Articles - Management

Loading pigs is a task that, unfortunately, we give little importance to. We don’t usually realize that loosing something at this point is tantamount to losing a year’s worth of work, and worse yet is the economic loss.

In this chapter we will consider the benefits of closed nests and the importance of temperature regulation according to the age of the piglets.

In this chapter we will take a look at the use of heat lamps and how to distribute heat inside the pen.

In this chapter we will discuss the benefits of heating mats

The majority of newborn mamals are very sensitive to low temperatures. However, piglets are especially predisposed to loss of energy.

One could think that the number of deaths increases in the winter in the northern hemisphere because the animals freeze to death.

The milk production of sows is one of the parameters that has evolved the most over the last several decades.

In this chapter we will take a look at some other aspects of farrowing induction...

This may be a good option when farrowings and litter control during the first days are the priority.

On small farms it is better to group tasks on specific days, leaving other days with less tasks in order to organize days off...

It is practically impossible to inspect all the pigs individually during routine control visits.

In the last decades the degree of technification and evolution of the productive systems at all levels has been constant.

On large farms, it is common to wean more than once per week. This way, tasks can be homogenized throughout the week: each day will have a similar volume of work as the previous day.

A large part of the work on a swine farm can be divided into 3 key tasks: weaning, mating and farrowing. The day chosen for weaning determines the other two tasks; first, the matings, and then, as a consequence, the farrowings (the 2 ‘great events’ of which productivity of a farm depends on).

In the last chapter we examined mating guidelines that came rather close to being ideal, given that they achieve the following objectives: At least one mating should be adjusted to meet the ideal time and achieve the first objective with the least number of matings.

The ideal mating guideline should follow 2 objectives: At least one mating should be adjusted to meet the ideal time and achieve the first objective with the least number of matings.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, theoretically, the ideal mating time is around 10-12 hours before ovulation.

The optimal fertilization of a sow depends on several factors, among them, mating in a specific moment of the oestrus.

As mentioned in the first chapter of planning weaning, after deciding which sows are going to be weaned, on weaning day we must take into account several factors...

In swine, dystocia is usually caused by oversized piglets (or by a narrow birth canal) instead of foetal positioning problems.

A correct supervision is one of the key points of a farrowing.

Deciding which sows are going to be weaned on weaning day is an important task that should be examined well.

In order to follow the evolution of the pigs at weaning and fattening, having a growth curve is very practical.

Adjustment of replacement on farms working on 3-week batch system.