Prevent nitrite poisoning in pigs in autumn, watch out for abdominal pain, restlessness, vomiting and purple lips

    Nitrite poisoning in pigs is also called swill-fullness disease. When pigs eat large amounts of improperly prepared cabbage, carrots, forage grass and the like, poisoning is easily caused. 

Pig

    Symptoms: Mostly seen in autumn. After pigs eat toxic feed, the disease strikes suddenly in as short as 20-30 minutes after full feeding, or as long as 2-3 hours. The clinical features are abdominal pain and restlessness, shrill squealing, circling movement, white foam at the mouth, sometimes vomiting, open mouth with protruding tongue, difficulty breathing, weak heart, weakness of the limbs, staggering when walking, and generalized spasms. The skin of the lips is initially grayish white, then turns purplish black. The skin at the extremities becomes cold, and body temperature is mostly below normal.   

    Prevention: (1) Improve feed preparation; green fodder is best fed raw, and when it needs to be cooked, it should be cooked quickly and cooled, and not left covered and simmering in the pot. (2) For piled feed, turn it often for ventilation and remove spoiled, moldy or deteriorated feed.   

    Treatment  (1) For detoxification, inject 1 ml of 1% methylene blue solution per kg of body weight intramuscularly or intravenously, and in combination with bloodletting at the ear tip and tail tip, then perform abdominal fluid replacement: 100-200 ml of glucose-saline. (2) Licorice 1 liang and mung beans 2 liang, decocted and administered. (3) Drench the pig with egg white, soy milk or milk. (4) Vinegar 5 liang, add an appropriate amount of ordinary water, and administer orally.