speaking, first-time sows are prone to biting their piglets, and they will improve once they have adapted.