What to Do About Nitrite Poisoning in Pigs? A Detailed Guide to Emergency Treatment
Pork can be said to be an indispensable meat product in our country, and the scale of pig farming in our country is also very large. When raising pigs, management work is very important, especially feed and feeding management. If the feed is improper, it can very easily lead to adverse phenomena such as nitrite poisoning in pigs, seriously affecting the growth of the pigs. So what should be done about nitrite poisoning in pigs? What are the symptoms? Let's take a look together with the editor below!
1. Causes of the disease
Various green feeds and root feeds such as cabbage, radish and potato are very rich in nitrate content. When we plant them, the herbicides, nitric acid and other substances we use will increase the nitrate content in these vegetables. When temperature and humidity are suitable, reducing bacteria will multiply in large numbers. Then, when the vegetables are steamed, boiled, or wilted and dead, the reducing bacteria will reduce the nitrate into nitrite, causing poisoning in those who consume it. If pigs eat it, it will cause disorders in the gastrointestinal function of the pig's body, lead to the production of parasites, lower gastric acid concentration, and cause poisoning in the pigs.
2. Symptoms of onset
Nitrite poisoning in pigs is divided into acute and chronic onset times. In the case of acute poisoning, the sick pig can develop the disease about a quarter of an hour after eating, and chronic cases take only about 5 hours. Usually, pigs with strong growth ability and large food intake will develop severe illness because they eat too much. After the onset of the disease, sick pigs will show increased breathing, increased urination, visibly cyanotic mucous membranes, and will retain dark red blood, with a relatively low body temperature. The main symptoms also include gastroenteritis, such as drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea. In severe cases, opisthotonus occurs, and they convulse to death.
3. Prevention and treatment methods
Strengthen prevention
First of all, of course, prevention work must be strengthened. When feeding green feed, it is best to feed it raw. Moldy, spoiled, piled-up and rotten feed should be dealt with promptly and must not be fed. Do not pile feed together, or steam and boil it. If it needs to be boiled under special circumstances, then it should be cooked as soon as possible, placed in the pot, and stirred while cooking. It absolutely must not be left overnight, and cooked green feed left overnight should be thrown away. Then, when boiling the feed, add an appropriate amount of vinegar to it, which can both achieve the purpose of sterilization and decompose nitrite. Finally, before harvesting green feed, stop the application of nitrate fertilizer.
Timely treatment
After the onset of the disease, special drugs such as toluidine blue should be used to promptly detoxify the pigs. Reasonably control the injection amount according to the pig's body weight. The injection methods can mainly be intravenous injection, intramuscular injection, etc. Toluidine blue is about 5 mg/kg. When using the antidote, use it in combination with hypertonic glucose, etc., with the dosage controlled at about 400 ml. When the sick pig has rapid breathing, use drugs such as nikethamide, and inject about 0.5 ml of epinephrine hydrochloride to stabilize the sick pig's breathing.
The above is a brief introduction to what to do about nitrite poisoning in pigs. The feeding and management work for pigs is very important and closely related to the growth of pigs, so everyone must pay close attention to it. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!