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Want a hint? This sow looks like she's closed the bar!
What should you observe? Although the piglets are actively stimulating the sow with the intention of suckling, by lying on the teats the sow is preventing the piglets from accessing the mammary system. Piglets' normal behavior is to suckle and sleep and not to be wandering around inside the farrowing pen, which indicates deficient milk intake.
Early treatment is essential to avoid the loss of milk from the sow and avoid the piglets entering into hypoglycemia.
These are short sequences, but we must be alert and watch for other early signs that the sow is having problems. Is she eating, is she drinking, do we see any signs of edema, heat, or swelling in her teats that are causing the sow to avoid nursing?
Want a hint? Does the piglets' behavior look normal to you? Where are they piling up?
What should you observe? The piglets in some pens are crowded around the drinker and are very nervous. Compare this behavior with the animals on the other side of the aisle, which are perfectly calm. It is essential to check that the drinkers and feeders are in perfect working order. Whenever we see animals crowded around the drinking or feeding points, it should be our priority to check that they are working properly.
Want a hint? Umbilical cord manipulation is pivotal in the incidence of umbilical hernias.
What should you observe? When we assist in the farrowing of the piglet, the part of the umbilical cord in contact with the piglet must not suffer any tension. Therefore, we hold the cord at a distance from the piglet's abdomen with one finger and always pull the cord from the sow's side. Management in the farrowing room conditions the strength of the abdominal musculature and can lead to the presentation of hernias in the finishing period.
Want a hint? How many stillborns do you see here?
What should you observe? Dead piglets do not walk! We must evaluate each loss in the farrowing room to note the cause of death in the most correct way possible. Never forget that the main objective of data collection is to understand the farm's true situation to take appropriate measures and improve production. On farms, it is better to have few but reliable records.
Having a lot of stillbirths does not require the same solution as having a lot of pre-weaning mortality. If the information is incorrect, it will lead to an incorrect diagnosis and, therefore, the treatment of the problem will also be incorrect. For example:
- Stillbirths before farrowing: These may be related to constipation in the sows or some other factor that prevents normal farrowing.
- Piglets dead within hours of birth: We can implement solutions to give them additional warmth since hypothermia (cold) and hypoxia are two of the main causes of these losses.
Want a hint? What do you think about where the piglets have chosen to lay down?
What should you observe? These piglets are at a high risk of being crushed by the sow. Newborn piglets look for heat sources, but if they approach the sow looking for heat, there is a high risk of being crushed. To avoid this, we place lamps or heat mats. We see that the farrowing pen has a heat mat but the piglets are not using it and prefer to move closer to the sow and huddle together. Why? Is the heat mat not working? Is it too hot? If the mat is too hot it will not be a comfort zone. We can use paper strips on farrowing day to provide comfort, but they must be removed soon. If the mat is cold the piglets will move closer to the sow and crushing will occur more frequently.
We can assume that the sow has been standing for quite some time since most of the piglets have had time to get under the sow and fall asleep. We need to get the sow to start eating soon after farrowing. We need to get her up and eating and, above all, drinking water. If our sows start eating well from the beginning, their intake pattern in lactation will be optimal. This sow, having just farrowed, is very interested in food. What will her feeding curve have been in the days prior to farrowing?
