Five fears of winter pig farming, farmers should take precautions in advance

In winter, the temperature drops sharply, which easily leads to reduced immunity in pigs, weakened disease resistance, and susceptibility to various diseases. In this season, the most critical technical measures should be cold resistance and warmth preservation, improving pig immunity, and enhancing disease resistance.

First: fear of cold; the suitable growth temperature for newborn pigs is 32°C~35°C, and for medium and large pigs 15°C~25°C. Low temperature has a relatively serious impact on pig growth and weight gain. When the pig house temperature is below the lower limit of the suitable temperature, for every 1°C decrease, the daily weight gain decreases by 17.8 grams; if the house temperature drops below 4°C, the weight gain rate decreases significantly, and feed consumption increases noticeably. Therefore, in winter, pig houses should strengthen warmth preservation, reduce the metabolic consumption of the pig body, and improve feeding efficiency.

Second: fear of dampness; when the environmental temperature inside the house is relatively low, high relative humidity will affect pig production performance, especially causing greater harm to piglets. In winter, piglets in pig houses with high relative humidity have an average weight gain about 48% lower than the control group, and are prone to diseases such as dysentery and enteritis. The suitable growth humidity for pigs is 50%~80%. Inside the house, measures such as ventilation, increased lighting, and laying warming bedding for heat can be used to prevent dampness inside the house and keep it dry.

Third: fear of wind; in severe winter, pigs are most afraid of "cross-ventilation drafts" and "sneak drafts", which not only lower the house temperature, but more easily cause diseases such as colds, stroke, and rheumatism in pigs. In winter, pig houses must hang cotton curtains, plug wind holes, and close doors and windows tightly to prevent cold wind from blowing directly into the pig house and affecting the normal development of pigs.

Fourth: fear of coldness; in winter, the temperature of drinking water and feed for pigs is closely related to pig development and healthy growth. When water temperature and feed temperature are too low, raising the water and feed temperature to the body temperature level of 39°C means the pig body must consume a large amount of heat energy, and about 0.5~0.75 kg of concentrate feed is wasted every day just to maintain body temperature. Therefore, in winter feeding, it is best to feed warm feed and warm water, with the water temperature kept at around 37°C.

Fifth: fear of disease; if in winter the pig house has low temperature, high humidity, poor sanitation, and poor ventilation, pigs are prone to disease. Therefore, feeding management must be strengthened, keeping the pens ventilated, clean, and dry, regularly disinfecting the pens, and preferably regularly adopting appropriate disinfection methods for disinfection. At the same time, observe appearance, observe spirit, observe feeding, observe feces and urine, and observe breathing. If pigs are sick, they should be diagnosed promptly and isolated and treated as early as possible.