A couple of puzzling cases of diarrhea in baby pigs that didn’t test positive for the usual culprits were recently identified through genome sequencing as a porcine...
For replacement gilts to be successful, the farm needs a well-established, well-managed and continually maintained plan, said Joel Sparks, DVM, with AMVC in Audubon,...
Getting pigs off to a good start is both an art and science, and even under the best of circumstances it can be challenging. It’s even more difficult this year due to...
Gilts entering a farrowing room face some big demands for animals still maturing while supporting their first litters. Skipping a breeding cycle can let these sows put...
Eliminating porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) from pigs might not yet be possible, but monitoring tools could help refine a herd's PRRSV...
On the farm, swine caregivers tend to lump umbilical hernias and umbilical abscesses under the single category of umbilical defects. What are the risk factors for these...
Colostrum is vital to piglet survival but managing intake may benefit from some fresh thinking, according to Kara Stewart, associate professor of animal science at...
It’s not unrealistic to say that if you checked the nasal cavities or tonsils of any group of pigs, you would find Strep suis. It is on virtually every hog farm.
Environmentally controlled hog facilities eliminated most swine parasites. But Ascaris suum (roundworm) continues to persevere on some conventional farms and frequently...
The pork industry has had a tremendous number of innovations over the years, said Joe Connor, DVM. Connor, who serves as a consultant within Carthage Veterinary...
In Part 2 of this two-part series, Ryan Strobel, DVM, and Chris Sievers, DVM, with the Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minnesota, share implementation strategies to lower...
The farrowing room is a demanding place — one that needs to accommodate the divergent needs of a 500+-pound sow and her 10, 15 or 20 piglets weighing anywhere from...
For both the sow and piglet, an animal that does not perform to its potential or falls behind its counterparts will negatively impact the sow farm’s productivity and...
Few things remain the same for long on a hog farm. By the very nature of today’s production system, pigs are continuously moving on or off a site. One thing that...
Producers need to recognize there will always be health challenges when raising pigs without antibiotics. The goal is to resolve those challenges as they arise.
Pre-wean mortality continues to be a challenge to producers across the industry as genetic improvements allow sows to be more prolific and achieve higher total born.
Litter sizes on US hog farms have steadily increased, but that’s a good-news/bad-news development as those large litters often come at a price, which is more...
Helping piglets make a smooth transition at weaning is always a priority, but bacterial pathogens such as Streptococcus suis and Haemophilus parasuis can make that goal...
Newly weaned pigs face many challenges — new environment, feed, pen mates. They also face the challenge of bacterial infections like strep and parasuis, the two most...
Three diseases affecting finishing hogs — Senecavirus A, porcine sapelovirus and erysipelas — have undergone changes over the past year that warrant the pork...
The US pork industry has demonstrated high standards for animal welfare, but there is still much to learn about mitigating pain — not only during processing, but...
Follow this rule if you’re raising pigs without antibiotics: “Sweat the small stuff.” That’s the advice from Doug MacDougald, DVM, for any farm that wants to...
Nick Zanger learned a few tough lessons about vaccine protocols shortly after he started managing three 2,500-head nursery-to-finishing buildings near Loraine,
The pork industry uses a wide variety of vaccinations and medications for managing viral and bacterial diseases. Micah Jansen, DVM, Zoetis, identifies five areas where...
It’s time to consider the role finishing pigs play in the spread of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) to sow farms, according to Montserrat...
An employee-training program focused on online training followed by tracked, in-barn verification experiences helped a start-up farm achieve top piglet-survival rates,...
China has encountered its first case of African Swine Fever (ASF), according to reports from animal health officials in the country. The highly contagious disease was...
Several factors go into selecting a site for a pork-production unit, but research shows there are a couple more — specifically, terrain and vegetation — that may...
Eliminating mycoplasma from a herd works well with a fast payback, even in hog-dense areas, according to research conducted by Paul Yeske, DVM, Swine Vet Center, St....
The amount of colostrum a piglet consumes during its first 24 hours of life impacts its performance through finishing, according to Jeffery Wiegert, swine specialist,...
Although antibiotics and sow housing have remained center stage in recent years, retailers are increasingly putting pressure on producers to address pain management as...
Given the task to find and review research on dietary alternatives for sub-therapeutic antibiotic growth promotants, Wes Schweer and a team of pork-industry experts...
A common mistake made with vaccines involves improper handling of the vaccines. From the time the products arrive on the farm until they are used, the vaccines must be...
A common mistake made with vaccines involves improper handling of the vaccines. From the time the products arrive on the farm until they are used, the vaccines must be...
The new veterinary feed directive rules regarding the use of antibiotics in feed makes the use of vaccinations more important to maintain optimum swine health. If pigs...
A well-trained caregiver becomes the first line of defense against disease in a hog unit. If they are trained to recognize the first signs of disease in pig units, they...
Veterinarians know the history of disease that may pop up within different hog systems. Depending on the situation, they may decide that a feed antibiotic is the best...
TOOLBOX, Issue 8: Rick Swalla, DVM, recently talked with editors of Pig Health Today about the pork industry’s first vaccine to include two genotypes of porcine...
The US pork industry’s first vaccine to include two genotypes of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) — 2a and 2b — was announced on the first day of the American...
Researchers at Michigan State University investigated how early weaning ages affect development of a piglet’s gut and its ability to launch an immune response against...
The Pipestone System in Minnesota recently conducted at their research facilities two large-scale trials to study the effects of lactation length on sows and...
How much colostrum a piglet consumes on day 1 impacts the pig’s performance for the rest of its life, according to a North Carolina State University study.
Employees can make a big difference in herd health by properly administering vaccines. But employees don’t always know the correct protocols and why vaccinations are...
Most hog farms successfully stamp out mycoplasma pneumonia when they work with their veterinarian to eliminate the disease. The challenge is preventing...
Adjusting to changes in how and when to use in-feed antibiotics is an ongoing effort. While those products are still available under veterinarian supervision for...
Developing techniques and tools to encourage the growth of good bacteria in the gut is key to producing healthier pigs that require fewer antibiotics over the long...
The USDA’s chief scientist and several scientific and industry organizations took issue with the World Health Organization’s recent news release recommending that...
Improved education of caretakers is one way pork producers can help ensure their pigs have a healthy gut and get off to a good start, Noel Garbes, DVM, technical...
For as long as any pork producer can remember, fall’s arrival traditionally was a signal to add a respiratory antibiotic to the grower-finisher rations or, at the...
Anyone who owns hogs or hog buildings should expect a visit someday by an auditor who will conduct an animal-welfare and food-safety audit. Usually a packer or...
A virtual veterinary clinic that monitors pig-disease trends and provides an early alert system for diagnostic laboratories and swine practitioners is helping the US...
Implementation of the new veterinary feed directive (VFD) in swine has gone smoothly in the field, according to Chris Rademacher, DVM, Iowa State University...
With the FDA’s new veterinary feed directive (VFD) rules changing the way some feed-grade antimicrobials are used on the farm, other options are gaining more...
Every year, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) infects an estimated 25% to 45% of sow herds in the US, according to Clayton Johnson, DVM, Carthage...
Losses due to heat stress are commonly associated with market hogs, particularly during transportation in the hot, humid summer months, but recent research shows that...
Keeping a hog farm free of pathogens can be a daunting task for producers. The process to evaluate potential risks and then undertake biosecurity measures to manage the...
Increased soluble fiber in pig diets shows promise as an alternative for growth-promoting antimicrobials in nursery diets, according to Eric Burrough, DVM, Veterinary...
One of the most basic — yet often overlooked — elements of pork production is water. A clean, safe palatable water supply ensures adequate hydration, encourages...
Paying closer attention to both sow live weight and back-fat depth could help farmers improve reproductive performance in breeding herds, scientists report.
Sow parity appears to have no effect on the incidence and timing of influenza infection in piglets, indicates a study presented at the 2017 annual meeting of the...
Colostrum may be the best sample to test for determining whether porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is present in sow herds, according to researchers at Iowa State...
Without the ability to sweat, pigs must rely on conduction, convection, radiation, and respiration/evaporation to remove body heat. Forcing air across a wet pig — the...
Around 50% of pigs weaned today likely are infected with a primary viral pathogen, like porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) or swine influenza,...
Contaminated hog trailers are now known to be partially responsible for spreading the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in 2013 as it emerged in the US.
US pork production has gone through dramatic changes over recent decades, but one thing that hasn’t changed is the challenge that infectious disease presents. Swine...
Watching 21-day old piglets that just left their mothers being placed in a nursery barn takes a special “sixth” sense to understand what they’re feeling.
Ness farm pigs get dessert before dinner. The Ness’ production system uses a liquid byproduct from an ice cream manufacturer to supply fat and energy to their pigs’...
Monitoring the spread of a pathogen is one part of disease surveillance. But early identification is another part — arguably with growing importance as millions of...
Castrating male piglets to prevent boar taint at market age is a common occurrence on US hog farms. However, as consumer interest in on-farm practices and animal...
Boar-taint vaccination improved the welfare of male pigs kept under commercial conditions by inhibiting sexual and aggressive behavior, according to new research from...
Two world-renowned experts discussed the economic and welfare benefits of using a novel castration alternative at the 2016 International Pig Veterinary Society...