8 Practical Measures for Pig Farms to Reduce Feed Mold
8 Practical Measures for Pig Farms to Reduce Feed Mold
After pigs accidentally eat moldy feed, it often leads to a series of problems such as stunted growth and development, vomiting, rectal prolapse, infertility, false estrus, and abortion. The mycotoxins and their metabolites in feed can also remain in livestock products, affecting the quality of livestock products and threatening human health. How to reduce feed mold in pig farms is important and urgent in southern pig farms, especially under summer climate conditions.
1
Optimization of Warehouse and Silo Hardware
(1) When building feed warehouses on pig farms, it is advisable to choose a high, dry, well-ventilated, and shady location. The floor of the feed warehouse must be treated for moisture protection. Where conditions permit, the walls of the pig farm can also be treated for moisture protection. In the feed storage area, on the hardened ground, it is best to lay 10-20 cm battens and cover them with composite boards or wooden boards as a secondary moisture-proof treatment. In addition, the warehouse roof should also be treated for insulation and moisture protection. At the same time, good ventilation and air exchange in the warehouse must be ensured.
(2) Install the silo of the automatic feeding line in a cool and dry place, or build a sunshade above the silo. Ensure the silo is dry, ventilated, and cool to avoid internal self-condensation or excessively high temperatures inside the silo, which can lead to the growth and reproduction of mold in the feed.
2
Scientific and Standardized Feed Procurement and Preservation
(1) Pig farms should purchase high-quality feed produced by major brand companies. Some small feed production enterprises, in order to reduce feed costs, may use by-products such as distillers dried grains (DDG) and alternative feed ingredients. These ingredients are often contaminated with high levels of mycotoxins, thereby reducing feed quality and greatly increasing the risk of feed mold during subsequent processes.
(2) Strengthen monitoring of incoming raw materials and finished feed, and strictly control the moisture content of feed raw materials. Pig farms should purchase high-quality feed raw materials. The breakage rate of raw materials should be low. The moisture content of corn should not exceed 15%, the moisture content of wheat bran should not exceed 13%, and the moisture content of soybean meal should not exceed 12%. For finished pelleted feed, the moisture content should not exceed 12.5%.
(3) For raw materials and finished feed entering the pig farm, if there are conditions such as rain exposure, sun exposure, or packaging damage, they should be clearly labeled or directly returned. The relevant person in charge of the pig farm should submit relevant requirements for feed transportation to the feed supplier in advance.
(4) For pig farms that mix and process feed themselves, feed should be processed just before use. After crushing, the feed should fully dissipate heat, and after the temperature drops to room temperature, it can be bagged; otherwise, moisture condensation is likely to occur and cause powdered feed to become moldy and spoiled. Processed feed should not be stored for more than 2 days. Where conditions permit, pig farms may consider adding mold inhibitors to the feed to prevent mold formation.
(5) Feed procurement for pig farms should be carried out in batches, with advance planning based on feed usage on the farm. In principle, pig farms should only accept fresh feed within 7 days of the production date. Stored feed should be used up as soon as possible within the shelf life. During feed storage, regular inspections and turning should be carried out. The use of expired, clumped, or moldy feed is strictly prohibited. When using feed on the pig farm, follow the principles of feeding feed with the earliest production date first and first-in, first-out.
(6) Feed stacking should be scientific and reasonable. Leave gaps between stacked feed piles, do not place them against the wall, and facilitate ventilation and inventory distribution.
3
Reasonable Selection of Feed Lines, Dispensers, and Troughs
In order to reduce feed residue in feed lines, dispensers, and troughs, pig farm investors must purchase high-quality facilities and equipment. The auger and chain discs in the feed line must match the feed pipe to avoid excessive feed residue in dead corners of the feed pipe and mold. The inner wall of the dispenser should be smooth, without a convex-concave ring liner structure. The inner wall of the trough should be smooth to reduce the chance of feed residue on the inner wall and avoid mold in leftover feed.
4
Timely Cleaning of Silos, Feed Lines, and Creep Feeders
⟧ In the hot and humid summer season in the south, pig farm managers should inspect and clean the warehouse more than twice a week. If abnormal conditions such as damaged feed packaging, clumping, or mold are found, handle them promptly to prevent spoiled feed from entering the pig house.
(1) For pig farms with automatic feeding lines, strictly estimate daily feed consumption based on the feed intake and number of pigs being fed, and add feed to the silo in a planned manner to ensure the feed is clean and fresh. The feed in the silo should be consumed completely more than 2 times per week, and the silo should be thoroughly cleaned at the same time to avoid accumulation and mold. If feeding powdered feed, it is even more important to actively clean the silo and automatic feed hopper to prevent clumped feed from blocking the feed line or depositing in the silo and becoming moldy.
(2) For the amount of feed added to automatic troughs, determine the feeding amount according to the number and size of the pigs being fed, and it is advisable that the pigs finish it once per day.
(3) For groups of pigs under restricted feeding such as in gestation houses and farrowing houses, generally begin cleaning leftover feed from the trough about 30 minutes after feeding to avoid leftover feed becoming moldy and being accidentally eaten by pigs.
5
Moderate Drinking Water Pressure for Pigs
Pigs have a relatively high demand for drinking water. Many pig farms, in order to ensure an adequate supply of drinking water for pigs, often adjust the drinking water pressure to a relatively high level. Some pig farms do not pay attention to the issue of drinking water pressure at all.
This not only causes water waste or insufficient drinking water, but also increases the pressure of sewage treatment on the pig farm. There may be situations where pigs in one row of pens are drinking water while water from the drinker sprays into the troughs of pigs in an adjacent row. If the pigs do not finish the feed in time, the risk of feed mold is greatly increased. At the same time, the pen floor may often remain wet, increasing the humidity in the pen and bringing other negative effects.
6
Reduce Pen Environmental Humidity as Much as Possible
(1) When the relative humidity of the environment exceeds 80%, it is favorable for the growth and reproduction of mold. When southern pig farms use cooling pads in summer, the fan speed should match the cooling pad area to avoid excessively high air speed through the pads, which can pull water from the cooling pad onto the pen floor, increasing humidity or wetting the feed in the trough and causing feed mold.
(2) Pig farms that use drip or spray cooling should also pay attention to avoiding wetting the troughs with cooling water as much as possible, so as to prevent feed in the trough from becoming moldy and spoiled when it is not consumed by the pigs in time. In summer, it is essential to reduce water flushing of pens and manure with pigs present, strictly control pen humidity, and reasonably turn on fans for ventilation.
7
Strengthen Feeding Management
(1) Pig farms should formulate and implement reasonable feeding strategies according to the different growth stages of pigs, including feeding amount, feeding mode, feeding time, etc., to reduce the possibility of feed mold. Creep feed should be added in small amounts and frequently to ensure the feed is clean and hygienic. If contamination by piglet feces or urine is found, clean it immediately and add fresh feed. For pigs fed in gestation houses, farrowing houses, and other limited pens, add the corresponding amount of feed according to the different physiological stages of the pigs and the monitoring results of their backfat.
Production management personnel should strengthen pen inspections, observe the feeding conditions of pigs, and promptly isolate,treatsick and weak pigs, and clean up leftover feed within 1 hour after feeding. For pig farms that manually feed wet mash, wet mash should be mixed and fed on the spot. For unfinished feed, clean it up within 30 minutes. In extremely hot summer, the feeding time for sows should be adjusted. Depending on the situation, it can be adjusted to before 7 a.m. or after 8 p.m. to increase feed intake of pigs, reduce the occurrence of large numbers of sows eating little or not eating, increase sow feed intake, and reduce the possibility of leftover feed in troughs becoming moldy.
(2) For pig farms feeding through feed lines, after all-in, all-out and before the next batch of pigs is placed in pens, the feed line drop pipes and troughs must be cleaned again to prevent moldy leftover feed in the feed line, feed pipes, and troughs from being accidentally eaten by pigs.
8
Add Preservatives
Mold inhibitors inactivate mold cells by destroying their cell walls, thereby inhibiting mold growth and reproduction and toxin production. Under poor storage conditions or in the rainy season in the south, in order to prevent feed raw materials from being contaminated by mycotoxins, mold inhibitors may be added during storage.
There are many feed mold inhibitors currently in use, such as potassium iodide, calcium iodate, calcium propionate, formic acid, seaweed powder, and ethanol extract of citrus peel. According to research by Japanese scientists and technicians, mixing multiple mold inhibitors has a better effect. They mixed 92% seaweed powder (wakame powder or kelp powder), 4% calcium iodate, and 4% calcium propionate, added it to feed at an inclusion rate of 8%, and placed it in an environment with 100% relative humidity. It did not become moldy within one month; feed without added mold inhibitor became moldy in 5-7 days; feed with one of the mold inhibitors added became moldy in 10-15 days. Therefore, Japan mixed seaweed powder and calcium iodate to make a highly effective feed mold inhibitor.
At present, mold inhibitors have shifted from single types to compound types, which can significantly broaden the anti-mold spectrum and improve the effect of preventing feed mold.