Glucose is a miracle drug for pig farmers, but do rural pig farmers really know how to use it?
Old Zhang has been working as a clinical veterinarian for more than 40 years, and his work over these years has given him his own unique views on the use of veterinary drugs, one of which is glucose powder. Old Zhang says glucose powder definitely counts as a miracle tool for veterinarians, as it can be used for any disease and always produces good results. Old Zhang helped me summarize the applications of glucose powder in clinical pig farming:
>> Usage 1: Detoxification
Most rural pig farmers know this usage. When a pig herd suffers from mycotoxin poisoning, pig farmers can add a large dose of glucose powder to the feed or drinking water (add 20 kg per 1 ton of feed) to relieve the symptoms of mycotoxin poisoning.
>> Usage 2: Energy supplementation
1. Used to treat piglet diarrhea
After piglets develop diarrhea, their digestive function is impaired, so they cannot obtain nutrients from feed and gradually become emaciated and depressed. When pig farmers use glucose in drinking water, the glucose is directly absorbed by the digestive tract, achieving the purpose of rapid energy supplementation. Combined with oral rehydration salts, it can also help prevent dehydration.
2. Adjuvant treatment of foot-and-mouth disease
After a pig herd develops foot-and-mouth disease, the pigs cannot stand or feed normally due to hoof injuries. Not only is the growth of the sick pigs hindered, but the hoof wounds are also difficult to heal. Rural pig farmers add glucose powder to drinking water together with antibiotics such as amoxicillin to supplement nutrition for the sick pigs, restore their strength, and promote wound healing.
3. Masking the bitter taste of veterinary drugs
Many veterinary drugs, such as tilmicosin and enrofloxacin, have a very strong bitter taste. Although they have undergone coating treatment, the bitterness is still difficult to completely remove. At this time, rural pig farmers can use glucose powder mixed into feed or drinking water to mask the bitter taste and promote the pigs' intake of medicated feed.
4. Use when appetite is completely lost
When a pig herd has a high fever and difficulty breathing, feed intake drops sharply and appetite is basically completely lost. Adding glucose to drinking water can help supplement energy.
From the above usages, it can be seen that the main function of using glucose is still to supplement energy. It can be used when the appetite of the pig herd decreases or digestive tract function is impaired, to quickly supplement energy for the pig herd and restore their strength.