Pigs huddling together with diarrhea, eating a lot but growing slowly — most likely they've caught a chill
Recently, cold air has swept across the country, temperatures have plummeted, and the temperature difference between morning and evening is large. Many professional pig farmers report that their pigs have recently been huddling together, with frequent diarrhea, eating a lot but just not putting on weight. Here we want to remind all pig-farming friends: if your pig herd shows these signs, it is very likely that they have “caught a chill and come down with a cold”.
Sign one: The pig herd huddles together, squeezing against one another
A person going in does not feel cold, but in the huge pigpen, the pigs all squeeze into one corner, shivering, crowding and huddling together to seek warmth. This sign is obvious and easy to judge; however, by the time you notice it, it is already a bit “late”, because the pigs have already been under cold stress for a long time. This is especially true for piglets squeezed together: they are not even eager to suckle, their disease resistance drops, and they are prone to getting sick or dying.
Measure: Check the pig house
Next we should carefully check our pig house. Especially at night, be sure to close up any leaking spots, then see whether the pig pens need repairing, and patch up any broken areas to prevent the piglets from catching a chill at night.
Sign two: The pigs' hair is all “bristling”
In winter, when a person's skin is cold, goosebumps easily appear. Although pigs cannot get goosebumps, their skin blood vessels also contract, and the hair stands up rather than lying smooth, feeling somewhat “prickly”. Catching a chill also speeds up hair growth. A careful keeper will observe this sign and take warming measures early to prevent cold stress from worsening further.
Measure: Rice seedling beds
When we find that our piglets have caught a chill at night, we can try placing some dried rice seedlings, left after we harvest the rice, under our piglets' bellies. Put them in the spot in the pigpen where the piglets usually sleep to warm them.
Sign three: Eating a lot but drinking little
Most people know that eating little in winter makes you feel very cold, and pigs are no exception. The cold makes pigs instinctively eat more feed and drink less water, to make up for the weight deficit caused by the body fat and muscle metabolism generating heat at low temperatures. But this is not a good thing: if you find that the pigs only eat feed and hardly gain any weight, then they may have caught a chill.
Sign four: Other unusual behaviors in the pig herd
When pigs are healthy, they care about cleanliness and will excrete in a fixed area. If a large pigpen is especially dirty, it may be that the temperature difference is too great and the pigs' living habits have been disrupted. If one or two pigs “go their own way”, do not fit in with the group, and show listlessness, fever, lethargy and other signs, this may also be caused by cold stress.
Measure: With the development of the times, many scientific products are also used in our agriculture, and nighttime lighting and heating lamps are one of them. When the autumn and winter seasons come, we can use them to prevent our piglets' bellies from catching a chill.
Measure: Keep the pig house dry and clean
Next, keep the pig house dry and clean inside the pigpen, and manage the feeding area and the sleeping area separately each time. In this way, the pig house can be effectively kept clean and dry, and this can also prevent our piglets' bellies from catching a chill at night.
Sign five: Increased diarrhea disease in pigs
Every year, winter is a period of high incidence of diarrhea disease in pigs. The ground is damp, temperatures plummet, and because piglets' body temperature regulation function is not fully developed, they are more afraid of cold and dampness than adult pigs, are more prone to cold stress, and develop diarrhea, especially piglets 3~7 days old. If diarrhea occurs, then consider whether the piglets have “caught a chill”.
Measure: Keep the pen clean and strengthen vaccination. According to the local epidemic situation, do a good job of preventive vaccination.
Sign six: Frequent colds in pigs
People catch colds easily when they catch a chill, and so do pigs. In the cold season, colds are prevalent, with rapid onset, but also rapid recovery, spreading widely but with a low mortality rate. If adult pigs are kept in the cold for a long time and you find coughing, difficulty breathing, fever, listlessness and other conditions, then pay attention to whether they have a “cold”.