What are the causes of diarrhea in piglets and what prevention and treatment methods exist?
Piglet diarrhea is one of the things pig farmers worry about most, because newborn piglets are too fragile; once diarrhea appears they die very easily, and it tends to occur in batches. Below is an introduction to the causes of piglet diarrhea and its prevention and treatment methods!
Cause one: improper management
Improper feeding very easily leads to diarrhea in piglets. For example, in the early stage the sow's milk supply is insufficient, while the food provided seriously fails to meet the piglets' nutritional needs; or the food provided in the early stage contains too much water, and the piglets' digestive capacity is not sufficient, causing indigestion and ultimately diarrhea. Sometimes a rapid temperature change that disrupts the piglets' body temperature balance can also cause it.
Prevention and treatment methods: The impact caused by this situation is relatively minor, and it can be quickly adjusted back by human intervention; simply adjust according to the disease condition. For example, you can give the piglets physiological saline or oxytetracycline for treatment.
Cause two: viral diarrhea
This type of diarrhea is mostly caused by infectious viruses. Viruses such as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and transmissible gastroenteritis virus are among the most common pathogens. After onset, the piglets as a whole are listless, the frequency of excretion rises extremely rapidly, and what is excreted is all water, which ultimately leads to dehydration in the piglets. This type of disease is highly contagious, so it must be taken extremely seriously.
Prevention and treatment methods: First isolate the affected piglets, then disinfect the pens where the disease has appeared; lime water or povidone-iodine can be used for disinfection. Those in the same pen that have not fallen ill should be vaccinated, and emergency immunization such as the triple vaccine against gastric, epidemic and rotavirus can be injected, depending on the disease. Affected pigs can be treated with interferon together with enrofloxacin. Those showing dehydration symptoms need oral rehydration to prevent casualties.
Cause three: bacterial dysentery diarrhea
Bacterial diarrhea is mostly caused by dysentery-type bacteria and mostly occurs in piglets that have just been born not long ago. The symptoms are relatively obvious: the excreted feces have a foul odor and contain bloody matter, the color of the pig's rear and hind legs changes, and the piglets look completely listless and are not active in eating. In severe cases, the tail area will slowly bleed, or the piglet will die directly.
Prevention and treatment methods: In the early stage, do a good job of temperature control and hygiene and disinfection. Vaccines that should be given are best injected in time. Clean up the feces in the pig pens promptly to remove the source of infection. Isolate affected pigs first, then use injections together with oral medication. Gentamicin is recommended for injection, and for oral use you can use lichunjing (dysentery bacteria net).
The above is Tuliu Net's introduction to the causes of piglet diarrhea and its prevention and treatment methods. Besides the above causes, parasites can also cause diarrhea in piglets, so the disease should be identified promptly and treated according to the symptoms, paying attention to the medication and dosage.