What to Do About Sows with Low Milk Production After Farrowing? Cause Analysis and Treatment Methods
After a sow gives birth, she is generally supposed to nurse the piglets with her milk, but some sows have no milk or low milk production after farrowing. This situation must be resolved cleanly, otherwise the piglets are prone to going hungry; if the piglets do not get mother's milk, their health will suffer and they will be prone to illness. So what should we do, and how do we promote milk let-down so the piglets can nurse as soon as possible? This article will explain in detail below.
1. Causes
Because the sow is already nearing old age, her physiological functions have declined, so she produces little milk; also, if the sow is too young, her mammary glands have not developed well, so there is no milk. Or milk insufficiency is caused by unknown reasons. Or the sow is too obese, and excess fat leads to endocrine disorders. Finally, she may have mastitis, in which case she naturally cannot produce milk.
2. Improvement Methods
Use a formulated medicinal treatment: 60 grams of dong quai (Angelica sinensis), 30 grams of akebia stem (Akebia quinata), and one jin of fresh willow bark, mixed with 3 jin of water, then decocted and fed, once a day; after several times it can improve. There are also various herbal formulas; you can consult a veterinarian to choose other formulas. Also, use vitamin E orally, and inject 20 international units of oxytocin mixed into 500 milliliters of 10% glucose as an intravenous drip. Massaging the udder also has an improving effect. You can also feed various foods to promote milk production; these will not be listed one by one here.
3. Adjust Feeding
Feed more milk-promoting feed and legumes, and you can also specially cook porridge to feed her. You can also use small fish, small shrimp, snails, and the like, boiled into soup, to feed her. If the cause is obesity, feed a little less and increase exercise. If it is due to high temperature and she has no appetite, cold water can be poured on the shoulder and neck area, which can improve the situation; she will eat more and produce more milk.
4. Strengthen Management
Prepare the sow's feeding work in advance and set up the feeding formula well; after farrowing, pay attention to the hygiene of the farrowing house. During delivery, pay attention to doing the nursing work well, and also clean and disinfect; the delivery staff must also be disinfected before entering. From then on, all feed fed must be clean, and utensils must be disinfected. Sufficient drinking water must be provided.
For low milk production in sows, you must identify the cause first and then improve it; the main things are hygiene and dietary improvement. Thank you for reading and supporting, and you are welcome to continue following and reading.