Manage the sow's farrowing period well to ensure the smooth delivery of newborn piglets

Sow farrowing

    Proper care of the sow during gestation, farrowing and lactation can increase the birth litter weight of piglets, which will ensure the piglets are healthy and grow faster. Caring for the sow during these periods also allows the sow to restore its previous good performance as early as possible during the open period. During farrowing, the sow must have the best nutritional and health status to ensure the expected number of piglets is delivered. An appropriate amount of diet should be fed to ensure the newborn piglets grow well and are strong. A herd health plan that ensures the sow has the least chance of infection or of carrying disease into gestation is essential, to ensure maximum survival of piglets in the first week after birth and their growth to weaning and finally to market. Sow management should be carried out every day, and the stockperson should handle the sow gently.

    1. Determine the sow's farrowing time. Know the average gestation period of the herd; 92% of sows farrow naturally 113-117 days after mating.

    2. Induce sows to farrow smoothly. Induce those sows whose gestation period is within one or two days before or after the average gestation period. A mild prostaglandin product can be used, injected intramuscularly at 2 ml, at 7-8 am, so that the sow farrows smoothly on the second working day.

    3. Check the sow's farrowing time. On the day before inducing farrowing, before the stockperson leaves the barn, all sows close to farrowing should be checked, and additional heat lamps and shredded paper should be placed on both sides and behind the sow about to farrow; colostrum flowing from the teats is a sign that the sow is about to farrow.

    4. Record the sow's farrowing process. On the day of farrowing, check whether any sows have started the farrowing process. For those that have finished farrowing, make sure no piglets are chilled and that all can suckle colostrum, and record the time the last piglet was born and the amount of placenta expelled.

    5. Help piglets take colostrum. After a piglet is born, dry it with shredded paper or a dry cloth, place it in the farrowing crate for 30-40 minutes, then place it on the sow's udder to take colostrum. The oxytocin produced by the sow when the piglet suckles stimulates further contraction of the sow's uterus, thereby promoting delivery. It is very important to help piglets take colostrum as early as possible in the first few hours after birth.

    6. Fix the piglets' suckling positions. After the piglets have suckled for about 1 hour, mark them and move them to the farrowing crate, or place them on a heated electric blanket; when feeding colostrum, place the smaller piglets on the front teats.

    7. Manually assist the sow's farrowing. If the sow has still not delivered a piglet within 30 minutes but continues straining, assisted farrowing must be carried out. Use a hand and arm wearing a plastic sleeve and coated with obstetric gel to correct the fetal position; if the sow stops straining and there are signs that piglets have not yet been delivered, 0.5-1 ml of oxytocin can be injected intramuscularly to stimulate uterine contractions. Note that oxytocin must not be used in excess, and each use must be at intervals of more than 45 minutes. Injecting 1 ml of oxytocin also helps deliver the remaining piglets and expel the placenta, and it also works for sows that are nearly finished with the farrowing process.

    8. Ensure the piglets' time for suckling mother's milk. Before piglets are fostered to other sows for nursing, they should suckle colostrum from their biological mother for no less than 6 hours to obtain specific maternal antibodies.