Ellwood Exotic Pigs lnc.

17/11/2021

Five weeks exotic cross breeds of large white.

16/11/2021

TYPES OF PIG MEDICINE AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Medicines used in the swine industry can be grouped into eight broad areas:-

1. Antibiotics and antibacterial substances.

2. Minerals, for example iron, vitamins and electrolytes.

3. Sedatives and analgesics (painkillers).

4. Parasecticides to treat mange, lice and worms.

5. Vaccines and sera (and miscellaneous medicines).

6. Hormones.

7. Growth promoters and probiotics.

8. Colostrum supplements.

For each individual medicament a manufacturers data sheet will be available, which gives guidelines as to its use, specific precautions and any contra-indications.

Medicines can be administered to individual pigs or groups of pigs for treatment or to prevent disease.

Individual treatments are usually given by mouth in the case of piglets, by injection in older pigs and occasionally onto the skin or per va**na.

In outbreaks of disease, group treatments are carried out by in-feed medication, injections or in the water.

Treatment for mange or lice may involve the use of sprays. Where medicines are used to prevent disease, they can be used in a number of ways.

The most efficient and cost-effective method of treatment is to administer medicines, either by injection or by mouth, to the individual pig.

Sick animals do not eat much, and contrary to popular opinion, they do not drink much either. In outbreaks of disease therefore the treatment of sick pigs in the feed or water is not medically efficient.

Furthermore in a group of pigs affected with pneumonia for example, it is unlikely that more than 20% of such animals have sufficient lesions to require treatment and 80% of the group would therefore be treated unnecessarily.

This cost must be added to that of the sick 20%. However group medication can be of value in preventing more disease developing.

There can be practical problems with treating large numbers of individual pigs. Nevertheless, the response is much better.

Medicines are administered in a variety of ways depending on the type of medicine and its availability.

Some medicines are toxic by injection and may only be available by mouth, whereas others may be applied and absorbed through the skin.

It takes a period of time for any medicine to be absorbed into the system to reach levels sufficient to have a therapeutic effect and then be excreted from the body. The frequency of treatment is determined using this knowledge.

The following methods of administration are used in the pig :-

By injection - Intravenous, subcutaneous, intradermal and intramuscular.

Topical - The medicine is applied to the surface of the body. An example would be the use of pour-on organophosphorus preparations or sprays for the control of mange.

Oral - Most injectable antibiotics are also available for oral administration.

Via the Uterus - Pessaries (small slow-melting tablets) can be placed into the uterus following interference at farrowing. Likewise, antibiotics can be deposited into the anterior va**na in cases of infection.

Via the Re**um - This is not a normal method for administrations in the pig, although in cases of meningitis associated with salt poisoning and water deprivation, water can be dripped into the re**um to correct the imbalance.

The method of administration will be indicated on the label of the bottle, and this should always be followed. For example, intravenous injections are used for anaesthesia, intradermal injections to test animals for tuberculosis, and subcutaneous injections for certain types of antibiotics or some vaccines.

The most common route of injection however is intramuscular for antibiotics, iron injections, and oil-based vaccines. Occasionally, injections might be given into the joint for arthritis or into the mammary glands for mastitis.

**PLEASE REACH ME ON WHATAPP (+2348162737855) IF YOU NEED ANYTHING.**

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******************
HELLO PIG FARMER!!!

We are EDOVASAL PIG FARM; The home of F1 CAMROC Pigs.

Our BREAD LINE is called "EDOVASAL CAMROC (EC)" selected from performance tested Camborough and Duroc parents with Excellent Feed Conversion Rate.

* EC 001 Weaners (2-3 months) @ N70,000 each. Growers (4-6 months) @ N100,000 each.

Our Services includes:
1. Pig Breeding and Stocking
2. Supply of Breeding Stock
3. Pig Concentrate Feed & Feed Formulation
4. Online and Physical Training
5. Consultations and Farm Visitation

EDOVASAL PIG CONCENTRATE:

We also produce and sell Pig Concentrate for growing healthy, robust pigs less expensively.

Mix 50kg (1 bag) of Edovasal Pig Concentrate to 250kg of Local Crush PKC, Wet Spent Grain or Rice Bran. And your feed is ready.

For best result in your Weaners, dilute Edovasal Pig Concentrate with maize Bran/Chaff/Offal or Okpa Chaff using the same measurement.

From 3 months of age, you should introduce Palm Kernel Cake (PKC), Wet Spent Grain or Rice Bran.

CONCENTRATE PRICE: N10,000 PER 25KG BAG_ (Transport charges inclusive).

Call or WhatsApp us today @ +2348162737855.
We love to help you start your farm and make it a profitable venture that is worth your time and efforts.

All payments to Edovasal Pig Farm Enugu, are payable to 0799738012, Edovasal Enterprises, Access Bank. Or Swift Pay @ https://swiftpay.accessbankplc.com/

Edovasal_Helping You Live Your Dream...

15/11/2021

Large white growers(breeders) of six months up for sale in Owerri.

09/11/2021

03/03/2021

DEWORMING:

Must Read For All Pig Farmers.

Worm burden can result in a loss of up to 15% in daily gain and 18% in feed conversion in growing/finishing pigs, increasing cost of production by 16 p/kg DW through increased food usage and reduced sale weight.

Large roundworms (Ascaris suum) are endoparasites which cause milk spot liver and are the most prevalent of worms affecting pig productivity and can cause sudden death if it's treated....
There can be up to 80 adult worms in the gut. These adults wil start producing eggs at a rate of 200,000-900,000 eggs per day in just over one month! This is why a low infection pressure can quickly lead to a NEW MASSIVE infestation.
Here are negative effects of not deworming.

NEGATIVE EFFECT OF NOT DEWORMING

Worm infections independently cause a great deal of damage.
The migration of roundworm larvae through the pig’s vital organs, such as the liver and lungs, causes a range of negative effects.
Secondly, adult worms feed in the intestines, thus, depriving the pig of nutrients. Consequently, the economic damage is a combination of inferior growth, increased feed conversion, the consequences of intestinal damage, lower lean meat percentage, condemned livers, increased medication cost due to increased health problems and higher mortality.

It is recommended that pigs kept for fattening, breeding or even kept as pets should be wormed against gastro-intestinal roundworms routinely. Pigs that are kept outdoors should also be treated against lungworms.

ROUTINE TREATMENT FOR PIGS

Routine treatment of adult pigs should be carried out every six months, and if possible either moved to clean pasture or their accommodation steam cleaned.

GROWING PIGS
Growing pigs should be treated at 8 wks then every 2 months until maturity.

SOWS AND GILTS
Sows and gilts should be treated 7-14 days before farrowing. Gilts should also be treated 7-14 days before going to the boar.

CHOOSING A WORMING TREATMENT

Before choosing a worming product it is good practice to determine the pigs approximate weight. This can be done by using a specially designed pig weigh band or by using the following calculation:

LENGTH (inches) X GIRTH (inches) / (medium) 11 = weight of pig in pounds (lbs)

Length – measured from between ears to top of tail whilst pig standing.

Girth – measured behind front legs.

The dividing factor of 11 should be used for medium pigs but should be increased to 12 for lean pigs or decreased to 10 for fat pigs.

The pigs weight in kilos can be determined by dividing the weight in pounds by 2.2.

💉DORAMECTIN 10mg/ml:

Intramuscular injection at a rate of 300mcg/kg (1ml per 33kg) Indicated for all gastrointestinal round worms, lungworm, lice and mites. The product should be injected in the neck using 16-18gauge needle 2-2.5cm in length.
Meat withdrawal: 56 days.

💉IVERMECTIN 1%:

Subcutaneous injection at a rate of 300mcg/kg (1ml per 33kg) Indicated for gastrointestinal round worms (except Trichuris) lice and mites. The product should be injected under the skin in the neck using 16-18 gauge needle ½” in length.
Meat withdrawal: 28 days

💉FENBENDAZOLE 100mg/ml:

Oral preparation given at a rate of 5mg/kg (0.5ml per 10kg) divided over 7 days. Indicated for treatment of gastrointestinal round worms (except strongyloides) and lungworms. Can be given with food and/or diluted with water to increase volume.
Meat withdrawal: 3days.

If you've not dewormed your pigs go do it now.

We care about your productivity.

Stay tuned to Farmz for more.

05/02/2021

Pigs are some of the cleanest animals on Earth.The reason for this is that they refuse to excrete near where they eat or sleep.

They often wander far away from their den when nature calls. Unlike humans, pigs do not sweat. They wallow in mud to cool their body temperature, which gives them their dirty appearance.

Pigs are also very smart and can be trained very much like a domestic pet. When properly trained, pigs can obey commands

29/01/2021

DO YOU KNOW MAGGOT FARMING CAN BOOST YOUR PIG'S 🐷GROWTH BY 70%❓

Maggot farming has become a rising aspect of farming because of its immerse benefit to livestock farmers all over the world. Some decades ago, if someone had told you that those maggots can be raised to make money, I wouldn’t believe that myself.

But here we are, Maggot is turning broke people to millionaire farmers. Don’t let the sight fool you, millions are staring at you in the form of nature’s amazing maggots. They are your usual housefly larva, easy to feed and manage with less input.

Most livestock farmers like Pig, fish and poultry now purchase a large number of maggots either dry or fresh and add them to their livestock feed or feed them directly to the animals.

Maggot is a MAJOR source of protein and other natural nutrients that animals need to perform their daily activities.

Maggot farming currently not too competitive like sago worm because most people are not aware that its possible to farm Maggots and make money from it, talk more about making millions. The truth is that it is possible if you do it correctly.

MAGGOT NUTRIENTS:

🐷Protein

🐷Lysine

🐷Calcium

🐷Potassium

🐷Phosphorus

🐷Magnesium

🐷Copper

🐷Zinc

🐷Fatty Acid

🐷Amino Acids

🐷Iron

Uses of Maggot:

Maggot is an alternative to feed fish..even more nutritious than fish..

It is use to feed Pigs, cattles, and various poultry like chicken, turkey and duck.

Maggot also serves as an excellent replacement💯 for fishmeal in feed production.

It is a potential solution to waste management on the farm because the waste is the raw material to produce maggots.

EASY WAY TO START PRODUCING MAGGOT:

Select Location:
Select a location with vegetations like trees and leaves so that they can help to absorb the odour from your pen. Check for termites and other predators that can feed on your maggot and installed protective measures.

Construct Your Housing:

collection of Maggots

Construct housing to suit your space and scale of production. You can construct a small open house with a roof. The floor of the pen house should be floored with concrete.

You can start by using plastic drums as substrate drum and collecting drum. construct drainage around the pen house to prevent termites, lizard and rats from accessing your pen and causing damage.

Collect Your Raw Materials: Poultry dropping is the most popular raw material for maggot production. You can get poultry dropping from poultry farmers within your location for a small fee. You can also use cattle or goat blood mixed with rice or wheat barn. (Maggots gets even bigger with cattle/goat blood since it's very nutritious).

Introduce the dropping or cattle blood and fly attractant into the substract tank after collection. Rotten fruits and food is also a good alternative to poultry dropping and they are excellent attractant.

Production Process: Here is how the magic happens!

Adult female flies lay up to 2500 eggs under controlled condition.

They lay their eggs on the substrate (Poultry Dropping)

The eggs hatch after 8 to 12 hours.

The larval stage lasts about 5 days while the pupal stage for 4 to 5 days.

The housefly has 6 days cycle under controlled conditions.

Water the substrate daily to increase production.

Maggot is ready to harvest within 4-5days.

Feeding:

The adult fly feeds mainly on decaying organic matter.

Maggots feed for 4-5 days and then migrate to pupate in a dry place. ,

The flies mate and lay eggs between feeding periods.

450 grams of fresh manure can feed 1500 maggots

Harvesting:

You can harvest maggot with three different methods;

1️⃣The flotation method where the manure is mixed with water and the larvae and pupae float out to be collected with a sieve.

2️⃣The screening method where the manure is spread in a thin layer on a sieve (3 mm) placed over a basin under sunlight: the larvae try to escape the light by passing through the screen and fall into the basin.

3️⃣The self-collect method is where the larva is trapped by collecting tanks when the larva is trying to escape.

Storage:

You can store your harvested maggot by washing and parboiling the maggots to remove and kill pathogens. Dry them using either the sun or the oven. After drying, put them in airtight containers and store in a dry place..

NOTE: You can feed your pigs with dry or fresh maggot directly or indirectly when mixed with their feed.

Market/Sales:
Introduce the maggot to farmers in your location and use social media to network with other farmers. Selling dried maggot meal will provide the opportunity for you to brand your product with packages and increase sale.
Make sure you have enough for your pigs before selling, pigs consumes lot of maggot.

We love you and we want you to increase productivity as well as profit.

Follow for more exciting information on pig farming.

An extract from Billionaire Farmz Pig e-book.📗

Billionaire Farmz 🐷

23/01/2021

PIG DYSENTERY
Causes And Treatment

Pig dysentery is caused by a spirochete called Brachyspira and causes severe inflammation in the large intestine producing bloody and mucous diarrhea.

The disease is frequent between 12 and 75 kg, but severe cases occur occasionally in sows and their piglets.

Brachyspira can survive outside the pig up to 112 days, but it dies in 2 days in dry and hot environments. Can be transmitted by birds, flies, fomites and mice.

Dissemination inside the farm is slow.

The number of pigs affected increases as the microorganism accumulates in the environment.

Recovered pigs rarely suffer from the disease again, however antibodies (IgG and IgA) do not last long. Therefore, the relationship between antibodies level and protection is not good. Some sows might not show any symptom during several months and transmit the disease to their piglets.

The high cost of the disease is associated with mortality (low), morbidity (high), decrease in growth, increase in feed conversion ratio, and the cost of in feed medication.

The incubation period in field cases is normally 7 to 14 days, but it can be up to 60 days. Pigs can initially develop a subclinical carrier state, and afterwards show symptoms if they are under stressing situations or when the diet is changed... especially when the diet is changed.

SYMPTOMS


SOWS
Clinical symptoms in sows are not frequent, unless the disease appears for the first time in the farm.

LACTATING PIGLETS
May suffer a severe acute dysentery.

Loose light brown f***s with or without blood and mucus.

Loss of body condition.

Sows are asymptomatic carriers.

WEANERS AND GROWERS
First symptoms are:

Sloppy diarrhea that stains perinneal skin.

Initially the diarrhea has a light brown color with gel consistency mucus and flakes of blood.

Sunken flanks.

Partial loss of appetite.

In some cases SUDDEN DEATH.

As the disease progresses:

May appear blood in gradually higher amounts which makes f***s have a dark and tar like color.

Pigs rapidly loose appetite and body condition.

Dehydration.

Thin animals with sunken eyes.

CAUSES / CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
Pigs get infected from the ingestion of contaminated f***s.

The disease is transmitted from carrier pigs (including farrowing sows) who excrete the organism in the f***s for a long time.

Mechanical transmission through infected f***s in equipment, feed distribution contaminated trucks, boots and birds.

May be transmitted through flies, mice, birds and dogs.

The stress produced when the diet is changed may trigger the disease.

Poor hygiene and high humidity.

Crowded conditons.

DIAGNOSIS
Clinical signs of diarrhea with blood and mucous.

Necropsy – disease restricted to large intestine..

CONTROL/PREVENTION

The following products may be used as treatment: SALINOMICINE, TIAMULIN, LINCOMICYN, TYLOSINE, MONENSINE.

Some B. hyodysenteriae strains have developed resistance to these antibiotics.

When the first signs of the disease are present, WATER MUST BE MEDICATED with lincomycin, tiamulin or tylosine during at least 7 days.

The most affected pigs MUST BE INJECTED with lincomycin, tiamulin or tylosine.

Medicating the diet only helps preventing the development of clinical disease.

Hygiene and mice control is of paramount importance to control the transmission, especially when it is planned to eradicate the organism.

There are two general options to eradicate the disease: depopulate and repopulate with disease free sows, or eradicate the disease without depopulating. Both methods are expensive, and the success percentage is not 100%, mainly with the second option.

All the replacement animals must originate from a swine dysentery negative farm.

Take care of your weaner pigs, they're more prone to dysentery.

An extract from Billionaire Farmz Ebook, soon to be published.

We love you and we want you to increase productivity as well as profitablity.

Billionaire Farmz

04/01/2021

WEANING AND LIFE AFTER WEANING
Successful weaning requires a combination of minimum age and weight at the time of weaning to suit the weaning system.
weaning age should be between 5-6weeks of age, personally, i use 6weeks.
The following are bound to happened when you reduce weaning age.
* The younger the piglet, the poorer its appetite at weaning.
*The younger the piglet is weaned, the less efficiently it will adapt to and digest solid food.
*poor feed intake =lower daily weight gain.
*Piglets weaned very early are more susceptible to enteric disease (intestinal dss)
* Increased post-weaning mortality.
***On the part of the Sow***
1. Short lactation will reduce subsequent litter sizes.
2. It will also reduce sebsequent conception rate.
3.The days from weaning to first mating interval may be increased but if you wean at appropriate time, expect your sow to come on heat fifth day after weaning.

The best age to wean your piglet will depend on the following;
*The parity of sow - 4th parity piglets grow faster, heavier than 1st parity(all things being equal).
* The health status of the dam after farrowing will determine its milking capacity. Some sows fall ill, some have agalactia, mastitis after farrowing.
* good weight for age at weaning.
Sometimes, weaning age can more than 6 week expecially when the piglets are;
*from the sow of the parity 1.
*too many litters eg. 12, 14,and 16,
segregated weaning techniques are required here.

SUGGESTED WEIGHT TARGET FOR WEANING.
DAY KG..................
28 7.5..................
35 9.25....................
42 12.9....................
49 17.0....................
56 23.0....................
70 30.0...................

In the last farm where i work, some of our piglets reach 17kg at 42days weaning age.

If you discover poor growth in the first 7 days post weaning, do the following;
*check the age of the piglet at weaning.
*Observe those with wet v***a soiled with feaces and remove them and treat them for diarrhea.
*sort all the smaller weaners, house them and feed them separately with good diet.
*give feed with high digestibility potential. your maize may come out the way they ate it.
*you can soak their feed for the first 3 days.
*provide enough feed for them.
Use in-feed medication for the first 10 days after weaning.
Provide easy access to fresh clean water.

Tackling Diarrhoea and Low Feed Intake after Weaning.
Only minimum amount of solid food are eaten during the suckling period and very little before 10 days of age. The sow's milk provides all the nutrients the piglet requires. At weaning the piglet has its main source of food removed (milk) and needs to survive on a non milk diet. In the same room are the heavy fearful weaners from another more that it has to fight with for the first 24 hours plus the trauma of competion during feeding. Thus it is important that the piglet has got used to solid feed before weaning to assist the transition. In fact your piglets must be fed very well the day you want to wean them.

At the first day, little feed is required as majority of them may not eat.
mix 75% of feed given before weaning with 25% of feed given after weaning.
After 3 days, change to 50%:50%, after 3 days, change to 75 new feed and 25% old feed and lastly, change to 100% of new feed.

Whatever you are reading here at Longabbey Animal Konsult is negligible and insignificant compared to when you are fully trained under our guidiance.
We have all what it takes to help you achieve your dream in pig industry.

So my advise for those who intend to start pig farming this year is that, get the necessary training and knowlege you need before going into the business. It is better to acquire knowledge with money than loose money without knowledge. IF YOU GABAGE IN, YOU MAY GABAGE OUT. Our economy in Nigeria here does not encourage wastage of time, energy, money and resources.
With LAK, you can get it right at once.

Visit us today and you will be glad you did so.

29/12/2020

Hello Farmers!
We're back again to talk about yet another important aspect of piggery, especially commercial piggery, and that is FEEDING / NUTRITION.

What is nutrition?
Simply put, nutrition is the process by which your pig is going to utilize the food you have given it to give you the best results in terms of weight.

This is a very important aspect because it will take between 60 - 80% of your general capital investment as well as determine up to 80% of your stock's (pigs) overall performance. In simpler terms, nutrition will play the biggest part in how quick your pigs get to reach the maximum kilos they can in the commercial time of 6 months.
So you see why a farmer cannot afford to get this wrong.
And it's not just the weight that will be determined by the quality of feed you subject your pigs to. There are other performance issues such as, but not limited to;

- Sows taking long or failing to go on heat.
- Small numbers of piglets produced by the sow.
- Piglets born dead / mummified.
- Sow lacking sufficient breast milk for piglets.
- Sows growing thin during breastfeeding/lactation stage e.t.c

Those are just some of the performance issues associated with a poor diet.

That's why it is important for the food / diet you give to the animals to be balanced for the best results.
This means that all the necessary nutrients have to be inclusive in your diet plan and in the right quantities.
The amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, amino acids e.t.c have to be just right at every stage. Not too much as they might be dangerous. And not little as the pigs just won't gain from the feed.
It has to strike a balance.

In the past (and now still unfortunately) pigs were considered easy to rear as they are omnivorous (eat both plants and meat) which is a big disadvantage to them as people feed them with whatever they come across. From table scraps to the rotting jackfruit in the garden.

This is a trend that commercial feeding wants to change.
This "free" food, whereas might seem economical on face value, is actually in most cases not able to help you turn that ever so elusive corner to get onto "commercial piggery street", so to speak. The street where profits tend to be high.

Many farmers, especially seasoned farmers, have been asking me why they should buy commercial feeds which are more expensive than their farm mixed feeds.
I have seen the same question posed all too often on social media platforms.
Well, I'll try to explain why. For SAJE FEEDS and CONCENTRATES at least.

Let me let you in on a secret I tend to share with farmers that use SAJE GROMIX CONCENTRATES.
When it comes to feeding, it's not really about cost per kilo of feed. Nope. Don't mind this too much coz it can be rather deceptive. Concentrate on weight gained by the pig per kilo of feed given everyday. What is termed as Average Daily Gain (ADG).

What does this mean?
Well, a farmer might think they're saving by employing a feed with a cost of less than 1000/= /kg, but this feed gives the animals an average of around 500gms everyday (at about 4+ months).
This gives them about 3.5kgs per week.
This is a waste of this rapid growth period where there usually is an exponential increase in kilos.

On the other hand a SAJE farmer would have a feed costing about 1,500/= /kg, (if bran and broken are highly priced), but with animals getting over 1kgs per day on average at least.
This is also within the same rapid growth period of about 4+ months when they start to grow a bit faster.

Of course this is subject to quality management and genetics.
And I hereby assume that these are a constant, with the feeds being the only difference.
This puts a weekly average of over at least 8kgs for SAJE fed farm.
This is more than double what the "saving" farmer has gotten, even at the bare minimum. Subject to the same good genetics and management.

This is not fantasy or sales maths but rather practically obtained data from user farmers and the SAJE PIGS FARM in Kawanda.

And this is not where the advantage ends. No.
Because the SAJE farmer has more than double what the saving farmer has as their ADG, this means that he will hit market in half the time it takes his counterpart to. Which is 6 months. And with his animals at a maximum weight. Now this is still subject to genetics and management, but it's supposed to be an average of over 100kgs of live weight.
I feel I cannot stress enough the importance of quality management especially, as well as good genetics.
Coz without these, this will be difficult to achieve.
However, farmers that have those two aspects mastered have been amazed with what they've seen.

And that's not all. Even the quality and weight of the dressed carcass matters.
A SAJE farmer that has had excellent management will most likely maintain a minimum of at least 70% of their live weight.
That means about 70kgs of your 100kgs will be pork as the carcass will have almost no fat due to our feeding program that has this in plan with our FINISHER concentrate.

What about our saving farmer?
After about at least 10 months, they'll have, (with good genetics and quality Management) , about 70kgs of live weight.
The carcass weight on the hand will be up to chance but it usually is half or less of the live weight.
This gives them about 30 - 35kgs of saleable pork.
This is half what the SAJE farmer has gotten as his minimum carcass weight.

And do U know the caper of it all?
The SAJE farmer has used less than 300,000/= to achieve all this.
And if the prices of bran and broken are low, it will even be further away from the 300,000/=.

How much would our Saving farmer have used? Well, it might be over 300,000/=.
Why? He has had to feed the animals longer. Almost twice as long as a SAJE farmer meaning, that 800/= for an extra 4 - 6 months has made it even pricier.
And yet he has still got half the results.

This is the reality of nutrition and the maths involved.
And we've just scratched the surface as it is a wide subject to cover in one article.

Remember, it's not just the kilos that are affected by nutrition, but every aspect of performance.
But that is a whole other different article for another time.

Or feel free to visit our shops at Luteete, Matugga or Wakiso if you need the information earlier than having to wait for when the next article is published.

Today, I just wanted to demystify the importance of the relatively cheap, well balanced commercial feed that is SAJE GROMIX CONCENTRATES vis-a-vis cheaper unbalanced alternatives.

For more information, please tap the WhatsApp button at the top of the page, or call the numbers listed on the page.

12/12/2020

SIGNS YOUR SOW IS ABOUT TO FARROW

Most inexperienced pig farmers and stock keepers are ignorant and not educated on the subject of farrowing.

Knowing how and when to detect when sow is about to farrow, in fact the entire farrowing process is crucial especially farmers who run farrow-to-finish Enterprise.

Lack of technical know-how in this matter can reduce sow productivity increase mortality rate in piglet.

Trust me, by the end of reading this post you'll be enlightened on when sow is about to Farrow and what to do, first let's discuss the length of pregnancy.

LENGTH OF PREGNANCY

The mean length in the sow is between 114 - 115 days with a range from 111-120.
Gilts tend to have a shorter pregnancy. The variation within the range is influenced by the herd, environment, breed, litter size (it tends to be shorter in larger litters and longer in smaller litters) and the time of year.

THE FARROWING PROCESS PROPER.

This can be considered in 3 stages,
1️⃣Pre-farrowing period,
2️⃣farrowing process and
3️⃣the immediate post-farrowing period when the afterbirth is expelled.

Stage 1️⃣ - The pre-farrowing period

The preparation for farrowing starts some 10 to 14 days prior to the actual date, with the development of the mammary glands and the swelling of the v***a. At the same time teat enlargement occurs and the veins supplying the udder stand out prominently.

The impending signs of farrowing include a reduced appetite and restlessness, the sow standing up and lying down and if bedding is available chewing and moving this around in her mouth. If she is loose-housed on straw she will make a bed.

Within 12 hours of actual delivery of piglets, milk is secreted into the mammary glands and with a gentle hand and finger massage it can be expressed from the teats. This is one of the most reliable signs of impending parturition. A slight mucous discharge may be seen on the lips of the v***a. If a small round pellet of faeces is seen in the mucous and the sow is distressed, farrowing has started and it is highly likely the first piglet is presented backwards. This small pellet is the meconium or first faeces coming from the re**um of the piglet inside. An internal examination is immediately required.

The final part of stage 1 is the opening of the cervix to allow the pigs to be pushed out of the uterus, through the va**na and into the world.

Stage 2️⃣. The farrowing process

This can range from 3 to 8 hours and piglets are usually delivered every 10 to 20 minutes but there is a wide variation. For example if a sow has had high stillbirth rates, monitor her more closely and take any necessary actions. There is often a gap between the first and second piglet of up to three quarters of an hour.

The majority of pigs are born head first but there are more pigs presented backwards towards the end of the farrowing period. Immediately prior to the presentation of a pig the sow lays on her side, often shivering and lifting the upper back leg. This is an important point to take note of because it may indicate the presence of a stillborn pig.

Twitching of the tail is seen just as a pig is about to be born.

Stage 3️⃣. Delivery of the placenta

This usually takes place over a period of 1 to 4 hours and is an indication that the sow has finished farrowing although some afterbirth will sometimes be passed during the process of farrowing. Once the sow has completed the farrowing process there are certain signs that should be observed.

She appears at peace, grunts and calls to the piglets.

The shivering and movement of the top hind leg ceases. If this is still occurring it is likely that a pig is still presented.

After the placenta has been delivered there will be a slight but sometimes heavy discharge for the next 3 to 5 days. Provided the udder is normal, the sow is normal and eating well ignore it, it is a natural post-farrowing process. Occasionally a pathogenic organism enters the uterus causing inflammation (endometritis). This may cause illness, requiring treatment.

In our text post we'll talk about problems of associated with farrowing.
Stay tuned to our page for more.
Farmz