WHJ-Winter2012

Swine Technology Workshop
Mission critical - Piglet care in the first 48 hours
Close attention to the farrowing process and management of the sow and piglet during the first 48 hours of life is
the key to minimizing stillborn piglets and ensuring maximum piglet survival, says Martin Waldner, Hog Boss at
Hartland Colony, near Bashaw, Alberta. The 800-sow unit weans over 30 pigs/sow/year, with 14.7 piglets born alive
per litter and 12. 8 weaned. Sow body condition at farrowing and sow feeding, both before and after farrowing,
are important contributors to such high performance, Waldner believes. With such large litters, good colostrum
management is crucial to ensure high piglet survival, while the sow and piglets’ environment is also a major factor.
Waldner describes the management practices followed in the barn that are essential to his success.
Feed intake prior to farrowing has a big impact on the results
after farrowing. We increase the feed by 1.5 to 2 lbs per
sow per day 5 weeks before the farrowing date, which gives
us a bigger and healthier pig born. Sows get a 2ml dose
of Farrowsure Gold and Litterguard LTC 5 weeks prior to
farrowing. All shots in gestation are hip injections.
Farrowing rooms are washed, disinfected and dried down
before moving the sows in 5 days before their due date.
Sow feeders are washed out after disinfecting too. After
sows are moved in we lower all heat lamps to 24 inches off
the slats, and check to make sure bulbs work. This means we
shouldn’t have to fix a heat lamp when a sow is farrowing
and avoids piglets getting chilled without the heat from the
heat lamp. Important notes on sow cards from previous
farrowings are recorded on the wall in front of each sow, so
sows red-flagged for having laid-on piglets or stillborns are
monitored more closely.
24 | Western Hog Journal | Winter 2012
On farrowing day the temperature in the room is raised to
22°C and every sow farrowing has a heat lamp behind her,
on the right side, to ensure that the piglets are not chilled and
are able to dry off faster, as a newborn piglet’s temperature is
around 39°C when it is born. A new born piglet uses its body
temperature to dry off, therefore it is important to have extra
heat at the farrowing site, like heat lamps, to help dry off the
newborn piglets. Every crate has a creep area with an electric
heat mat in it. When the piglets are 5 to 6 days old we turn
off the heat lamps while the piglets are sleeping on the heat
mats. The mats are set on a temperature curve; days 1 to 5
they are set at 35°C then the temperature is gradually reduced
down to 20°C at day 28.
We farrow two rooms per week, 18 crates per room. Gilts
and first parity sows are in one room and second parity sows
and older are in the second room. Each room has 2 rows of 9
crates per side with a 6 feet by 8 feet creep area at the end of
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