How to ensure safe farrowing in sows? Key technical points of farrowing management
How to ensure safe farrowing in sows?
It is very important to keep the farrowing house dry and clean. Before the sows due to farrow are moved into the farrowing house, it must be swept, washed and disinfected.
1. The equipment in the farrowing house should be intact, so as to ensure the most suitable environment for the sows and piglets.
2. In the early morning one week before farrowing, after the pregnant sow has fasted, had her body surface cleaned and disinfected, and been dewormed, carefully drive her into the prepared farrowing pen. After she enters the pen, give her a small amount of wet mash, and add anti-stress additives to the feed, so that they become familiar with the new environment and stress reactions are reduced.
3. After the sow enters the farrowing house, the stockperson should be fixed. Before farrowing, the sow and first-litter sows, especially first-litter sows, must be carefully tended; this is very important.
4. In summer, the room temperature must not be too high. If the temperature in the farrowing house exceeds 30°C and the humidity is also high, the sow will feel uncomfortable, breathe rapidly and become feverish, which affects nursing.
5. Birthing tools should be prepared, such as a farrowing record sheet, gunny sacks, towels, scissors, disinfectant, iodine tincture, etc.
2. Techniques for safefarrowing in sows
1. Accurately record the farrowing time and birth interval. Recording farrowing data is very important, as it can reflect the birth interval of piglets and thereby show whether there is a problem with farrowing. If the sow is relatively quiet and the piglets are born a few minutes apart, it indicates that the farrowing process is normal. On the contrary, if the sow is very restless, appears to be struggling greatly, and the birth interval is more than 45 min, manual intervention must be carried out.
2. Methods for assisting farrowing in sows. If an individual pig has a history of dystocia, special care is needed during farrowing; especially when those older, heavier and nervous sows have difficulty farrowing, assisted farrowing should be considered. The specific methods are:
(1) The sow's hindquarters and vulva area need to be cleaned thoroughly with alcohol or chlorhexidine.
(2) Wash the hands, and put on a straight rectal examination glove and a latex glove.
(3) Slowly and forcefully pass the gloved hand through the vagina and into the cervix.
(4) Once the gloved hand enters the uterus, the piglet's head or hind legs can often be felt. If so, grasp the piglet's hind legs or head according to the fetal position, and slowly pull the piglet out. Make sure not to pull out the placenta together with the piglet.
There are many reasons why piglets are born slowly. It should be determined which cause is responsible; oxytocin must not be injected without examination, as this may very likely cause premature death of piglets. Moreover, given the importance of the farrowing process, someone is required to be on duty 24 h a day.
3. Normalfarrowing assistance techniques. Before farrowing, first wipe the udder and external genitalia with a 1:1000 potassium permanganate aqueous solution, then carefully observe the farrowing process. The following measures should be taken:
(1) The sow's state during farrowing. When farrowing, most sows lie on their side, with abdominal pain, trembling all over, rapid breathing, and straining. Amniotic fluid flows from the vulva, the two hind legs stretch straight forward, the tail curls upward, and the piglets are delivered.
(2) The piglet's state at birth. After the fetus enters the birth canal, the umbilical cord is mostly torn off from the placenta, the oxygen supplied to the piglet through the umbilical cord stops, and the piglet can only wait to breathe with its lungs after birth. A fetus born head first is called anterior presentation, accounting for about 60%; one born rump first is called posterior presentation, accounting for about 40%; both are normal fetal positions.
(3) Farrowing assistance. Keeping a quiet environment during farrowing can prevent dystocia and shorten farrowing time. After the piglet is born, first wipe away the mucus from the mouth and nose with a clean towel, so that the piglet breathes with its lungs as soon as possible, then dry the whole body; if the weather is relatively cold, immediately put the piglet into an insulated box to dry it. After birth, the piglet should suckle colostrum as soon as possible, which not only gives the piglet nutrients and increases resistance, but also increases the sow's farrowing speed.
(4) Reviving piglets that appear stillborn. Piglets that do not breathe after birth but whose hearts are still beating are called false stillborn piglets, and measures must be taken immediately to make them breathe if they are to survive.
The revival methods are as follows: hold the piglet upside down by its two hind legs with the left hand, and slap its back with the right hand; hold the piglet's rump with the left hand and its back with the right hand, and move both hands forward and backward at the same time, so that the piglet flexes and extends naturally; this is called artificial respiration movement; dip absorbent cotton in alcohol or baijiu and apply it to the piglet's nose to stimulate the piglet to breathe.