Management

A high dose of oxytocin given in the 16 h following the end of farrowing prolongs the colostral phase which can improve the quality of milk in early lactation.

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

Piglets are born with very limited energy reserves: compared to other newborn mammals, they have much less energy stored per kg liveweight.

We continue our series of articles in which swine reproduction and artificial insemination expert Javier Gil shares key points about proper management to improve fertility and prolificacy. This article addresses the criteria to establish correct insemination methods.

We hold the legs of the piglets together with plastic straps, avoiding that they move apart from each other.

Preventing the entry and spread of diseases should be an objective on any swine farm, so adequately designing biosecurity aspects is key. In this article, we continue to discuss biosecurity measures with two experts: Lara Ruiz and José Casanovas.

We can place the weakest piglets from each litter to dry out and warm up in this incubator while we tend to the next sows.

Understanding the farrowing process and recognizing the signs for the different stages of birth, help us to develop management plans to improve the likelihood for live born piglets.

For the animals to be comfortable it is important to know their needs. The more needs that we can fulfill the more productive the animal will be.

Here are three basic rules for deciding if and when to do cross fostering and use nurse sows.

The goal is to make the management during the gestation easier using a different colour spray colour each week to mark the tasks carried out with the sows.

With this article we begin the publication of a series of three unpublished articles by José Barceló for pig333.com on the age at weaning. José gave us the articles a few days before his death. As a way of paying homage to him we have decided to publish them posthumously without any alterations.