Farrowing is a responsible process and the efficiency of production largely depends on it. Therefore, to ensure its success you need to be prepared well. Ten important tips will help you to do it.

— How to prepare farrowing units?

— Farrowing units should be well-lit (in natural way or artificially), clean, disinfected and dried. Make sure that there is a comfortable microclimate there. That it’s warm, dry and, most importantly, no drafts in it. An important component is the local heating for piglets: lamps, heated mats and so on. Check their serviceability before each new party of animals. As sows are very sensitive to temperature changes try to keep it at 18 ° C during farrowing.

— How to make sure that the sows are ready for farrowings?

— A few days before farrowing, check whether all the vaccinations according to the farm’s vaccination program were done. For 3-4 days before farrowing reduce the diet to 18 kg of feed per day. In this case, the food must be rich in vitamins and nutrients.

— Is it necessary to stimulate the sow?

— Very often in swine production the stimulation of the labor is used during farrowing. With its help you can shorten the farrowing length or the risk of having mastitis-metritis-agalactia.
Also it helps to reduce the number of stillbirth and increase the speed of returning into a heat after weaning.

1. How to ensure comfortable conditions for sows and piglets in the farrowing units?

2. What will help reduce the number of stillbirth?0

3. How the cross-feeding can help?

4. What is the best way to warm the piglets up?

5. How to care for sows after farrowing?

Answers to these and other questions are to be found in the full version of the article in the journal «Profitable Pig Production» No. 38 (No. 2, April 2017)