fbpx
Sign up now!
Don't show this again
Download the report!Continue to Site >
or wait 7 secs

Thank you for confirming your subscription!

(And remember, if ever you want to change your email preferences or unsubscribe, just click on the links at the bottom of any email.)

We’re glad you’re enjoying Pig Health Today.
Access is free but you’ll need to register to view more content.
Already registered? Sign In
Tap to download the app
X
Share
X

REPORTS

Collect articles and features into your own report to read later, print or share with others

Create a New Report

Favorites

Read Later

Create a new report

Report title (required) Brief description (optional)
CREATE
X
NEXT
PORK POULTRY
follow us


You must be logged in to edit your profile.

Favorites Read Later My Reports PHT Special Reports
Pig Health Today is equipped with some amazing (and free) tools for organizing and sharing content, as well as creating your own magazines and special reports. To access them, please register today.
Sponsored by Zoetis

Pig Health Today | Sponsored by Zoetis

.
Featured Video Play Icon

Yeske: Multiple factors contributing to rising sow-mortality rates

The spike in sow-mortality rates in recent years has everyone in the US pork industry searching for answers. Don’t expect any simple solutions, however.  In most cases, multiple factors lead to mortality or declines in sow performance, according to Paul Yeske, DVM, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minnesota.

“Like many different things in the industry, it’s multi-factorial…not just one thing,” he told Pig Health Today.

Not all farms experience high mortality rates. Yeske said he sees a lot of variability among sow herds, and they try to understand why there’s a difference.

Expansion drives higher selection rates

One reason sow mortality increased relates to herd expansion. “As we’ve seen more expansion, we tend to have higher selection rates and sometimes end up with more mortality,” Yeske said.

“Ideally, we’d have a selection rate of 50% to 60%, and sometimes we end up…in the 70% to 80% range,” he explained. “Some of those animals probably shouldn’t have come to the barn to begin with.

“Make sure you bring enough of the animals in to allow for proper selection and not take what’s available,” he added.

In units with internal multiplication, Yeske recommended maintaining a purebred herd large enough to produce the needed replacement gilts. If gilts are outsourced, bring in enough animals for cover selection.

He also suggested making sure sow herds are sized properly. “Sometimes we just have to stand back and make sure the right animals come into the farm,” he said. “If the animal is structurally questionable, it’s going to be more difficult for that animal to stay in the herd.”

Lameness is a leading contributor to higher sow-mortality rates, along with prolapses. “Some research work is actively being done to try and understand what’s going on. We know it’s occurring; we just don’t know exactly why,” he added.

Maintain body condition

Another cause of sow mortality relates to higher production rates and body condition.

“We’re seeing higher levels of [sow] productivity than we’ve ever seen,” Yeske continued. “Are we meeting the needs of this higher-producing animal?” Research on sow diets dates back a number of years when production rates were lower, he noted.

Good body condition is essential for keeping sows in the herd. “If we get the animals into the herd, keep them in the right body condition,” Yeske said. “That’s going to add to their longevity.

“If the animals are yo-yoing a lot on weight, it’s going to add more stress and more challenges. Try to keep them very uniform and consistent on weight.”

Match health status

It’s important to remember that gilts entering a herd are stressed as they begin to develop herd immunity. Producers need to properly acclimate gilts to diseases they may face.

“Understand the health status of the animal coming in, manage it to match your herd and then identify the problems as they show up,” Yeske advised.

“If we don’t get that done right, that just adds more stress to those young-parity animals and ends up having them exit the system faster than they should.”

Fast intervention

Speed is also critical. “Herds that have fast intervention on problem animals tend to have the lowest mortality,” he said.

“Make sure you do individual pig care every day. Go out and check every animal every day. Make sure the animal is getting up and good on all four legs. Make sure the animal is eating and [there are] no other signs of any health problems,” he added.

 




Posted on January 14, 2019

tags: ,
RELATED NEWS
  • Deen: We’re underestimating the cost of sow mortality

    When a sow doesn’t reach her full potential, the cost to the farm and the income stream of the sow herd is often “grossly underestimated,” said John Deen, DVM, PhD, University of Minnesota.

  • Reduce sow mortality with documentation and intervention

    The cause of high sow-mortality rates may be tough to determine, but producers can take steps to address the problems and lower rates, according to Randy Jones, DVM, Four Star Veterinary Service.

  • Research continues to dig for POP answers

    Searching for strategies to alter the course of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in sows has been a long, slow climb with progress coming little by little. At the heart of the effort is the Sow Survivability project

  • Sow mortality records need an overhaul

    The upward trendline of sow mortality needs to be addressed. But until farms have a clearer understanding of why a gilt or sow leaves the breeding herd, progress will be limited.




You must be logged in to edit your profile.

Share It
Influenza A virus in swine (IAV-S) is one of the primary respiratory pathogens challenging swine production systems in the US and around the world. What makes it so transmissible? Watch the interview with Phil Gauger, DVM, PhD, Iowa State University.

Click an icon to share this information with your industry contacts.
Google Translate is provided on this website as a reference tool. However, Poultry Health Today and its sponsor and affiliates do not guarantee in any way the accuracy of the translated content and are not responsible for any event resulting from the use of the translation provided by Google. By choosing a language other than English from the Google Translate menu, the user agrees to withhold all liability and/or damage that may occur to the user by depending on or using the translation by Google.