Key Technical Points for Cooling Pigs and Disinfecting Pig Farms in Hot Seasons
In summer heat, bacteria also breed easily, and for pig farmers at large, doing a good job of disinfection and cooling is very important.So how do you cool pigs in summer? What disinfection techniques are there for pig farms?
1. Among livestock, pigs have the poorest body temperature regulation ability; when the air temperature rises to 30-32°C, a pig's rectal temperature begins to rise. When the air temperature rises to 35°C with relative humidity above 65%, if it lasts for an extended period, pigs cannot tolerate it. When rectal temperature rises to 40°C, it is already close to the dangerous limit. Because pigs have thick subcutaneous fat and extremely underdeveloped sweat glands, a large amount of body heat cannot be dissipated. When the air temperature rises close to body temperature, the pig's body cannot adapt, the cardiovascular system is overloaded, and failure and coma may even occur, ultimately leading to death from extreme heat; in addition, high temperatures cause disorders in the body's metabolic processes and endocrine function, producing a series of adverse reactions: poor appetite, a sharp drop in feed intake, leading to insufficient nutrient intake, a sharp decline in the pig's physical condition, stopped weight gain or weight loss, thereby affecting production efficiency. To safely get through the hot season and ensure normal pig production, several simple methods for cooling pigs are introduced below, suitable for small-scale farms.
1. Homemade spray pipe. Use a soft plastic water pipe 2-3 cm in diameter, running from one end above the pig pens of the pig house through to the other end of the pig house, supported and fixed in the middle with wire and iron frames. Small holes can be pierced all over the pipe wall with a thick injection needle, and the pipe is connected to a pressurized tap water faucet. In the hot season, turn it on once every 3 hours for 30 minutes each time; fine water streams spray out evenly to form a mist, slightly moistening the pigs' bodies, the floor and the air in the pens, slowly lowering the temperature. With continued use, you will see the pigs' bodies clean and shiny, the floor clean, and little dust in the air; after spraying, the pigs have a strong appetite and can lie down quietly to rest during the hottest time at noon.
2. Homemade drip device: suitable for sow gestation stall barns.
Use a rigid plastic pipe 2—3 cm in diameter running above the sows' heads and necks through the entire pig house, with small holes pierced in the pipe wall only above each sow's head and neck area. Connect the plastic pipe to a faucet; the water dripping from the drip opening falls on the sow's neck and shoulders. The drip opening must be close to the sow, but the sow cannot reach the plastic pipe by raising its head and biting it, and the dripping water must not splash onto the nursing piglets.
3. Connect a plastic pipe to a tap water faucet to shower the pigs directly.
2. Disinfection and elimination of sources in the hot season is an important epidemic prevention measure for killing pathogenic microorganisms and preventing the invasion and spread of animal diseases, and it is an important link that cannot be ignored in current pig production. The hot and humid summer season is a period of frequent infectious diseases in pigs; to prevent the occurrence of infectious diseases, disinfection and source elimination work must be done well. The scope and methods of disinfection on pig farms are as follows:
1. Pig farm disinfection: Set up disinfection pools at the entrances of the pig farm and pig houses, put disinfectant solution in them, and disinfect vehicles and outside personnel entering the pig farm and pig houses. The disinfectant solution in the disinfection pool must be replaced regularly to ensure the disinfection effect.
2. Pig house disinfection: First spray the floor with disinfectant solution, then thoroughly clean up; the removed waste is treated as manure disinfection, then use disinfectant solution to evenly spray the ceiling, walls, pens, doors and windows, feed troughs, floor, tools and the floor at the entrance.
3. Equipment disinfection: Drinking waterers and feed troughs should be scrubbed frequently with clean water, and scrubbed once a week with disinfectant solution. Pig body disinfection can prevent respiratory system diseases in pigs and kill microorganisms floating in the air of the pig house. During an outbreak, spray the pigs' bodies with medication twice a day.
4. Exercise yard disinfection: The exercise yard should be cleaned frequently, manure removed, washed regularly, and sprayed with disinfectant solution.
5. Manure disinfection: Manure is piled up centrally for fermentation disinfection. There are two methods: the fermentation pit method and the manure pile method. In the fermentation pit method, the manure, bedding straw and other waste removed each day are poured in, and the pile should be loose; when full, spread a layer of manure or dry grass from healthy pigs, then cover with a layer of soil to seal it, and after one month of fermentation it can be used as fertilizer. In the manure pile method, dig 20 cm to 30 cm deep at the place where manure is piled, first put a layer of dry manure or weeds; for thin manure add more bedding straw or weeds, then smear a layer of mud over the entire manure pile, and after one month of fermentation the purpose of disinfection can be achieved.
6. Rearing personnel disinfection: Rearing workers must change clothes when on duty, and enter the site only after ultraviolet disinfection in the disinfection room. Hands have many opportunities to contact pigs and are a major medium of disease transmission, so hands should be washed frequently with disinfectant solution.