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Article archive

Health aspects in intensive pig production units

 In article 3 in the series on housing by the ARC’s Institute for Agricultural Engineering health aspects in piggeries are discussed. 

 Diseases in pigs can either be specific infections and/or contagious diseases brought into the unit or secondary health problems, which develop or are promoted by environmental factors.  The following factors are important in any intensive pig production unit.

 Quarantine facilities

 This is necessary for the housing of animals brought into the unit from outside.  Simple pens some distance from the main unit are usually adequate.  It has various functions, such as:

• solation and observation

• Adapting to climate

• Preventative health management, such as immunization, medication, de-worming and treatment against scab

• Controlled exposure to organisms present in the herd.

A period of four to six weeks in quarantine is usually sufficient.

Security fencing and visitors

Nobody should be able or allowed to enter and walk around a pig production unit at will.  Facilities should be of such a nature that visitors are compelled to first announce themselves at a clearly designated office where they may be provided with protective clothing and water boots.  The risk of spreading disease will be limited, or hopefully eliminated, in this way.

Transport

It is preferable that no delivery vehicle should drive around inside the security fence.  Provision has to be made, for instance in the case of feed deliveries, to deposit deliveries in storage tanks which are placed on the border of the fence.  If vehicles have to enter the area, it is important to provide a dip-tank filled with disinfectant to drive through.  Shoes also have to be disinfected.

Storage facilities

This applies to especially feed and bedding.  Tanks or silos for the storage of feed should be scrutinized to ensure that both the cover and the joints are water-tight.  Damp feed with resulting mouldiness can cause huge stock losses.   Facilities for storing bedding is essential, as damp or soiled bedding can cause health problems.

Water supply

Depending on the source and the extent of the contamination of water, provisions for the purification of water have to be made, especially for the farrowing and weaner houses.  It may sometimes also be necessary to use water for dosing individual groups in specific buildings as treatment against certain diseases.

Subdividing of buildings and health

This is important in the case of breathing ailments, a problem which tends to increase as the size of the unit increases.  On principle, the all-in-all-out system should be considered for the farrowing stage, and for four to six weeks thereafter.  Please consult a veterinary advisor in this regard. 

Drainage and health

It is advisable to drain all pens individually, that is to ensure that the flow-off of one pen does not flow into another pen.

Floor dip

This should be built at a convenient spot close to the servicing and dry sow buildings.  A place to wash and dip the sows before they are transferred to the farrowing house should also be provided.

Cooling

Fridge facilities are essential for storing vaccines and medicines, as well as material for laboratory research. 

Destroying dead animals

The carcasses should preferably be buried.  They should not be dumped on the dung-heap where they are exposed to flies which in turn will spread disease.

Herd immunity

Pens should be made available for young breeding animals where they can be grouped together for an immunization programme before they mate.  This initiation is becoming increasingly more important, especially with the current trend to house a large percentage of the breeding herd individually.

Conclusion

To conclude, the breeder should remember that control of the environment has become more critical in modern housing, and that serious stock losses can occur if control of the climate is inadequate.  The positioning of doors and windows in relation to the time of day, the temperature and prevailing wind and climatic conditions for the time of year, are aspects that should be considered.

In older type housing, the animals could choose where they wanted to lie, something which has become impossible in modern housing designs.

The foregoing information has shown that pig housing is an intricate subject that necessitates close liaison with available consulting services, such as agricultural engineers, animal experts and veterinarians.