Anyone who keeps piglets in the yard knows that an improperly equipped or unprepared place for their maintenance creates additional inconvenience, especially in maintaining cleanliness inside the pen. How to raise piglets is not an easy question. Experienced pig breeders who have been raising pigs for a long time are advised to keep not one, but two or three piglets of the same age. Even better when they are from the same mother. And just because one can even play, there is no one to run with.
During feeding, a loner always takes aim at the trough for a long time, then tries to get into it with his feet, then rummages, then scatters food, then tramples. In a word, bad. And when there are two or three of them, don't yawn here. As in a big family: do not look back at the table, otherwise you will remain hungry.
A pen for piglets is made in a barn, usually 3 × 4 m in size, in which almost half is allocated for organizing a place to rest and sleep. One of the experienced pig breeders, answering the question of how to raise piglets, says that for some reason he always used the right corner for the corral, and the front door was located on the left. He prepared a flooring from boards for them, dense, without any cracks, lifting to a height of 15-20 cm from the floor.
The reason is this - in winter, when there is a decent frost on the street, a wave of cold air penetrates at the entrance, which spreads along the bottom. And the kids lie on the sunbed, and the cold does not capture them in any way, i.e. eliminates the possibility of a cold piglets. Yes, and no matter how you insulate the front door, it’s always cold on the floor anyway.
A pig bed is enclosed on one side with a crate (it is also located in the corner), and something like a roof is being built on top (height 1.5-1.7 m). Tin or thin sheet iron is placed on the roof, this avoids condensation on the young, especially in winter, accumulating on the ceiling of the barn. It turns out like a kennel. It is clogged tightly with hay or better with straw, since the straw is softer. Pigs immediately break through a hole there and make a nest inside, where they sleep with pleasure - they are warm and, most importantly, dry, but soft.
Piglets love to gnaw hay and straw, so after a while you have to fill the kennel again.
Those who have raised piglets know that they can eat anything that chews even the slightest bit, but they will never make a mess where they sleep. They will definitely come down from their nest and usually do their job somewhere in the corner, opposite the pen door, so it’s convenient to clean up, and if there is no free time, then not every day. Therefore, in order to make it convenient to clean up after the piglets, so that they do not interfere, it is better to expel them from the barn altogether for a while. Young growth, by the way, loves to run and play in the yard.
Very often, beginners to raise piglets complain that they do not eat food, but suck. Neither the pig nor the owners are to blame for this. And the reason is this - almost all piglets, except for normal teeth, grow the so-called "wolf teeth" or "wolf fangs". They are usually dark in color, very sharp, located so that the tooth does not fall on the tooth. That is, when biting, they dig into the opposite gum and injure it, so the piglets suck, they would be happy to bite, but they can’t - it hurts.
Immediately, as you bring home the purchased piglets or put them in your pen, inspect their mouth - you need to remove these unnecessary fangs. What is the best way to do this? It is best to do this together, it is more difficult to cope alone. Especially if you do it for the first time. Put a stick in your pig's mouth so he can't close it. And these teeth should be broken out with side cutters. The removal of these teeth is a completely painless operation. Since there are no nerves in these teeth. A piglet cries whenever it is disturbed. So pay no attention to the cries of the pig.
A video on removing fangs from newborn piglets shows in detail how to do it.
After such an operation, the piglet will never suck food again. He will grab it with a full mouth and eat everything that is in the feeder with appetite, if, I repeat once again, he is not one at the trough, but two, and preferably three. Then the food will be obtained in the struggle, and everything will be eaten clean.
You can leave an opening under the corral door. This is so that the feeder (trough) can be pulled out. To fill it with food, and then push it. Sometimes piglets greet the owner so energetically that they won’t let them dump the food into the trough properly.
According to the technological requirements for the care of newborn piglets, milk teeth are removed on the first day of life without fail.
Piglets are born with morphologically developed milk teeth - 2 fangs and 2 edges on each side on the upper and lower jaws, which must be removed after the birth of the animal. Timely and high-quality extraction of teeth prevents the development of infectious diseases in piglets and prevents injury to milk bags in sows during suckling milk.
Extraction of teeth also prevents injury to each other during the sow's teat struggle or even simple play. Therefore, the teeth of piglets eat or grind as soon as possible after birth - immediately after the completion of farrowing or, if it occurred at night, the next day.
In many farms, tooth extraction is performed with dental forceps, biting 1/2-2/3 of each tooth, trying not to injure the gums and tongue. This prevents the development of bleeding and further infection of the dental pulp. This operation is quite simple. For better quick access to the teeth, the piglet's head is held with the left hand, with moderate pressure on the mandibular joint and the oral cavity is opened or the thumb is immediately placed in the oral cavity.
The piglet's chair should be tilted so that the bite particles of the tooth fall out of the oral cavity on their own. Sometimes sharp parts of the tooth crown remain, so they have to be bitten off again.
Rice. 1. Grinding teeth in piglets using dental forceps
In some households, the teeth are bitten at the very gums, as a result of which bleeding occurs and the pulp of the tooth is exposed, causing the development of pulpitis, streptococcal infection, and the like.
Now in many countries such surgery is prohibited in accordance with the law on the protection of animals.
The use of Proxxon or Dremel special electric appliances for grinding teeth has a number of significant advantages. The technique of execution boils down to the fact that the surface of the head of the device, with a special abrasiveness, grinds the pointed parts of milk teeth to 1/2 or 2/3 of their length, and in some cases much less. By grinding the machine, the teeth are given a rounded shape.
The pulp of the tooth was not exposed, and in the postoperative period, complications of any nature, as a rule, do not occur. This eliminates the irritation of milk bags in sows and the occurrence of MMA syndrome. Another advantage of using the device is non-invasiveness (no pain reaction) and prevention of stress in piglets.
Rice. 2. Grinding the teeth of piglets with a Dremel electric tool
Given the technological approach to carrying out the extraction of teeth in piglets, each specialist or operator independently chooses for himself how he can perfectly carry out this manipulation either by cutting or grinding. It is always necessary to take into account the epizootic situation in the farm and warn against all possible risks, both for piglets and sows.
In the first days of life, piglets do not have subcutaneous fat and are very quickly supercooled and fall ill with colds if the proper temperature is not maintained in the room. In the first two decades of life of piglets, the air temperature at floor level should not be lower than 12 ... 14 ° C. Subsequently, it can be reduced to 10 ... 12 ° C, and by the fattening period - up to 8 ... 10 ° C, since during this period a layer of fat forms under the skin of the piglets, which protects their body from hypothermia. The required temperature can be maintained by insulating the walls, doors, windows and ceilings of the room. In addition, special berlozhki are arranged for piglets. Much attention should be paid to the elimination of drafts, as they are especially dangerous for suckling piglets. In addition to normal temperature conditions, piglets need walks. They contribute to the normal development of the animal, strengthening the skeleton, increasing appetite and improving the absorption of feed.
Walks begin at 4-5 days of age, first in a barn or other room, then on warm, fine days, piglets are released with a sow into the yard or into a specially fenced enclosure, in winter, straw or other bedding is spread over the snow. In the first days, the duration of winter walks should not exceed 3-5 minutes, gradually they are brought up to 25-30 minutes. All boars must be castrated, as castrates grow better, spend less feed on growth and produce high quality pork. Boars are castrated when they reach 40-45 days of age. In later periods, animals tolerate the operation worse. Recently, early castration of boars has been used - at the age of 1-2 weeks. Early castration has a beneficial effect on the growth and development of young animals. For castration, you should invite a veterinarian. Should baby teeth be trimmed in piglets? As already mentioned, at birth, piglets have eight teeth, four in each jaw.
When sucking, the nipple gets between these teeth and is held in a certain position. If the teeth are misaligned, piglets will injure their nipples. These piglets need to have their teeth trimmed. The operation is done with special bone forceps or ordinary scissors. At the same time, one person holds a piglet with one hand, and with the other hand takes it by the toothless part of the mouth and opens it. The other person bites or cuts the teeth so as not to damage the gums, otherwise the jaws swell greatly and the piglets become weak and sometimes die.
Teeth trimming in all litter piglets should be considered incorrect. The development of suckling pigs is controlled by weight gain in certain periods. In table. 4 shows the approximate daily gains of piglets. Stunted piglets must first be washed in warm soapy water, dried and kept in a warm room. They need to be especially well fed. If they get diarrhea from milk, then they give antibiotics, and preferably acidophilus. Gradually increase the daily feed intake.
Table. Live weight and daily gains of suckling piglets
Age, days |
Daily gain, g |
Live weight at the end of the period, kg |
||
|
minimum |
maximum |
minimal |
maximum |
|
|
At |
||||
After the piglet gets stronger and begins to eat food well, juicy and roughage is introduced into its diet in large volumes, and the supply of milk and concentrates is reduced. In the practice of backyard pig breeding, piglets are weaned from queens at 30, 35 and 40 days of age. 3-5 days before the weaning of piglets, depending on the milkiness of the uterus, the rations significantly reduce it. At the same time, first of all, juicy and other milk-produced feeds are completely excluded, and the rate of concentrates and water is reduced. By the time of weaning, piglets should be accustomed to eating large amounts of concentrates, succulent and roughage, so that they receive all the necessary nutrients mainly from top dressing. Weaning is carried out within 3-4 days, and sometimes more. In this case, it is desirable to transfer the uterus to another room, and leave the piglets in the old machine. During the weaning period, piglets are allowed to suckle to the uterus on the first day 5-6 times, on the second - 3-4, on the third - 2-3, on the fourth - 1 time. At the same time, it is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the sow's udder, avoiding its hardening and inflammation. During weaning, piglets are left in the same pen for 10-15 days. At the same time, piglets tolerate the absence of their mother more easily, do not lose their appetite. They are fed 4-5 times a day in equal doses. High-quality concentrates, boiled potatoes, 1-2 kg of skim milk should be introduced into the diets of weaners. Feed should be given the same and in the same form as in the suckling period. An abrupt transition to a different way of feeding and new feeds leads to a deterioration in palatability and a decrease in gains. During this period, special attention must be paid to the uninterrupted supply of piglets with water.
Such care is quite difficult. What should be done in the first days, how to achieve good results?
Newborn piglets are first sorted: small ones are placed in the anterior lobes, more milky, and piglets, which are larger, in the back. Babies need to be put on certain nipples for only two or three days, and then they will never give a nipple to another. With this technique, you level the litter.
In the first two or three days, the newborns break off the "fangs" with which they bite the sow's udder. If there is no skill in such an operation, it is better to seek help from a veterinarian.
The little piglet, like everyone else, loves warmth - in the first 15 days it is worth maintaining the temperature plus 25-30 °. Immediately after birth, piglets are put into the machine with clean water and various top dressings: crushed chalk, barley roasted to coffee color, 50 g per day per litter. Receiving only mother's milk, piglets are in great need of iron, and not receiving it, they are threatened with anemia. In a veterinary pharmacy, you can buy copper sulfate and iron sulfate. Dissolve 1 g of copper sulphate and 2.5 g of iron sulphate in 1 liter of water and moisten the sow's nipples with the resulting solution.
When the pigs are 6 days old, they are accustomed to porridge from concentrates, and from the 10th day - to potatoes and other root crops.
If you happen to get a day old piglet, do not despair - it can be grown without a queen. Babies suckle their mother every 1.5 hours, therefore, at home they need to organize a similar regimen for them. At a time, drink about 50 ml of cow's milk with a little added sugar, 1 drop of vitamin A every day, 1 drop of vitamin D every other day and 3 drops of ferroglucin.
Already by the 20th day, you can feed after 3 hours and no longer give milk. The most important thing in this business is not to overfeed. A piglet may very energetically ask for supplements, but too much will lead to an upset gastrointestinal tract, and this is difficult to cure. And yet, if this happens, use rice water in cow's milk in a ratio of 1: 1.
Help the sow during farrowing. Care
If farrowing is delayed and active attempts are not accompanied by the appearance of piglets for several hours, then the sow must be assisted in obstetrics. To activate the birth of piglets, it is necessary to let them in more often for sucking.
The reason for the delay in the appearance of piglets may be the incorrect location of the fetus, the narrowness of the birth canal in young queens, the delay in the birth canal of a decomposed fetus, as well as the weakness of the muscles of the abdominal wall and uterus from being kept without walking.
Every pig breeder should be able to provide emergency assistance to the sow during farrowing.
To do this, carefully trim your nails, wash your hand well with soap to the forearm, burn existing wounds and abrasions with iodine and grease with petroleum jelly or soap. The prepared hand should be slowly inserted into the vagina, and moving along the birth canal, feel the stuck piglet with your fingers and wait for the next attempt.
Simultaneously with the next contraction of the muscles of the abdominal wall, the fetus is carefully pulled up and taken out of the birth canal. Usually it turns out to be a dead fetus and further childbirth proceeds normally. If childbirth does not normalize, then the help of a veterinarian is necessary.
Within four to five days after farrowing, the pig has postpartum discharge. At first they are red, then they turn brown, and by the end of the postpartum period they become transparent, and then completely stop. If the discharge has a putrid odor, then you need to call a veterinarian.
Newborn piglets, after they have dried, can be allowed to approach the uterus. If the temperature in the room is kept at 20 ° C, and in the compartment for piglets - 25 - 28 ° C, then they can not be isolated.
If the temperature is lower, then the first two to three days of piglets are best kept in an insulated box.
At the end of the birth, the piglets are examined. Some of them may have fangs that are too long and twisted, with brown or black tips. Such teeth must be shortened with special forceps or small scissors on the very first day, otherwise, over time, the fangs will become hard and their shortening will be painfully tolerated by piglets.
The umbilical cord is also examined again and, if necessary, it is cauterized with 10% tincture of iodine.
For the first few days after birth, the piglets are inactive, so care must be taken that the sow does not crush them when she lies down. To do this, along the walls of the machine at a distance of 15-20 cm from them and at a height of 20-25 cm from the floor, barriers are made of metal pipes or poles. After about 7 to 10 days they can be removed.
Care of newborn piglets
After farrowing, each piglet from the first replanting is assigned to a specific nipple: larger and stronger ones are attached to the rear nipples, weak ones to the front ones, in order to subsequently wean them in the same order. The piglet usually gets used to its nipple and uses it during the entire suckling period.
In the first days of life, piglets suckle low-milk queens after 25-40 minutes, more dairy queens - after 1-2 hours.
Help the sow with farrowing. Care of newborn piglets
How to help a sow during farrowing.
With prolonged farrowing. in which for several hours active attempts are not accompanied by the appearance of piglets, the sow needs to be helped, i.e. obstetric care.
First of all, to activate the birth, it is necessary to let the already born piglets to the nipples for sucking as often as possible.
The cause of protracted labor can be the narrowness of the birth canal in young pigs, the wrong location of the fetus, the delay of the decomposed fetus in the birth canal, the weakness of the muscles of the abdominal wall and uterus due to lack of walking.
In all these cases, you need to be able to provide emergency assistance to the sow. To do this, cut your nails short, wash your hand up to the forearm well with soap and water. If there are abrasions or wounds, they must be cauterized with iodine. After that, the hand should be soaped or smeared with petroleum jelly.
The hand prepared in this way is slowly inserted into the vagina and carefully advanced along the birth canal. When they feel for a stuck piglet with their fingers, they expect another attempt. With the next contraction of the muscles of the abdominal cavity, the fetus is carefully pulled up and removed from the birth canal.
After that, childbirth usually proceeds normally. If they do not normalize, then you need to seek help from a veterinarian.
After farrowing, for about four to five days, the sow has lochia. At first they are red, then they turn brown, then they become transparent and completely stop. If the discharge has a putrid odor, then the help of a veterinarian is necessary.
Care of newborn piglets.
After the newborn piglets dry off, they are allowed to approach the sow. If the temperature in the pigsty is 20°C, and in the piglet compartment - 25 - 28°C, then they may not be isolated. At a lower temperature in the pigsty, it is better to keep the piglets in an insulated box for the first two to three days.
After birth, all piglets should be examined. If any of them have curved and long fangs with black or brown tips, then they should be shortened with special small scissors or tongs. This procedure must be carried out on the first day. Otherwise, the fangs will become hard and shortening them will be too painful for the piglets.
You should also pay attention to the umbilical cord. If necessary, it is again cauterized with a ten percent tincture of iodine.
In the first days after birth, the piglets are still inactive and therefore it is necessary to ensure that the uterus does not crush them when it lies down. To prevent this, along the walls of the machine at a distance of fifteen to twenty centimeters from them and at a height of twenty to twenty-five centimeters from the floor, barriers are made of metal pipes or poles, which are removed after about seven to ten days.
How to care for newborn piglets?
Newborn piglets are sorted: small ones are planted on more milky nipples, large ones are placed on less milky ones. They need to be placed on certain nipples for 2-3 days, and then they themselves will never give it away. In this way, the litter is leveled.
In the first 2-3 days, you need to contact a veterinarian who will break off the “fangs” for the young animals, with which the piglets bite the sow painfully by the udder and she worries. The first 15 days, small piglets should be kept warm - plus 25-30 °. To newly born piglets, they immediately put clean water and various top dressings. roasted coffee-colored barley, finely crushed chalk, 50 g per day per litter. One mother's milk is not enough for piglets, since they do not receive iron, and this threatens them with anemia.
For small pigs in a veterinary pharmacy, iron sulfate and copper sulfate are purchased. Dissolve 1 g of copper sulfate and 2.5 g of iron sulfate in 1 liter of water, after which the sow's nipples are moistened with this mixture.
From about the 6th day of their birth, piglets are tamed to porridge from concentrates, and on the 10th day they can also be taught to root crops and potatoes.
If necessary, a day old piglet can also go out without a sow. Since the babies suckle from her with a frequency of 1.5 hours, the piglet needs to create exactly the same diet. Give him 50 ml of cow's milk at a time, adding a little sugar to it, every day - 1 drop of vitamin A, every other day - 1 drop of vitamin D and 3 drops of a veterinary drug.
By about the 20th day, the piglet can already be fed after 3 hours without giving milk. Although the piglet vigorously asks for supplements, you should not overfeed him, as the excess will lead to an upset gastrointestinal tract. If, nevertheless, the piglet is sick, it is necessary to use rice broth with cow's milk 1: 1.
Sources: fazenda.sam-stroy.info, d-givotnovodstvo.narod.ru, www.odinga.ru, www.domgivotnovodstvo.ru, zverushka.net.ua
Smoked goose salad
This salad with smoked chicken and fresh cucumber differs in that it takes 10 minutes to prepare and is eaten even faster! Of course for...
Vaccination of rabbits against myxomatosis
You can vaccinate a rabbit against a number of diseases. myxomatosis, pasteurellosis, VGBK, listeriosis, paratyphoid, rabies. In practice, rabbits are most often vaccinated ...
Peking duck
Peking ducks are one of the best among meat breeds. Peking ducks were bred by Chinese poultry breeders more than 300 years ago in the western foothills...
Nutria meat in Stavropol
Comments: From hand to hand, avito ru Stavropol Territory is the leader in the number of ads posted by users in the city of Stavropol Territory. ...
Breeding and rearing geese
The yard is located on the outskirts of the village, near a large meadow, a forest plantation, near a river. The idea came almost immediately - breeding geese as a business. The main diet of geese is ...
Recipes how to cook nutria
M Yaso nutria is considered very light, and therefore well suited for dietary nutrition. In many countries, nutria dishes are equated with ...
Business
