DEVELOPING THE PIG INDUSTRY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 352, 5 February 1937, Page 3

DEVELOPING THE PIG INDUSTRY

HINTS TO FARMERS ON THE PRODUCTION OF GOOD LITTERS.

Department of Agriculture Notes by M. J. Scott, 8.A.,8.5c.

This is tty rd of b series of articles written by thel Advisory Officer to the Department of Agriculture on various phases of the pig industry jn New Zealand. They will appear regularly in these columns. Treatment of the Sow. It is nearly impossible to defin< this since every man has his owi ideals of looking after animals Further, sows, like every other ani mal are subject to the accidents o time and the consequence of the cir cuDistances which they live. Thej may suffer attacks of indigestion anc other interna] disorders, rheumatism co|3u and chills, that just seem tc happen in spite of the very ibesl treatment they may receive. Anj one of these things may be sufficient to cause a sow to reduce the numbei of living foetuses. There are at well a further number of man-made causes which can produce the same effects, and it is with these that the owner is most concerned. Thus irregular feeding, sudden changes in quality or quantity of feed given, absence of water for 24 Hours, exposure to excessive sunlight or to inclement or extremely variable weather, damp quarters.', maltreatment by the owner, or anything else that may be classed as poor treatment may cause a reduction in the number of live foetuses. Maintain t|he Sow’s Weight. Sows that lose weight during the gestation period cannot do this and at the same time store body weight in the form of a litter that is perfectly normal and thrifty. Bitters from sows which lo£.e weight, either grow slowly after being born, or if the sow improves and has plenty of milk

and the litter grows rapidly, sudden and unexpected deaths occur with symptoms similar to those associated ■with pulpy kidney in lambs. It has (been said that mineral starvation is a prime cause of poor litters. It can •be, but insufficient food or unsuitable treatment when the food it* adequate are possibly more usual causes of small and weakly litters. It is most important to see that the.sow is sufficiently well fed so as not to

I lose condition during the gestation ! period. Deaths After Farrowing.; 1 It is at this stage that the great- ■ est obvious losses occur. In almost ■ every country these have been mea- ! sured from time to time, and the ■ average loss during the *fst three ‘ days amounts to from 20 to 30 per -■cent, of pigs born. By ’ preventing 1 , this loss we could increase the efficiency of sows, and most of this improvement would be profit. In the past the use of farrowing rails has been recommended, and these are very widely used. Since the losses : continue to occur it would almost 1 seem that the recommendation is not 1 sound. • When one considers the cir- | cu Distances’, that the little pigs are ‘ unaware of the danger of being overlain, that they are slow to move, and ! that initially they do not know that safety lies in getting behind the farrowing rail, it almost seems that far1 rowing rails are not the solution of ! the difficulty. The use of short ■ straw or sawdust for the sow’s bed . is also recommended in order to i facilitate the escape of the little pigs | from danger. The fact remains. ; however, that if each little pig | the speed of Malcolm Campbell’s ; Blue Bird, he stlH may not escape j the first disaster, because he does ! not know where to head for. The dead pig gets no second chance of • escape. Short straw, however, may i have some advantages later, in that j it prevents the young pigs from hid--1 ing in it and so obviates' the posi sibility of their being walked on by , the sow. Keep Sows Fit and Contentedi The more rational approach to the ■ problem seems, to be by way of the i sow. It is a common experience that the greatest loss occurs with old sows, and with sows that are over fat. Here are the clues to sow treatment; don’t let sows get over fat prior to farrowing and see that they are upset as little as possible at and prior to farrowing. Sow's on grass in spring tend to get over, fat, and in order to keep them right it seems necessary to bring them into the farrowing pen three weeks, or more before, farrowing, and there to feed

them so as to keep them in thrifty but not too fat condition. This procedure achieves the second desideratum in that the sows have time to get used to their new quarters and ’] should have time to settle down. ! Sows are often brought in just a few : days before farrowing; their food is ! changed, their activities are cur- • tailed, the temperature, amount of 1 sunlight, condition of their bed and ! every physical circumstance is i changed. If the sow is tempera- • mental and resents confinement this j upset is added to all tlije others, ’ any one of which is sufficient to I prove her undoing, at this critical stage. As a rule the older the sow and the higher she is in condition the longer should be the period allowed for settling down. ' If the sow is not too fat, and is happy in her surroundings she has every opportunity of finishing up with a maximum number of the offspring that are born. Every progressive farmer makes the utmost use of labour-saving devices, and farrowing rails are widely used. In the writer s observations, however, as many pigs were lost at birth in pens with farrowing rails as. in pens without them. From the condition and circumstances of the sow, one could almost predict the outcome oi farrowing wherever the sow farrowed. English practice recommends placing the little pigs out of harm’s way in a hay box as soon as they are born. This entails the attendance by the owner during farrowing, but if such attendance meant the saving of two to three pigs per litter, .the time thus spent would be well repaid. Sows Easing Thair Litter.;

This., is often a source of loss, again attributed to a variety of causes.. Some say that it occurs where the mineral or protein content of the. sow’s ration has been low, and that it can be prevented by attention to these matters, or by smearing the young with kerosene or other offensive smelling material. Others attribute it to The sow being irritated by the sluarp canine teeth of some of the piglets. While these may all be causes of this perversion, the writer is inclined to the viewpoint put forward by McLinden that the sow ate her litter in self defence, Where sows have experienced unkind treatment at the hands of their attendant, or where they are upset by surroundings, to which they are unaccustomed they exercise their deeply ingrained maternal instinct and consume their litter knowing that the piglets are incapable of protecting themselves and tearing that they may .be the victim of a direr fate. Wild sows l exhibit this, characteristic to a greater extent than the. domestic animal does.