LOSSES ON PIGS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 41, 19 January 1945, Page 4

LOSSES ON PIGS

Sir, —Further progress in the pig industry is often sought through some spectacular new practice which it is believed will revolutionise pig-keeping and automatically cur dowi? our heavy pig losses. The use of only one breed the feeding of balanced the. use of pedigree stock, are among the many re-« commendations that are frequently made and where adopted give good but nothing that I know of can take the place of good management. The existing neglect of pigs is known and freely admitted by most farmers, and it would, seem that its remedy is to be. found through a change in the outlook of people towards pigs rather than through an increase in our knowledge of pig* science. With the intention: of bringing before farmers the of neglect of the ordinary* principles of hygiene I am writing this article to draw the attention of farmers to the acut.e incidence of Suispestifer (pig pest) in this area i} and to the precautions that can be taken to ward off the disease. ♦ Of recent weeks I have been called on to a number of farms where deaths have been swift, and frequent and in all cases I have been able to point out some gross error of management that would lower the resistance to ward off an attack by this dreaded disease. In some cases housing has been poor (in one case ( except for a few crude shelter, housing was. non-existent) and feeding places were in a deplorable condition. Where housing is poor y pneumonia and pleurisy so weaken the resistance that the germ Suispestifer has an easy victory. Where there is much overcrowding at troughs, in the mad scramble for food the strong become stronger and the weak become weaker and are an easy prey for an invading disease. * Sometimes the pigs are fighting a losing battle against stomach or lung worm or both and leave them--selves open to both the lung form of Suispestifer and the stomach or bowel form. Occasionally the trouble has been found among fat pigs- in stys. Here I have found the skim mil'k barrels have not been washed or cleaned for drainage bad, and troughs filthy. Always it is a wise practice to keep s'kim milk barrels clean-and wholesome and to cover from the direct rays of the sun. Use up the milk from one barrel before adding fresh skim. During the flush of the season this is not always easy buti when one considers the changeable weather we have been with the consequent rapid changes of temperature s it is no wonder the milk is sometimes fed to pigs in a putrid state. This causes acute digestive upsets with the consequent rapid multiplication of the Suispestifer germs. Most authorities are agreed that Suispestifer, assisted by other germs, produce death when for some reason the general resistance and vitality of the animal are for it is an interesting fact that the germs are found in the digestive canal of healthy pigs. To summarise briefly—underfedeing, lack of greej ( y. f the drinking or eating of foul water or and lack of thrift due to other diseases, are the main predisposing causes and infection is spread by diseased animals. * Yours etc., A. F. BAR WELL, Supervisory Bay of Plenty District Pig Council.