What causes ear biting and tail biting in pigs
Some pig farmers sometimes suddenly find that some pigs in their pens have lost their ears, and some have lost their tails, because the herd has developed a problem that causes pigs to bite each other's ears and tails. Only by finding the cause of ear biting and tail biting in pigs can this phenomenon be stopped from continuing to develop. So what exactly causes ear biting and tail biting in pigs?
Pig herd
1. Nutritional factors——When the various nutritional elements in the feed are unbalanced, the pigs will develop a stress response and bite ears and tails. For example, the nutritional level of the feed fed to the pigs is lower than the feeding standard; the feed formula is unscientific, and the protein content in the feed in the early fattening stage is low or of poor quality; deficiencies in vitamins, magnesium, copper, iron, calcium and salt, as well as insufficient cellulose, can all cause ear biting and tail biting in pigs.
2. Environmental factors——A poor environment inside the pig house and poor sanitary conditions, high concentrations of harmful gases such as ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, excessively high or low temperatures, reduced ventilation speed or poor rest that make the pigs uncomfortable, can all lead to biting in the pig herd. In a harsh environment, stress also includes light that is too strong, and the pigs will develop vice disorders due to excessively strong light.
3. Management factors——The density of pigs in the pig house is too high, and pigs fight and bite each other only to compete for feeding and drinking positions. If the body weights of the pigs in one pig house vary greatly, the lighter and weaker pigs are the targets of biting, and once bitten and wounded, all the pigs will go and bite them; insufficient troughs or insufficient drinking water often trigger outbreaks of tail biting in the pig herd.
4. Disease causes——External parasites irritate the skin and make pigs restless, and they rub against the walls and railings in the pig house; when external injuries appear, other pigs will go and bite them; when pigs have internal parasites such as roundworms, the phenomenon of tail biting in the herd will also appear, and deworming should be carried out in time. The vice of tail biting and ear biting in pigs can also be induced by anemia and necrosis of the tail tip.
If the pigs in your pig pen are currently biting ears and tails, you can check these four causes one by one, promptly find out the cause of ear biting and tail biting in the herd and carry out the corresponding prevention and control.