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The new regulations on veterinary medicines and ZnO to be implemented in 2022 pose an important challenge to the EU pig industry. However, these regulations are also an opportunity to rethink our farms and give them a push towards excellence. In these 2 articles we discuss some of the aspects that we consider important to review in any farm that wants to get rid of in-feed medication while improving their productive performance.
Why do you want to stop using in-feed antibiotics and zinc oxide?
If your answer to this question is “to comply with regulation”, then… think again. In-feed medication is there to cover a problem. It should not be part of the normal husbandry in a pig farm. Yes, it is easier and cheaper to use antibiotics than to solve the actual problem, but it is also a trap in the long term. Farms using less or not using in-feed antibiotics and ZnO perform in general better than those relying on antibiotics and ZnO. One could think it is the other way around, those with more problems (and performing worse) need to use more antibiotics and ZnO. However, anybody that visits farms regularly knows that this is not the case. Using medication to solve problems becomes a habit and getting rid of in-feed medication is hard, expensive, and takes time and good doses of teamwork. However, in the long term it pays off.
What does it take to remove in-feed medication?
In Teagasc we have been working with farmers removing in-feed medication for the last 5 years. In most cases, removing medication does not result in dramatic situations, however the farm will go through an adaptation process. Outbreaks will happen every now and then, and you will need to do adjustments in cleaning, management, vaccination, and other aspects. In general, this goes on for around 1-2 years and the farm will then be performing much better than it was when using in-feed medication. The following paragraphs include some of the things we have learned working with Irish farmers. We hope it helps.
First, get the diet right
It would be fair to say that current advances in piglet management have addressed quite well the issue of post-weaning anorexia. Yes, piglets still eat less than their potential after weaning, but the knowledge on creep feed and supplementary milk, later weaning ages, and improvement of facilities have helped to minimize this issue greatly. If anorexia is still an issue in your farm, talk to your nutritionist and review the management protocols.
It may sound strange, but we would also suggest ignoring gut health. We are not saying that the health of the digestive system is not important, but often by focusing on gut health we forget that there is an animal around the gut. Yes, it is important to create the right intestinal environment, reduce protein, add acids… but nutrition goes beyond the gut. At weaning the piglet is losing its main source of nutrients, there is a rapid depletion of some vitamins and minerals, like zinc, and the amino acid requirements change to supply the immune response. Feed influences even the microbial populations in the environment; it goes even beyond the animal. When was the last time that you saw a farm feeding the most advanced creep feed in dirty feeders full of flies?
Define what is the actual problem?
Part of the "magic" of in-feed medication is that it sorts out more than one health problem in a farm. I am sure you have heard about plenty of farms that were medicating to control diarrhoea (or so they said) and suddenly they cannot remove the medication because they have no way to control meningitis. Wasn’t meningitis there when they started to medicate for diarrhoea? A proactive diagnostic protocol, good records, and a review of the vaccination programme is a must.
Keep the faith, it will happen
One comment that we have heard plenty of times from farmers that have successfully removed in-feed medication is that “the piglets are loose the first week post-weaning, so what?” These farmers would tell you that you must hold it there and resist the temptation to bring medication back. You will have an issue every now and then, but you will learn to manage it. In general, this would be what the farmer would call a bad batch and with experience you recognize them and can anticipate the problem. In farrow-to-finish farms this is easier because you have access to the pigs that are coming to the nursery. In 2 or 3 site production it will require a bit more communication between sites.
