How to Raise Nursery Piglets? A Full Breakdown of Feeding and Management Key Points
(1) Restricted feeding in the early stage The feeding frequency, feed intake and feeding behavior of piglets all affect the acidity in their digestive tract. The rise in pH in the digestive tract after piglets eat is related to feed intake. Feeding piglets more meals can reduce the need for acid in the digestive tract, so that the pH value does not rise substantially. In the first 1 to 2 days after separation from the sow, piglets refuse to eat, which leads to heavy feeding afterward, disrupting small intestinal function and the digestion and absorption process, and in severe cases causing sudden diarrhea and acute death. Therefore, in the first few days after weaning, piglet feed intake should be controlled to no more than 25 grams per kilogram of body weight, and they should be fed more than 6 times per day in the first week to avoid too much feed fermenting in the large intestine, producing harmful substances and causing diarrhea in piglets.
(2) Increasing the feeding amount Early-weaned piglets weigh about 6.5 kilograms (weaned at 21 days) and need 110 grams of feed per day just to maintain their weight at weaning. If a daily gain of 250 grams after weaning is desired, then 230 grams of feed is needed, plus 110 grams for maintenance, for a total of 340 grams of feed per day. To maintain the growth rate after weaning and increase the piglet's growth rate over its whole life, feed with high digestibility must be provided, and it is best to keep the feed unchanged after weaning to reduce weaning stress. Methods to increase feeding include: research in the United States found that using the mat feeding method can greatly increase feed intake in the first week after weaning, because this method stimulates the piglets' excited group feeding behavior. The specific method is to scatter a small amount of feed on a mat on the ground within 3 days after weaning, 3 times a day, each time ensuring the piglets finish it within 30 minutes. Measurements showed that the daily gain of piglets fed on mats in the first 3 days after weaning was more than double that of the control group.
⟦NL> (3) Control of ambient temperature and humidity Early-weaned piglets are very sensitive to temperature and humidity requirements. Weaning stress usually leads to reduced intake and body fat loss in the first few days after weaning. The suitable barn temperature at weaning should be increased by 3-4°C, that is, the ambient temperature for piglets weaned at 3 to 4 weeks of age is about 30°C. A temperature difference greater than 3°C within the barn can cause diarrhea and slow growth in piglets. Generally, the temperature at human eye height may be 3°C higher than the temperature where the piglets lie down.
(4) Vaccine injection Various vaccine injections should be carried out in the 2nd week after transfer, with various vaccines injected separately at staggered times, and deworming carried out in the last week. It is best to design a water tank in the nursery barn, connected to the water pipe, so that vitamins and drugs can be added as needed to prevent various diseases.
(5) Strict disinfection Before pigs are moved into the pen, the pen, tools and floor must be cleaned and soaked. Then, use a high-pressure water gun to rinse the floor. After the farrowing bed, feed trough, etc. are dry, thoroughly disinfect them 2 times with disinfectant. If disinfecting with pigs present, choose a broad-spectrum, low-irritation, highly effective disinfectant. For injection needles, strictly implement one needle per pig, and never use needles without disinfection.
(6) Timely culling of inferior pigs Inferior pigs grow slowly and consume more feed. Most are virus-carrying pigs that continuously shed virus to the surroundings and become a new source of infection. Therefore, timely culling of inferior pigs saves feeding costs, reduces medicine expenses, concentrates effort on the healthy pig herd, and improves benefits.