Inge Heinzl, Master of Agriculture , Germany

People and animals are protected from disease producing factors by specific antibodies. They come to the organism from mother or by artificial implementation of foreign immune substances, so called antibodies(orrhoimmunity). The other way they come to the organism is due to the production of own immune cells (active immunity) after being in contact with nidus — antigen. People receive all the necessary immunoglobulins trough placenta being in mother’s womb. Piglets are born with almost sterile immunity because sow’s thick placenta is an effective barrier that makes impossible antibodies transferring to piglets during pregnancy.

During the first 24 hours of life digestive system of piglets does not perform all its duties and intestinal wall can transmit immunoglobulin cells directly to blood vascular system conducing orrhoimmunity. Later the concentration of antibodies in sow’s colostrum and carrying capacity of the gut quickly decreases. Immunoglobulins work as a starting immune support of a piglet, which protects its organism until its own active immunity appears.

How do chickens concern the problem?

In ex-private farms animals were kept very close to each other. Chickens could freely move on the yard, thus contacting with precursors of diseases of other animals through faeces. Meanwhile chickens didn’t show any symptoms of diseases but quite the opposite were producing antibodies to them. Hen’s organism transfers antibodies to eggs thus providing chicks with all the necessary immunoglobulins from the first days of life; as well colostrum activates piglets immunity.

Such natural method of immunity activation is used to prevent numerous diseases of new-born animals. Laying hens of separate pens are vaccinated with precursors of some diseases, which are typical for a certain period of piglets’ life (usually with the precursors of diarrhoea). The yolks of the eggs produced by such hens contain not only immunoglobulins IgA and IgM, but also specific IgY antibodies which are typical only to birds, reptiles and scaly fish. The concentration of IgY in yolks is quite low — only 10-15%. But a unique technology allows to separate IgY in the form of concentrate powder. By feeding the concentrate of the immunoglobulin to piglets, we protect them from diarrhea and other problems from the first days of life.

You can read more in the magazine publication "Profitable Pig Production",

№3 (5), September 2011.