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Sow nutrition: Avoiding second parity slump

The results of two recent studies on the effect of sow lactation weight loss on reproductive performance.

About 50 percent of all sows have a lower litter size in their second parity, compared with their first parity – and recent studies indicated that second parity litter size and litter size could be related to subsequent litter sizes and farrowing rates.

However, by altering management and sow nutrition pig producers may be able to reverse this trend and improve second – and subsequent – parity reproductive performance.

How disease affects nutrient requirements of pigs

During disease a metabolic alteration from anabolism to catabolism is considered essential for the success of the immune system response, as nutrients must be redistributed away from growth to the support of immune system functions to control the pathogenic infection. However, today there is very little quantitative data to enable nutritionists to formulate diets specifically for sick animals.

What an effective management should be

What are the chances that a car won’t crash if a driver can’t drive? The same is about pig production. If you want your farm to be efficient then you won’t manage without skilled “navigators”: an independent consultant to point out mistakes and help to work out a strategy of development, and a manager to turn these plans into life. It’s a pity, but Ukrainian pig producers still do not realize it. What they miss in this case, told us a world-famous independent consultant Simon Grey.

Agroprime Holding, Ltd: when "prime" really means the best

07.03.2013 14:42:22

The human being is a sprout that strains after the light. This is the logo of Agroprime Holding, Ltd., which is known in all regions of Ukraine as boars and gilts produced by the enterprise are sold throughout the country. One of the best pig breeding enterprises grew in prairies of Bessarabiya less than in seven years. The working staff of the enterprise is sure that such a quick growth of the enterprise became possible due to the team of specialists. “If you start doing something it must be done alpha plus otherwise just don’t start, - says the general director of the enterprise Larysa Ignat. All the staff shares her philosophy.

It’s a costly affair to ignore dysentery

Swine dysentery causes important financial losses because of reduced feed efficiency and lower weightgain, costs of medication and additional animal care, and death. Substantial costs may result from loss of sales of breeding stock, or depopulation when necessary. Serpula (Treponema) hyodysenteriae, a spiral bacterium, is the cause of swine dysentery, and seven different types have been recognized worldwide.

White sow in Pryluky prairies

22.01.2013 17:29:28

Today Pryluky-HarantBud, Ltd. is a young enterprise in Chernihiv region that produces high quality pork. The history of the enterprise began 4 years ago with a deserted pig farm in the Obychiv village near Pryluky where ruins were left from 20 premises located on 18 hectares of land. But if you have the reliable team of people who think the same way and if you have the real desire to go forward any task is within the power.

Fail to Thrive

Enteric diseases are some of the most significant contributors to baby pig morbidity and mortality in the farrowing house. Piglet immunity must be maximized in order to provide them with the opportunity to thrive in the farrowing house. The production of consistent, high quality pigs is a goal all sow operations are working to achieve. By maximizing piglet immunity and using proper husbandry practices, scouring problems can be minimized. Escherichia coli, clostridial diseases, rotavirus, and coccidiosis continue to be the major pathogens of concern in the pre-weaning period. Some things have changed over time while others continue to be the same. It is the goal of this paper to briefly review key concepts on maximizing piglet immunity as well as address some of the current trends in enteric pathogens in the farrowing house.

Maximising Output From A Sow Farm

The traditional measurement for the efficiency of a sow farm is ‘pigs per sow per year’. If you ask 100 pig farmers or pig farm managers how the farm is performing they will probably all quote how many pigs per sow per year they are doing. It is even used to compare the efficiency of different countries.

As a method of measuring sow farm efficiency it is seriously flawed. It tells us only what individual sows are doing but it tells us little about the business. The reasons are as follows.

Feed wastage

In a time of record feed prices, it is essential that feed wastage be minimized. It is estimated that 10% of feed delivered is wasted on the average farm. On a 250 sow unit this can be more than 150 tonnes of feed per year (whole farm — farrow to finish — feed consumption at 6.3 tonnes per sow per year). Feed is wasted along the entire feed line from field to rectum! This article details some of the areas where this wastage occurs at the farm level and focuses on simple management practices to reduce this waste. Reducing feed wastage by half would amount to a reduction in cost of 8-9 AU$c/kgdeadweight — Au$6.30 per pig sold (70kg dead weight — head off —Western Australia norm). This could be the difference between profit and loss on many farms.

Nice to meet you. Ractopamine

Each pig producer wants his pigs to change fat into muscle tissue after depleting its genetic potential. It looks like a dream. But it is not. We have ractopamine which can change all make all these dreams come true. But everything is not so simple, as it’s not clear yet if it is good or bad.

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