The sow is in heat but does not stand still - can she still be mated?
The sow is in heat but does not stand still - can she be mated?
Answer
Affected by mating stress, the sow's appetite declines within a few days after mating, and feed intake needs to be increased gradually until it stabilizes. If she does not eat for a long time, then feed quality (whether it has spoiled), drinking water conditions, pig health status, barn ambient temperature and other influencing factors need to be checked, and troubleshooting done well. Abortion around 90 days is mainly related to diseases (such as PRRS, etc.), the pig being too thin, insufficient nutrition (reproductive nutrition) and stress, etc. Nursing care needs to be strengthened starting from 90 days of gestation, such as adding the reproductive nutrient Zai Duo Duo 1kg/t, the disease-resistance nutrient Kang Zhi Yuan 2kg/t, and the intestinal nutrient Chang Sheng Yuan 1kg/t to the feed.
Cheng Xuebing: Teacher, the sow is in heat but does not stand still - can she be mated?
Answer
Whether a sow can be mated cannot be judged only by the standing reflex; it also needs to be combined with the degree of vulvar swelling, the color of the vulvar mucosa and the condition of the vulvar mucus, etc., to make a comprehensive judgment on whether to mate, and the vulvar mucus is especially important. If the vulvar mucus is found to be milky white and can be stretched into threads when touched with a finger, it indicates that the sow is ovulating in large amounts and can be mated immediately.
Feng: For a gilt, after mating, when the heat signs are not obvious, how do you observe whether mating was successful?
Answer
There are 2 ways. First, starting from 18 days after mating, use a boar for heat detection to observe whether the mated sow shows heat signs (such as a blank stare, both ears erect, red and swollen vulva with mucus produced or flowing out); second, at 25 days after mating, a B-ultrasound machine can be used for pregnancy testing to observe whether a normal gestational sac image appears. For pigs with unclear signs, you can choose to re-test once after a few days to ensure the accuracy of the test.
Inner Mongolia - Bayannur - Xu Wei: Teacher Chen, is this step-by-step feeding method for our sows also suitable for two-way cross sows, and does the feeding amount need to be adjusted?
Answer
It is equally suitable for two-way cross sows, and the feed amount does not need to be increased or adjusted. On the one hand, sows all show a decline in appetite after farrowing, which is closely related to the recovery of their gastrointestinal function; if the feeding amount is too large, it will cause feed retention, thereby affecting feed intake during the peak period; on the other hand, a high feeding amount will increase total milk volume, but within 3 days after farrowing the total milk demand of the piglets is not high, so the milk cannot be fully absorbed and easily leads to milk regression, causing problems such as mastitis and postpartum agalactia.
Xiao Xue: After a gilt's first mating, on day 16 the vulva is red and swollen, and this has continued for 5 days - is this normal?
Answer
It is not normal. After mating, the sow's vulva will gradually shrink; if redness and swelling of the vulva appear around 18 days after mating, then return-to-estrus troubleshooting needs to be done well, and it is recommended to use boar-induced heat detection, which gives the best effect.
Yuechi, Sichuan, Tang Xiaolan: Can Duroc-Landrace-Yorkshire sows be mated with Duroc-Landrace-Yorkshire boars?
Answer
Yes. However, in order to increase the litter size of three-way cross sows, it is generally recommended to mate with a Landrace boar or Landrace semen.
Leiyang, Hunan, He Hongren: For the first mating, is it all right to vaccinate against swine fever and pseudorabies?
Answer
In general, it is recommended not to vaccinate within 1 month after mating, to reduce the impact of vaccines on embryo survival rate. If it cannot be postponed, then anti-stress work needs to be done well, such as adding Ao Yin Mei 1kg/t 3 days before immunization (for 7 consecutive days); at the same time, the operation during immunization must not be rough, one needle per pig, to prevent cross-infection of diseases.
Tao Hai: How can the litter size of the second parity of three-way cross sows be increased?
Answer
On the one hand, sows must be fully developed during the gilt stage, with puberty as early as possible, and the number of estrus cycles (more than 2) and their condition must be guaranteed; on the other hand, before weaning the sow needs good uterine involution and moderate body condition, plus environmental conditions (boar-induced heat, light and temperature), reproductive nutrient supplementation, etc., all affect the next parity's estrus and littering. There are many factors affecting sow litter size, and the pig farm needs to adopt comprehensive prevention and control measures; relying on only one aspect will not work.
Longjiang - Gao Lijuan of Longjiang County: Is dystocia in three-way cross sows related to being kept in gestation crates? How can medication improve it?
Answer
Yes, it is related. Long-term keeping in gestation crates causes insufficient exercise, leading to degeneration of the sow's cardiopulmonary function, so that during farrowing she is prone to insufficient expulsive force. It is recommended to move sows in late gestation to semi-confinement pens (feeding restricted, activity not restricted) to increase activity; at the same time, add Duo Mei Nuo 1kg/t 20 days before farrowing, which has the effect of tonifying qi, nourishing blood and calming the fetus, effectively shortening the sow's farrowing process.
Hubei Province, Cheng Gongrang: The test showed she was pregnant, and no abortion was seen either, but after one month the re-test showed no fetus - what is going on?
Answer
First, the accuracy of the B-ultrasound machine test needs to be ensured; it is recommended to start testing 25 days after mating, when it is relatively easy to see the gestational sac image; second, it is necessary to distinguish between images of inflammation and gestational sacs, as the two are often confused; finally, for pigs whose test results are in question, a re-check is needed after an interval of a few days, to guard against missed detection of empty sows.
Eastern Guangdong - Deng Zhiwei: Should flushing be done in the second week after mating? Should lactation feed be used, or gestation feed with eggs?
Answer
No flushing is needed. If the sow's body condition after mating is suitable (body condition score 3), then it is recommended to feed below 3kg/head/day, continue using gestation sow feed, and add the reproductive nutrient Zai Duo Duo 1kg/t to the feed for long-term use.
Fen: Hello Teacher Chen, I have a sow that was mated fifteen days ago, and in the last couple of days, which have been quite hot, I found a large amount of white pus flowing out, but the urine test shows she is pregnant - does she need uterine flushing?
Answer
Do not flush the uterus at will after a sow has been mated. First, it is necessary to distinguish whether what is flowing out is inflammatory pus, which can be judged from smell, color and viscosity. Second, you can check for return to estrus manually or with a boar, and check whether the sow is pregnant by B-ultrasound machine 25 days after mating. After judging by the above methods that the sow has indeed failed to conceive, uterine flushing measures can be taken, such as infusing Gong Yan Jing 100ml + lincomycin 20ml, and intramuscular injection of 10ml Yi Zhen Kang for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Wang Yi: For a sow mated 30 days ago, white secretion is still flowing from the vagina - what could be the cause?
Answer
On the one hand, it is necessary to check whether the sow has returned to estrus through boar heat detection, B-ultrasound testing, etc.; on the other hand, observe the color, smell and viscosity of the secretion to judge whether it is inflammation. After mating, it is recommended to pay attention to the hygiene of the sow's hindquarters and the pen surface, keeping them clean and dry; at the same time, start checking for return to estrus 18 days after mating, and for those with inflammatory discharge, promptlytreat。
Dong Fu: Should weaned sows be fed lactation feed or gestation feed?
Answer
Weaned sows should be fed lactation feed, combined with the sow's actual body condition, such as reducing feed for fat pigs and increasing feed for thin pigs.
Tan Yangshan's Dad: Two gilts have vulvas that are too small and do not come into heat - what should be done? The rest of the same batch were mated, but these two showed no response.
Answer
Measures to promote estrus can be taken, such as boar chasing for exercise, pen adjustment and mixed rearing, increased lighting, restricted feeding and flushing, intramuscular hormone injection, etc. If there is still no effect, then culling needs to be considered.
Enjoying Simplicity: May I ask how gilts can be handled to synchronize estrus?
Answer
They can be fed hormones (altrenogest), and after 18 days of feeding the medication is stopped; 3-5 days after stopping, sows will successively show estrus signs, and batch mating can be carried out according to the pig farm's actual production needs.
Yao Zhi Fumu Xin: If a sow has uterine inflammation, can she be mated the day after the inflammation is cleared?
Answer
If there is obvious pus discharge, it is recommended that you first do uterine flushing + antibacterial and anti-inflammatory treatment, and mate after one estrus cycle;
If it is mild, after you have handled it reasonably, and the standing reflex during estrus is still present, you can try to mate her, but you must focus on her first estrus cycle (whether she returns to estrus around 21 days). In this situation there are cases of both successful and failed mating, so it depends on luck, but at this time the intrauterine environment is generally only average, and the number born and uniformity will be affected to some extent.
Hechuan, Sichuan, Lu Shengwen: How can mating timing be grasped precisely?
Answer
Regarding mating timing, you can generally distinguish gilts, weaned sows and return-to-estrus sows, and in addition know that three-way cross sows have irregular estrus.
Gilts: the estrus period is longer, so you can choose to mate 8-12 hours after the standing reflex begins after she starts estrus, then mate again 12 hours later, and if there is still a standing reflex afterward, mate once more after 12 hours;
Weaned sows: for normal-time weaning (within 28 days of age), estrus occurs in 3-5 days, and the first mating can be done within 8 hours after the standing reflex appears, with another mating 8-12 hours later; for estrus after 5 days, mate once the standing reflex appears, and mate again 8-12 hours later; if the suckling period exceeds 28 days, mate once the standing reflex appears after weaning estrus, and mate again 8-12 hours later;
Return-to-estrus sows: when the uterus is normal, mate as soon as return to estrus is found (3 times);
Three-way cross sows: mate as soon as there are obvious estrus signs (2-3 times, not necessarily waiting for the standing reflex, to avoid missing it)