What medications are commonly used in pig farms?

If you want to invest in and operate a pig farm, preparing some essential commonly used pig-raising medications is a very important point that is often overlooked by novice farmers. By the time the pigs actually get sick or an epidemic breaks out, rushing to find a nearby veterinarian may delay the optimal time for diagnosis and treatment, leading to losses for the farm. The following are some commonly used medications in pig farms.

1. Medications commonly used during pig growth

(1) A pure Chinese herbal medicine that gets pigs to market quickly, rapidly promotes fattening, promotes growth, makes pigs grow fast, and improves feed utilization rate —— Fa Biao;

(2) For treating pig coughing, panting, and runny nose —— Fu Wang Jin Zun;

(3) Deworming medication, with a deworming rate of over 90 percent —— Bai Chong Jing;

(4) A broad-spectrum antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial medication usable in pregnant livestock —— ceftiofur sodium;

(5) A special-effect spray for swine foot-and-mouth disease, disease No. 5, mouth sores, and foot-and-mouth ulceration, forming scabs quickly within 2-4 hours after contact with no stress —— Kou Ti Su Zhi;

(6) Special-effect medication for yellow and white scours, diarrhea, and diarrhea in piglets and suckling piglets, effective with one injection —— Wan Li Jin Fang and Bai Li Jing;

(7) For preventing eperythrozoonosis, blood parasite disease, and toxoplasmosis in pigs —— Fu Gong Kang;

(8) A special injection for blood supplementation and iron supplementation in piglets and for the three-injection health care program —— Hong Tao 1+1;

(9) Makes piglets grow fast and strong —— Su Xiao Zeng Fei San;

(10) Prevents retained placenta, endometritis, ovaritis, and infertility in pregnant livestock —— Jing Gong Cu Yun Duo Tai Su;

(11) Weight gain before slaughter; feeding once before slaughter increases weight by 5-8 kg —— Chu Lan Zeng Zhong Wang.

2. Medications for common abnormal conditions

(1) Piglet white scours with rapid dehydration —— gentamicin and ciprofloxacin;

(2) Coughing, emaciation, and even death —— florfenicol;

(3) Morning and evening coughing that persists despite long treatment —— tilmicosin and tiamulin;

(4) Bleeding from pores plus jaundice, sows not eating and constipated —— sulfadiazine-trimethoprim and oxytetracycline;

(5) Streptococcosis in summer and autumn, with joint and brain symptoms and septicemia —— lincomycin;

(6) Pleuropneumonia; pleural blood vessels are too sparse, so the drug dosage must be increased —— cephalosporin plus kanamycin;

(7) Salmonella; the bacteria have too high drug resistance, so be alert when diarrhea and lameness occur —— aminoglycosides, with garlic as an auxiliary;

(8) Influenza that spreads when the weather changes in spring and autumn, with runny nose, tears, coughing, and fever —— cephalosporin and ribavirin

(9) Various virulent infectious diseases: swine fever, blue ear disease, pseudorabies, circovirus, and foot-and-mouth disease —— stay calm, detect early and resolve early, and never delay or misdiagnose.

3. Medications commonly used during the sow birthing process

(1) Dexamethasone sodium phosphate

This drug is used to treat inflammatory and allergic diseases, among others. The daily dosage for pigs is 4 mg to 12 mg. It was previously often used for synchronized farrowing in female livestock. In recent years, the misuse and excessive use of dexamethasone by farmers has been relatively common. For example, at a certain pig farm, because suckling and weaned piglets had elevated body temperature, each piglet was injected with 10 mg to 20 mg, or even given continuous medication. This not only failed to solve the fundamental problem of the disease, but also affected the piglets' survival rate and growth and development.

(2) Oxytocin injection

Oxytocin injection is mainly used for assisting and inducing labor in sows. At present, farmers mainly use this drug before farrowing (after the water breaks), during farrowing (after 2 piglets are born), and after farrowing, using it for every litter. There exists a situation in which labor assistance before farrowing evolves into delayed labor and dystocia. Large doses of oxytocin also promote premature lactation, which is out of harmony with the needs of suckling piglets, and may even cause lactation inhibition or agalactia syndrome. Therefore, attention should be paid to avoiding labor-inducing drugs when the farrowing sow has abnormal fetal position or a narrow birth canal. It is recommended to use oxytocin for sows with 3 or more litters, and to use this drug after farrowing to promote the expulsion of the placenta.

(3) Penicillin powder for injection

Penicillin powder for injection has two products on the market, penicillin potassium and penicillin sodium, and needs to be diluted with sterilized water for injection. Some farmers like to use traditional Chinese medicine (Chinese herbal medicine) injections for dilution, such as Ma Xing Shi Gan injection. When the temperature is relatively low, flocculent matter easily appears, making it unusable for injection. Some use lincomycin injection for dilution, producing turbidity, flocculent matter, or precipitate, seriously affecting drug efficacy. Some use sulfonamide drugs for dilution; because sulfonamide injections are strongly alkaline, mixing and injecting them with this product can destroy penicillin's antibacterial properties. Some farmers use aminopyrine, analgin, and the like to dilute this product for a long time, which can cause granulocytopenia in sows and affect the immune effect.

(4) Lincomycin injection

Lincomycin injection is clinically used to treat Gram-negative bacterial infections in livestock and poultry, especially infections caused by bacteria resistant to penicillin but sensitive to this product. It can also be used to prevent and treat swine dysentery caused by Brachyspira and swine enzootic pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma, among others. Some farmers give this injection orally to piglets, some inject suckling piglets, and some even inject pregnant sows, causing adverse consequences. Oral administration of lincomycin can cause fatal diarrhea and intestinal wall edema in horses, rabbits, and other herbivores. Injecting this product into pigs also causes painful stimulation.

(5) Tilmicosin injection

Many veterinary drug manufacturers currently produce tilmicosin injection. The content comes in two dosage forms, 20 percent and 30 percent, and most are compound drugs. It is mainly used to prevent and treat livestock pneumonia (caused by infections such as Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Pasteurella, and Mycoplasma), avian mycoplasmosis, and mastitis in lactating animals. Some farmers have used this product to treat sick livestock, causing death; some have injected this product together with aminophylline; and some have used this product plus dexamethasone to treat panting in piglets (pleural effusion), causing death. Tilmicosin injection mainly acts on the cardiovascular system and can cause tachycardia and weakened contractility. Local reactions (edema, etc.) may occur with intramuscular and subcutaneous injection, so attention should be paid to the method of use.

(6) Chloramphenicol class

Chloramphenicol in the chloramphenicol class has been banned in animal clinical practice. Currently on the market there are thiamphenicol premix, florfenicol premix, and florfenicol injection (available in three specifications: 10 percent, 20 percent, and 30 percent). Some farmers add high-concentration florfenicol premix to piglet feed. Some inject this product intramuscularly as soon as pigs have elevated body temperature and respiratory symptoms. Although florfenicol does not suppress bone marrow, it has embryotoxicity, is prohibited for pregnant sows, and has a certain immunosuppressive effect. According to relevant reports, the drug concentration of florfenicol injection is highest in the uterus, followed by the lungs and intestinal tract, so attention should be paid to compatible use.

Stocking commonly used medications on a farm does not require a particularly large quantity, so the investment is not large. In addition to being able to provide corresponding treatment at the first opportunity, the most important thing is that through preparing commonly used medications, one develops the habit of frequently observing whether corresponding symptoms occur. This is a necessary condition for a farmer's success.