The key steps to raising nursery pigs well - have you done them?
The key steps to raising nursery pigs well - how many have you done?
Problems faced by nursery piglets
1. Stress at weaning
Intensive production mostly adopts the one-time weaning method: the sow is transferred from the farrowing house to the breeding or gestation house to await mating, while the piglets are raised directly or in the original pen for one week before entering the nursery house. The sudden changes in living conditions, such as leaving the mother, being moved between groups and regrouped, undoubtedly cause tremendous stress to the piglets' normal physiological activities.
2. Stress on digestive function
The piglets change from obtaining nutrition from liquid sow's milk and a small amount of starter feed to being fed entirely on solid feed. Since their digestive function is not yet fully developed, whether they can adapt to the nutritional composition of the existing feed and some of its special allergenic factors is a severe test for the piglets.
3. Stress from environmental changes
The environments in the farrowing house and the nursery house of an intensive pig farm are usually different. These include: pen structure and area, feeding system, watering system, temperature, ventilation, lighting conditions, etc. The piglets lose the original environment of the farrowing house and must adapt to the nursery house environment, establishing new living habits and dominance order relationships. A poor nursery environment will make it difficult for pigs of low dominance order to adapt or even to survive.
4. Stress from management changes
Farrowing and suckling management differs from nursery management. These include: feeding operation systems, environmental condition control, group size, stocking density, grouping method, training methods, necessary operations (such as immunization,treatment), etc. The impact of changes in artificial management conditions on nursery pig herds cannot be ignored.
The internal organs and immune system of nursery pigs are not fully developed and their functions are incomplete, so they cannot resist a complex stressful environment, which is why the incidence of disease is high.
Production of nursery pigletstechniques
1. Environmental management measures
(1) Temperature requirements:
The temperature of the nursery house environment has a great impact on piglets. Under cold stress, piglets' adrenal hormone secretion rises sharply, immunity declines, growth is stunted, and the incidence of diarrhea, gastroenteritis, pneumonia, etc. also increases accordingly.
According to reports, under conditions of 6-10°C and 20-25°C in the nursery house, the comparison of daily weight gain and incidence of diarrhea in piglets was 1:1.63 and 1:0.54.
In production, when the temperature of the nursery house is below 20°C, heating measures should be taken. When the temperature is not too low, infrared lamps and floor electric heating plates are usually used. When the temperature is below 10°C, hot air, heating, and other methods are needed to raise the temperature.
(2) Ventilation requirements:
Ventilation is a measure to address the content of harmful gases in the nursery house and increase the content of fresh air. Excessive levels of foul gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide will increase the incidence of pneumonia in piglets. However, unlimited air exchange and ventilation is also unsuitable for piglets, especially in cold seasons or cold regions, where excessive ventilation will cause the temperature in the nursery house to drop sharply.
In production, heat preservation and air exchange should adopt a relatively flexible adjustment method, taking both into account. At high temperatures, ventilate more; at low temperatures, raise the temperature first and then ventilate.
(3) Dust in the pig house:
Due to factors such as large rearing scale, high pig density, and heavy production operations in the nursery houses of intensive pig farms, a large amount of dust attaches to the air, which is harmful to piglet respiration. But more seriously, dust can carry certain viruses or bacteria deep into the respiratory system, bringing potential opportunities for the occurrence of certain diseases.
In intensive production, the dust problem is easy to overlook yet easy to solve. Measures such as using pelleted feed, regular cleaning, and careful operation are all effective dust removal measures.
(4) Cleaning the pig house:
In nursery houses using raised slatted floors, cleaning and disinfecting pens and floors is a necessary task. But more cleaning is not always better, because unclean or relatively cold groundwater is unfavorable to piglets and also unfavorable to heat preservation in the house, especially in cold regions.
In production, the general principles for cleaning pig houses are: clean and disinfect when the house is empty before (or after) regrouping; in summer's high temperatures, the number of cleanings can be appropriately increased (2-3 times/week), but avoid directing water flow at the piglets; if cooling is needed, it is best to use showers or spraying.
In raised-bed (or ground) nursery houses using manual manure removal, pig houses are generally not cleaned with pigs present in winter. Only when the pig house is too dirty is cleaning carried out at the time of the highest temperature of the day.
2. Feeding management measures
Three maintains:
After the sow leaves, weaned nursery piglets should be maintained in the original pen for 1 week; after being transferred to the nursery house, the original feed should be maintained for 1-2 weeks; and piglets should be kept in the original litter when moved and grouped, without easily merging pens or regrouping.
Three transitions:
For nursery piglets aged 2-3 weeks, the suckling-period feed should gradually transition to weaned piglet feed. This can be achieved by gradually changing the nutritional composition of the diet or the mixing ratio of the two feeds before and after to complete a smooth feed change;
The feeding system should gradually transition. This includes the type and form of feed, the number of feedings, time, and amount given when using meal feeding, and the feeding operation methods and times;
The operation system should gradually transition. This includes the lighting measures, heat preservation and ventilation measures in the nursery house, and the operating habits of the feeding workers.
Density and regrouping:
Stocking density is of great significance to the development of nursery piglets. The density depends on the feeding trough space, drinkers or water troughs, pen area, ventilation, heat preservation, and other conditions provided to the piglets by the nursery house.
In principle, intensive pig farms require one pen per litter, with each pig occupying 0.2-0.4 sq mm of lying area. Only when requirements cannot be met or when considering the use of pen area and differences in individual strength is it necessary to regroup.
For pig herds to be combined, the principles should be: split fewer rather than more, move the weak rather than the strong, group the weak with the weak, and combine the strong with the strong.
For newly combined pig herds, careful care should be taken within 1 week until a normal dominance order relationship is established.