1 / 50

Walking the Pens: Capturing Opportunity Through Individual Pig Care

Discover the importance of walking the pens to identify and treat pigs in need, and how it can improve pig management and increase profitability. Learn about the challenges and strategies for effective care.

mschott
Download Presentation

Walking the Pens: Capturing Opportunity Through Individual Pig Care

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Walking the Pens:Capturing Opportunity Through Individual Pig Care Dr. Shelley Stanford Pfizer Animal Health Dr. Kelly Greiner Carthage Veterinary Service

  2. OPPORTUNITY • We leave money on the table (or in the barn) with every group of pigs that we finish. • Picking up some of that money requires us to spend time and effort walking the pens.

  3. Goals for Today • Stimulate you to think about how you manage pigs moving through your nursery, finisher or wean to finish barn. • Raise more full value pigs. • Make more money!

  4. Moving the Curve

  5. Shifting the Entire Curve • Genetics • Nutrition • Altered disease dynamics • Improved environment

  6. Altering the Tail of the Curve • Optimize space allowances • Insure a proper start • Biosecurity • Sanitation • Proper temperature • Equipment adjusted and repaired • Identify animals that need additional care early and treat them appropriately

  7. What are the challenges in finding and treating pigs in need? • Time • Perceived Value • Understanding, effortand training • Other?

  8. Time • How much time is allotted to identifying and treating pigs? • Never enough! • Should spend 30-45 minutes per 1000 head barn • People are busy and may not be prepared

  9. Understanding, Training and Effort • We must implement good training programs • Explain not only what to do but why it is important • Motivation can be a problem

  10. Perceived Value • Success rate is low if you • Find too late • Treat improperly • Use the wrong product • Use the wrong route of administration • Don’t complete the therapy • We must make the correct intervention at the correct time if we expect success!

  11. So what do we do? • Train • Set goals • Design protocols that are easy to understand • Train again

  12. So what do we do? • Train • Set goals • Design protocols that are easy to understand • Train again

  13. Walking the Pens

  14. Walking the Pens CD ..\..\..\All Users\Desktop\Pfizer Wean-Finish - Walking the Pens.lnk

  15. Walking the Pens • Barn walk-though involves evaluation on three different levels • Barn level • Pen level • Individual pig level • We must see every pig every day!

  16. Barn Level • Temperature • Humidity • Air quality • Fans and curtains working properly • Feed and water systems working properly • General activity of the barn

  17. Ventilation • Often overlooked, forgotten • Cause of more poor performance than is reported

  18. Ventilation Basics • Humidity • Temperature • Temperature Fluctuations • Controller settings

  19. Humidity • Easy to measure • Cheap to measure and fix • What is the correct range? • 55-65% • Slight changes in minimums

  20. Temperature • Start temperature • PREWARM Barns! • Nursery vs. Wean to Finish • Avoid reducing too quickly • Use controller function • Be aware of temperature fluctuations every hour as well as every day • Hi/Lo thermometer – a guide • Temp recorder – fine tuned temps • Reassess seasonally • Probe locations • Startups especially

  21. Know CFM requirements

  22. Pen Level • Feeder adjustment • Waterer adjustment • Gating and flooring in need of repair • Ventilation problems

  23. Feed and Water • Out of feed events • More common due to production systems • BAD • Dr. Brumm’s data • Increases with • ↓ particle size • ↑ Fat • DDGS • Feeder design

  24. Feed and Water • Water • Nursery – encourage group drinking behavior • Add lock down waters, pans • Finisher • Adequate space • MONITOR • Water meters

  25. Individual Level • Careful observation of every pig every day • This is not optional! • The brown watch band

  26. Get down on pig level • Walk the pens daily

  27. What are some clues that a pig is in need of individual care??

  28. Pig size

  29. Location in a pen is a hint

  30. Observe every pig - head to tail • Nose- is there any discharge • Eyes- bright or dull, discharge or matter • Ears- standing up or laid back • Thorax and breathing- thumping or labored • Bellies- empty or full

  31. Observe every pig - head to tail • Bad hair days- rough or standing up • Diarrhea- stains, pools or puddles • Tail Biting- bloody, redness, or swelling • Feet and legs- swollen or limping

  32. Have a plan when you enter the barn • Come prepared

  33. Be ready to sort if necessary • Helping pigs get away may be their only chance of survival

  34. Know your treatment options • Use the right product • At the right time • By the correct route • In the correct dosage • Mark and record appropriately

  35. Know your treatment options • Have protocols in place

  36. Know your treatment options • Be sure to follow AMDUCA • Labeled product for labeled pathogen • Labeled dosage • Labeled withdrawal • All other is prescription/extra-label • May require extended withdrawal • Requires justification for use • Human grade products are last choice

  37. Know your treatment limitations • A Pig, B Pig, C Pig • Don’t expect high levels of success if all you treat are C pigs

  38. Euthanasia is a treatment • We must have processes in place to humanely euthanize pigs If all we are treating is “C pigs” this may be the best option!

  39. So what do we do? • Train • Set goals • Design protocols that are easy to understand • Train again

  40. Setting Goals • Walk pens every day • Treat pigs that are sick • Check waterers and get feeders adjusted properly • Get the rate of feeders that need adjustment every morning to <10% • Find 95% of pigs that need to be treated • Achieve mortality rates of: • Nursery <2% • Finisher <2% • Wean to finish <4%

  41. Setting Goals • Achieve performance goals that reflect the top 10% of producers in the US

  42. So what do we do? • Train • Set goals • Design protocols that are easy to understand • Train again

  43. Design protocols that are easy to understand • Checklists

  44. Explain the “whys” • Vaccinations • Disease prevention is key • Appropriate vaccination techniques • Reasonable expectations for vaccination • Individual pig treatment • Welfare • Economic implications

  45. Make sure everyone knows where they are

  46. Make sure that they have the tools that they need • Products • Syringes • Needles • Markers • Record sheets • Sorting panels • Euthanasia equipment

  47. So what do we do? • Train • Set goals • Design protocols that are easy to understand • Train again

  48. Train Again • Do not assume anything • Wean to finish barns turn only twice a year • Even the most seasoned workers need refresher training • Make sure everyone is aware of new products and protocols • Put it in writing

  49. OPPORTUNITY • We leave money on the table (or in the barn) with every group of pigs that we finish. • Picking up some of that money requires us to spend time and effort walking the pens.

  50. Questions?

More Related