How to Raise Pregnant Sows? Detailed Explanation of Daily Feeding and Management Techniques
Sows are the top priority on a pig farm. How well sows are raised directly affects the profitability of the farm. What we pig farmers need to do is give sows the best possible management so they grow healthily, produce more piglets, and reduce the farm's production costs.
1. First, you should determine as early as possible whether a sow is pregnant after mating, the earlier the better. If she is pregnant, care for her strictly as a pregnant sow; if not pregnant, analyze the reasons promptly. Check for estrus 18-23 days or 34-44 days after mating. If there is no estrus and no other abnormalities, it indicates pregnancy. Pregnancy can also be confirmed by B-ultrasound testing, with a relatively high accuracy rate of 95%.
In addition, experienced observation methods can be used to predict early whether a sow is pregnant. Pregnant sows are generally tired, sleepy, eat more, docile, slow-moving, and have glossy hair and skin. They gain weight quickly, and the vulva curves upward. If there is no return to estrus around 21 days after mating, pregnancy is confirmed. Another method: 3-4 days after mating, squeeze the sow's last teat with your hand; if you feel a relatively hard milk duct, it indicates pregnancy. Early pregnancy test strips are also a good method; collect 5ml of morning urine and test according to the instructions. Finger pressure method: 4 days after mating, press with the thumb and index finger along the dorsal midline at the 9th-2nd thoracic vertebrae; if a depression appears, she is not pregnant; if there is no depression, or there is a bulge, she is very likely pregnant.
2. After mating, move the sow to a gestation stall to reduce activity and prevent fighting behavior in group housing from affecting the sow's fetus. Within 1 month of pregnancy, do not move the group, do not vaccinate, and reduce stress. Days 8-16 after mating are the critical period for embryo implantation, so management should be strengthened, movement reduced, and feeding tailored to the individual. In the later stage, use large pen housing to increase exercise, avoid weak labor during farrowing, and also extend the sow's useful lifespan.
3. Feeding of pregnant sows.
First, switch to gestation feed immediately after mating. You can mix it yourself or buy it directly. If mixing it yourself, you must strictly control the quality of feed ingredients. Early gestation: from mating to 30 days of pregnancy, if the sow eats too much, it can easily lead to embryo death. During this period, the feeding amount should be controlled at 1.9-2.3 kg. Especially within 7 days after mating, the daily feeding amount should not exceed 1.5 kg. Mid-gestation: the main focus should be on body condition management of the sow, adjusting her body condition. Those that are too fat should have their feeding amount appropriately reduced, and those that are too thin should have their feeding amount appropriately increased, with the average feed intake controlled at 1.8-2.3 kg. Late gestation: the mammary gland development period, for full mammary gland development, 1.9-3.0 kg. Pregnant sows generally start switching to lactation feed 85 days after mating, with a feed intake of about 3 kg. Late gestation: continue to increase feeding. During this stage, fetal weight increases rapidly; 70% of the piglet's birth weight is achieved in the month before farrowing. On the basis of the original feeding amount, increase it further to 3.0-3.5 kg. 5-7 days before farrowing, appropriately reduce feed intake to reduce postpartum constipation, mastitis, and postpartum agalactia. Do not feed on the day of farrowing; only from the second day after farrowing should the sow's feed intake be slowly increased until normal intake is reached.
4. Prevention of constipation in pregnant sows: Pregnant sows are very prone to constipation, which can reach 50%. Add crude fiber to the feed and baking soda to the drinking water. For mild constipation, appropriately increasing drinking water, adding baking soda to the water, and increasing exercise can solve it. If constipation is severe, use glycerin suppositories, vegetable oil enemas, etc.
5. Feed and drinking water: Sows generally should not have their feed changed easily, and must never be fed moldy or spoiled feed. This should especially be avoided during the pregnant sow stage. Ensure adequate drinking water from the drinker; through flow control, reach 2 liters per minute, keep water temperature at 16-20°C, and keep the pig house temperature at 16-20°C. Pregnant sows have relatively strict temperature requirements.
6. Medication contraindications: This point is very important. Strictly follow the instructions for use. Do not use anything prohibited for pregnant animals, such as dexamethasone, streptomycin, etc. Antipyretic drugs should be used according to dosage and must not be arbitrarily increased.
7. Immunization during pregnancy: Poor immunization procedures commonly lead to weak piglets, stillborn piglets, and poor health of newborn piglets. To ensure piglets have sufficient maternal antibodies, general vaccines can be used during pregnancy, such as: swine fever, pseudorabies, foot-and-mouth disease, Japanese encephalitis, etc., but the immunization time should avoid the two periods of 1 month after mating and one week before farrowing. Also, inject gently to reduce stress and prevent mechanical abortion.
8. Health care during pregnancy: If the pregnant sow has no abnormalities, minimize medication as much as possible, and control sow health through nutrition and environmental management as much as possible. For pig farms with many sow inflammations, incomplete postpartum lochia, sow diarrhea, piglet diarrhea, and other relatively serious problems, add lincomycin or amoxicillin to the feed for one week before farrowing for one week of health care.
9. Deworming: Sows should be dewormed once two weeks before farrowing, which can avoid mother-to-offspring transmission and reduce the incidence of coccidiosis in newborn piglets. At the same time, it can also relieve the immunosuppression caused by coccidiosis. If coccidiosis is relatively severe, a drug called Baiqiuqing can be used, which is quite effective. In addition, mixing ivermectin into the feed for one week is good for removing coccidia but ineffective against other parasites, and should also be combined with albendazole, etc. After deworming, be sure to clean the pig house to prevent reinfection.
10. Cleaning and moving onto the farrowing bed: Generally, 7 days before farrowing, pregnant sows should be moved into a disinfected farrowing room to adapt to the farrowing room environment. But before entering the farrowing room, they should be spray-disinfected and brushed all over. Usually, the cleanliness and hygiene of the pen and the pig's body should also be ensured.
11. Another point requiring special attention: whether in gestation stalls or large pen housing, be sure to pay attention to anti-slip flooring. A sow slipping and falling is very harmful to the fetus.