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Swine Technology Workshop Continued<br />
Paying attention to management basics such as hygiene, feed and<br />
water, health care and the environment delivers excellent results for<br />
Shawn Morton<br />
Feed and water<br />
Pigs are given a creep diet prior to weaning so they have some<br />
experience with solid feed and this helps in the transition<br />
period after weaning, Morton believes. Wet/dry feeders are<br />
used in the nursery and for the first 48 hours extra time is<br />
spent checking the feeder setting. “During the first 48-72<br />
hours we adjust the feeder so that feed covers the whole pan,”<br />
he explains.” We also carry a feed scoop and will add some<br />
30 | Western Hog Journal | Winter 2012<br />
feed to each feeder for the first day or two. After the first 72<br />
hours, feeders are adjusted back so that only about 50% of the<br />
pan is covered in feed.”<br />
“For the first couple of days after weaning<br />
pigs tend to use the mats as a comfort<br />
zone and will often sleep on them”<br />
In the sick pens a feed mat is provided for the first 5 days and<br />
a small scoop of feed is placed on the mat a couple of times<br />
a day. “We have no starve-outs with the wet/dry feeders but<br />
the mat just gives the challenged pigs some extra help,” says<br />
Morton. “It also gives them a place to lie that is not slatted.<br />
For the first couple of days after weaning pigs tend to use the<br />
mats as a comfort zone and will often sleep on them.”<br />
The wet/dry feeders have water nipples in the pan and<br />
immediately after the pigs are sorted the nipples are used to<br />
put an inch or two of water in the pan. This is done three or<br />
four times on the day of weaning and then once the next day.<br />
“It not only gets the pig interested in the feeders and where<br />
the water is but usually allows each pig to get a drink right<br />
away,” points out Morton. “We have no other water nipples<br />
in each room. By running each nipple it ensures they are<br />
functioning correctly and can be fixed if a problem occurs.”<br />
Environment critical<br />
Critically important is a warm, dry environment for the pigs to<br />
enter into at weaning, Morton believes. “Rooms are always<br />
dry before putting pigs in and are set at 22°C while sorting<br />
and then warmed to 28.5°C,” he notes. Over the first seven<br />
days, the set point temperature is held at 28.5°C and the fans<br />
are set at minimum ventilation. Pigs are in the nursery for<br />
about 46 days on average and the ambient temperature is<br />
brought down to 21°C by the time they leave. “In the spring,<br />
summer and fall air quality is excellent. In the winter, when<br />
the temperature is very cold the air quality can be poor but<br />
usually over short periods,” Morton adds.<br />
Production data<br />
Over an average 46 days in the nursery, pigs grow from a<br />
starting weight of 6kg to about 27kg when they move to<br />
finishing, growing at a very respectable 460 grams/day, with<br />
a feed efficiency of 1.57. “We would like to see our feed<br />
conversion improve but with the wet/dry feeders we think we<br />
are fighting an uphill battle,” Morton comments.<br />
The attention to health management results in a death loss<br />
of just 2.6%. “Our death rate is about where we want it,”<br />
comments Morton. “We tend to euthanize pigs with chronic<br />
health issues in the nursery because this reduces problems in<br />
the finisher barns. Rather than let the animals suffer, when<br />
we know they will not make the slaughter plant, they are put<br />
down sooner.”