How Do You Maxiimise The Number Of Healthy Piglets Born?

[charlie10]

I would be interested to hear your views on maximizing the number of live piglet births you get from a sow. I've just had one sow deliver 5 piglets, 1 dead. A really disappointing haul to say the least. I'm therefore using this as a prod to review how we do things and to consider whether other methods may be better at ensuring a good batch of healthy piglets the next time around. Forgive me therefore if this is a long thread full of questions and specifics.

From what I read the best way to increase sow fertility is:

1) A week or so before breeding increase the food ration to initiate 'flushing' as this will increase the number of ova / eggs released, thereby increasing litter size.

2) Mate within 20 hours from the onset of standing heat and again 12 hours later. A second mating will increase the litter size by 10%. Elsewhere I've read its best to mate early morning and then again the next morning.

3) Reduce temperature of sty if possible, as conception rates fall during hot weather. It also lowers the fertility of the boar.

4) Use a boar that isn't overworked.

5) Increase the sows ration after mating for the next 3-4 weeks to ensure the developing piglets get good nutrition and the best of starts. Then drop the ration back to normal.

Does anyone have any experience of doing any of these things? Any views of their likely effectiveness, or any suggestions of other practices that seem to work?

I have a few specific questions of the above:

Mating twice to ensure conception and a good litter seems to make sense but locally the tendency seems to be to just mate once, and only mate again if the sow still shows sign on being on heat mate again once this behavior has been observed. It's seems that this is questionable if you want to maximize litter size, but is it?

Also, is the time of day an important factor? Why mate in the morning? What's wrong with the afternoon or evening?

Mating with a boar that isn't overworked also seems like common sense but what constitutes an overworked boar? Also what is best practice for mating? Does anyone use open paddock matting where the sow and boar are allowed to mingle freely and mate as and when over a day or so, or is a swift introduction, mounting with human help to guide the boars tool into the vulva the way to go? What do you do?

Advice I read about reducing chances of still born births and improving speed of delivery includes:

• Feed a little less a day or so before sow farrowing to reduce constipation.
• Increase the bulk element of the food mix to increase the fiber a few days before farrowing, as this helps reduce any possible constipation problems.
• Ensure the sow is not overweight.
• Ensure the sows are fed a good nutritious diet.
• Inject Oxytocin if delivery is overly slow.

I have a few questions about some of these points.

Sow weight: I know many pig breeders get obsessive about sow weight. My question is this: What constitutes overweight? Our sows have what I believe to be a natural pig shape but are undoubtedly more filled out than many intensively farmed pig counter-parts. Consequently I do get comments that they are too fat. But too fat compared to what? An unnaturally intensive farmed thin pig or the shape a pig should actually be? So what would be considered a good weight for a breeding sow?

Oxytocin use: If you should use, when should you use? Should you only use after it seems that last pig has come out to ensure any further pigs plus the placenta is expelled and then to help stimulate the milk flow? What do you do?

Other questions:

· How much active intervention do/should you take? Do you go in and help pull piglets out if there are long delays between deliveries. Is this wise?

· How long should a farrowing take? I read conflicting reports on how long a farrowing should take. Many sources say between 1-6 hours is the average but I have also read that it can take up to 24 hours. Which is this right? Our sows often take longer than 6 hours. We tend to resort to Oxytocin if there is more than 1 hour between piglet delivery. What do you do?

· What level of still births should you expect per litter, if any? What's your experience?

· When should you allow the piglets to suckle? Should you let the sow deliver all her piglets first and then allow the piglets to suckle, or should you allow them access whilst she is still trying to deliver the remaining piglets. Locally, the Thai's here seem to want to keep the piglets away from the sow until all piglets have been delivered, but this can be a long time after the first piglets have been born. My inclination is to allow the piglet's access to the sow during the farrowing at regular intervals. Any views?

This has turned out to be an extremely long question thread. Apologies but as all the questions are linked to the subject of how to have productive sows with high live piglet yield and non problematic deliveries, I guess it's best to keep them together rather than break them up over a number of threads.

I do hope some of you will be able to spend some time responding. I await with interest for your views.

[IsaanAussie]

Charlie,

Your questions are great, being far away from expert in this field I will wait until Mr Oxytocin (Fruity) responds. Seriously His will be a response worth reading.

IA

[fruity]

Charlie,

Your questions are great, being far away from expert in this field I will wait until Mr Oxytocin (Fruity) responds. Seriously His will be a response worth reading.

IA

IA, Thanks for the vote of confidence:) Will try to answer Charlies questions, based, purely on my own experiences/ understanding of what he's asking about. Will leave the Oxytocin until last:)

Small litters. Can be hereditary, however, rare. Usually caused by the gilt/sow being served too-early in her season. Remember sows, will stay in season & ovulate later than gilts.

There are so many theories about what to do to increase litter sizes, most of which, I cannot see how will be of any benefit. Personally, a multi vitamin injection at commencement of estrus is about all I would recommend. 10-14 days ahead of due date, give a gilt an ivomec injection to totally de-worm her & substantially reduce the infected rates in the piglets & with sows & gilts alike, give the same 10-14 days before farrowing date. Most sows/gilts will go off their feed to varying degrees before the onset, during and for a few days after her season. Never increase her rations until the last month or so before due date, when she should basically be fed to appetite.

Mornings & evenings are better for mating as it is cooler & especially so in the evening, she will stay undisturbed for many hours.

Bulky fiberous food with a slight laxative effect is good in the days leading up to farrowing time. Good ones here are ram, if they'll eat it & Pak-Boong (spelled correctly, I hope:)

I'm sure there will be a body-score sheet somewhere on the internet, with illustrations, of what is deemed ideal, over thin & over fat.

Farrowing: You will find that sows with very large litters will probably farrow earlier than full term by anything up to a week or so, those with smaller litters, usually go 'bang' to time. Once your first piglet is presented, it should be followed by another in 20 or less mins. If longer than 40 mins, close inspection, i.e. an internal examination. My wife, like most Thais has very small hands, which are ideal for the job. Ensure absolute cleanliness & the best lubricant is cooking oil! If all goes well, you will be all done & dusted in under 3 hours.

Oxytocin!!!!!...........Something I have used at 90% of any farrowings I've been involved with. HOWEVER, there is now much written about the problems this drug can cause, i.e. rendering the uterine muscles inert before full delivery! Something I have no experience of, although have read much on the subject, which was first brought to my attention by Issan Aussie some time ago; then my wife somehow got hold of similar info & has been a pain in the neck regarding this ever since!

Providing the sow is fully dilated and that at least one piglet has presented, I would basically, as a matter of course administer the drug; never having a problem & always quick deliveries. There is so much variation in advice regarding dosage, it makes things very confusing. I've read to give from 1cc as a dose to 10 cc's. I always went for 5-6cc's. Oxytocin does two things, it increases & strengthens the uterine contractions & it brings down milk.

Last farrowing we had, I heeded the wifes nagging & laid off the oxytocin, until we had piglet number six & then only gave 2cc'c. To cut a long story short, the gilt could not deliver what we thought was the last piglet, we couldn't get it out, the vet, when he eventually turned up couldn't get it out, inspite of using a 'snare', it just couldn't be got. Vets advice / course of action: Fill the gilt up with 20 cc's of antibiotics every day, hook her up to a drip, inject daily pain relief & wait for the piglet to decompose some! I didn't like this at all, however, when in the hands of the philistines! A clever vet could have dismembered the fetus & brought it out I'm sure!....To cut it short, the poor gilt laid like this for six days, before she died. The piglets were getting supplementary feeding from us, as well as suckling 'some' from their mother. In retrospect, if I'd given the normal dose, it is just possible that piglet would have come, even though, it was a 'monster', with another stuck in there behind it!

Allowing the piglets to suckle whilst the sow is still in the process of delivering is beneficial as this suckling triggers the release of natural Oxytocin & actually makes the sow push that little bit harder.

If there anything I've missed. Sorry:)

Cheers

Fruity

[IsaanAussie]

Charlie,

See, told you it would be worth the wait. Well done Fruity.

IA

[RedBullHorn]

....Wow ! That really was a good read...

[charlie10]

Fruity, many thanks for your full and detailed response. Very much appreciated. Before I say anything more, please accept my commiserations on your lost gilt. An awful situation and no doubt heart-wrenching to you to watch her slowly die, made even more so by your thought that if you had done things differently the problem may not have occurred. Gutting!

Your response to my questions have been really informative, and given your extensive experience, carry a lot of weight. The key points I take away from what you say are:

• Timing of serving gilt/sow is paramount. Too early, too small a litter.
• A multi-vitamin injection on onset of oestrus is a good insurance for good foetal development.
• An ivomec injection 10-14 days prior to farrowing to de-worm and reduce infection rates of piglets.
• Feed bulky fibrous feed – as much as sow wants- in last month of pregnancy.
• Use oxytocin if delays in delivery.
• Allow piglets to suckle during farrowing as this as oxytocin like effect and helps strengthen contractions.

For my operation I'm not quite sure about the need for a multi-vitamin injection. We add a multi-vitamin powder mix supplement to our feed. Our feed is made up of a combination of dry powder and wet vegetables. The high fresh vegetable content to the everyday feed (of which pak bung is one we regularly use when in season) should be providing a good level of further vitamin intake, and we also mix in a high percentage of red soil to the feed which helps provide iron, vitamin D, and healthy trace elements. Also salt. I would hope that these vitamin sources ingested daily as part of their feed would be enough. Possibly you or someone else reading will have a view on this.

Regarding the de-wormer injection, does anyone know of a solution based dewormer that could be added to water / feed to administer? And if so, where can it be bought. I'm not a great fan of administering injections.

I was surprised at the speed of delivery you have – if all goes well under 3 hours, and of the frequency of expected births -20 mins or so from one another. I haven't been seeing that even with oxytocin. I was also unaware of potential problems with using oxytocin – thanks for the pointer.

The tip about using cooking oil as a lubricant if you have to 'go in' is worth highlighting. Locally here, soap tends to be used, but I've always been concerned about possible risks of causing infection in the sow using this.

A couple of areas left unanaswered.

• What do you do regarding mating? Do you mate once or twice as a matter of routine?
• How often do you think it is prudent for a boar to mate before reduction in quality of sperm and conception rates could be impaired?
• What degree of still births would be considered 'abnormal'. Indeed, what would be your typical litter size?

Yours, and anyone's else's comments on these areas would be most welcome.

[charlie10]

Charlie,

See, told you it would be worth the wait. Well done Fruity.

IA

Yes, that really was an awesome response from Fruity!

[IsaanAussie]

OK Guys time for an idea.

This thread seems to be exposing some real expertise so I think its time to ask for some collective input. How about establishing a PIGS 101 INFORMATION SOURCE? Some form of e-manual of how to tips and ideas, things that work well, ways to value add, market opportunities, and linkages to external sources of information. A single point to go to for pig farming data, not a series of individual topic threads that end up sliding off the front page.

I have discussed the concept with our moderator Bina and Pigs 101 was the suggested response. I am quite happy to pull it all together. Perhaps each of us, serious pig farmers, could assume a lead role in collecting material of special interest to them as a start.

I dont know if an open debate will get us far so I suggest to anyone who sees a benefit, please PM me if you are interested and I will put together a consensus of your ideas for circulation and comment. When that is finished we can submit the concept to Bina for approval and implementation.

Isaanaussie

[RedBullHorn]

PIGS 101 ?...here's my contribution of rural believe and pratice of Thai house hold pig pen...usually after the birth of the piglets, they clip the K9 teeth, clip the tail short and together with the umbilical cord, throw them onto the top of the pen's roof....for good luck.

If it's for good luck !?!!... Sure~ why not ?

[fruity]

Fruity, many thanks for your full and detailed response. Very much appreciated. Before I say anything more, please accept my commiserations on your lost gilt. An awful situation and no doubt heart-wrenching to you to watch her slowly die, made even more so by your thought that if you had done things differently the problem may not have occurred. Gutting!

Your response to my questions have been really informative, and given your extensive experience, carry a lot of weight. The key points I take away from what you say are:

• Timing of serving gilt/sow is paramount. Too early, too small a litter.
• A multi-vitamin injection on onset of oestrus is a good insurance for good foetal development.
• An ivomec injection 10-14 days prior to farrowing to de-worm and reduce infection rates of piglets.
• Feed bulky fibrous feed – as much as sow wants- in last month of pregnancy.
• Use oxytocin if delays in delivery.
• Allow piglets to suckle during farrowing as this as oxytocin like effect and helps strengthen contractions.

For my operation I'm not quite sure about the need for a multi-vitamin injection. We add a multi-vitamin powder mix supplement to our feed. Our feed is made up of a combination of dry powder and wet vegetables. The high fresh vegetable content to the everyday feed (of which pak bung is one we regularly use when in season) should be providing a good level of further vitamin intake, and we also mix in a high percentage of red soil to the feed which helps provide iron, vitamin D, and healthy trace elements. Also salt. I would hope that these vitamin sources ingested daily as part of their feed would be enough. Possibly you or someone else reading will have a view on this.

Regarding the de-wormer injection, does anyone know of a solution based dewormer that could be added to water / feed to administer? And if so, where can it be bought. I'm not a great fan of administering injections.

I was surprised at the speed of delivery you have – if all goes well under 3 hours, and of the frequency of expected births -20 mins or so from one another. I haven't been seeing that even with oxytocin. I was also unaware of potential problems with using oxytocin – thanks for the pointer.

The tip about using cooking oil as a lubricant if you have to 'go in' is worth highlighting. Locally here, soap tends to be used, but I've always been concerned about possible risks of causing infection in the sow using this.

A couple of areas left unanaswered.

• What do you do regarding mating? Do you mate once or twice as a matter of routine?
• How often do you think it is prudent for a boar to mate before reduction in quality of sperm and conception rates could be impaired?
• What degree of still births would be considered 'abnormal'. Indeed, what would be your typical litter size?

Yours, and anyone's else's comments on these areas would be most welcome.

Thanks guys for the positive comments, I am humbled by your generousity. Always willing to help, if I can.

Issan Aussie, I think your PIG 101 idea is a very good one. By keeping useful information, tips, data etc in an easily accessible place, can only do some good.

Charlie,

Yes, it was very sad to lose the gilt, however, to be truthful, I was pleased she died & wished she had done earlier. Can't imagine the pain she had gone through for thoses days? The positive outcome being her brood of nine survivors should be weaned in a few days and have done quite well inspite of a very 'rocky' start.

Mating: In my opinion a minimum of two services, even three if the gilt/ sow will stand for a third....." make hay while the sun shines:)"

A fully mature, healthy boar should have no problems serving three (6 jumps) sows/ gilts per week, two (4 jumps) being ideal. Younger boars no more than one per week until he's around a year or so old. Old boars the same, although, it is prudent not to use the old boys at all.

If your local 'boar guy' only gives you one service, I'd seriously be considering either getting a boar yourself or going over to AI. We predominantly use AI now, with 'touch wood' very good results.

Earlier in the year during the abnormally hot, hot season there were large numbers of farrowings with the majority of the piglets 'stillborns' This was quite widespread throughout Issan, the excessive heat being credited with the cause. We ourselves had our share, with 14 out of a litter of 16 stillborn & 10 out of a 14 litter, the oddest one being one sow we had who went eighteen days over her due date before producing a litter of mummified piglets! Needless to say, that was a lousy month down on Fruitys little farm:)

Generally, it is fair to expect one or two stillborns per litter. In large litters, they nearly always occur towards the end of the labour, those who have had the longest trek & they are often bigger than their bedfellows, nearly all stills are caused by delays in some way, or can result from the piglet becoming seperated from its placenta too soon and it basically suffocates before it can be delivered. For whatever reason a fetus can die several days / weeks before birth, this is different from described & you can easily tell these apart.

Hope that helps!

Cheers

Fruity

[IsaanAussie]

RBH and Fruity,

Guys you were both on my expected list of quick responders and I believe you both have a role to play if this is to get off the ground.

RBH, don't sell yourself short, I am talking about an information source for raising pigs here in Thailand and tips like what the locals expect you to emulate to satisfy traditional beliefs is as much a part of any success here as anything else.

Fruity my old son, what can I say, if there is ever someone that most of us look up to for advice, it's you. A lifetime of rearing animals and the heartbreak and thrill of adapting to Thai conditions tells me you will become the backbone of any PIGS 101.

To all readers, the PIGS 101 concept should be credited to its creator, Bina, not to me. I asked for advice on how I could avoid having to do searches all the time to find time expired but useful information.

So hopefully we can move forward and create something useful to ourselves and the increasing tide of our countrymen that will follow us.

In closing another suggestion Bina made was to include as much Thai Language information as possible for the benefit of our spouses and the role they all help with, making us understand and be understood. I believe this to be a great idea.

Isaan Aussie

[fruity]

RBH and Fruity,

Guys you were both on my expected list of quick responders and I believe you both have a role to play if this is to get off the ground.

RBH, don't sell yourself short, I am talking about an information source for raising pigs here in Thailand and tips like what the locals expect you to emulate to satisfy traditional beliefs is as much a part of any success here as anything else.

Fruity my old son, what can I say, if there is ever someone that most of us look up to for advice, it's you. A lifetime of rearing animals and the heartbreak and thrill of adapting to Thai conditions tells me you will become the backbone of any PIGS 101.

To all readers, the PIGS 101 concept should be credited to its creator, Bina, not to me. I asked for advice on how I could avoid having to do searches all the time to find time expired but useful information.

So hopefully we can move forward and create something useful to ourselves and the increasing tide of our countrymen that will follow us.

In closing another suggestion Bina made was to include as much Thai Language information as possible for the benefit of our spouses and the role they all help with, making us understand and be understood. I believe this to be a great idea.

Isaan Aussie

Isaan Aussie,

The more I think about PIGS 101, the better I like it & really, it is well overdue. A big thanks to yourself & to Bina.

You mention ''adapting'' to Thai style livestock husbandry; no easy thing....lol....If a resource like PIGS 101 had been available to me personally years ago, I'm sure it would have saved a few of those 'heartbreaks' & an awful lot of running around wasting time!

Great idea regarding the Thai language info. There have been O'h so many times I just couldn't relay just what it was I was after, only to find out at a later date that my wife knows all there is to know about that topic only too well.

Similarly, the quirky things, like the piglets tails on the roof etc; all good stuff:)

Looking forward to seeing things shape up.

Cheers

Fruity

[charlie10]

Fruity, many thanks for your full and detailed response. Very much appreciated. Before I say anything more, please accept my commiserations on your lost gilt. An awful situation and no doubt heart-wrenching to you to watch her slowly die, made even more so by your thought that if you had done things differently the problem may not have occurred. Gutting!

Your response to my questions have been really informative, and given your extensive experience, carry a lot of weight. The key points I take away from what you say are:

• Timing of serving gilt/sow is paramount. Too early, too small a litter.
• A multi-vitamin injection on onset of oestrus is a good insurance for good foetal development.
• An ivomec injection 10-14 days prior to farrowing to de-worm and reduce infection rates of piglets.
• Feed bulky fibrous feed – as much as sow wants- in last month of pregnancy.
• Use oxytocin if delays in delivery.
• Allow piglets to suckle during farrowing as this as oxytocin like effect and helps strengthen contractions.

For my operation I'm not quite sure about the need for a multi-vitamin injection. We add a multi-vitamin powder mix supplement to our feed. Our feed is made up of a combination of dry powder and wet vegetables. The high fresh vegetable content to the everyday feed (of which pak bung is one we regularly use when in season) should be providing a good level of further vitamin intake, and we also mix in a high percentage of red soil to the feed which helps provide iron, vitamin D, and healthy trace elements. Also salt. I would hope that these vitamin sources ingested daily as part of their feed would be enough. Possibly you or someone else reading will have a view on this.

Regarding the de-wormer injection, does anyone know of a solution based dewormer that could be added to water / feed to administer? And if so, where can it be bought. I'm not a great fan of administering injections.

I was surprised at the speed of delivery you have – if all goes well under 3 hours, and of the frequency of expected births -20 mins or so from one another. I haven't been seeing that even with oxytocin. I was also unaware of potential problems with using oxytocin – thanks for the pointer.

The tip about using cooking oil as a lubricant if you have to 'go in' is worth highlighting. Locally here, soap tends to be used, but I've always been concerned about possible risks of causing infection in the sow using this.

A couple of areas left unanaswered.

• What do you do regarding mating? Do you mate once or twice as a matter of routine?
• How often do you think it is prudent for a boar to mate before reduction in quality of sperm and conception rates could be impaired?
• What degree of still births would be considered 'abnormal'. Indeed, what would be your typical litter size?

Yours, and anyone's else's comments on these areas would be most welcome.

Thanks guys for the positive comments, I am humbled by your generousity. Always willing to help, if I can.

Issan Aussie, I think your PIG 101 idea is a very good one. By keeping useful information, tips, data etc in an easily accessible place, can only do some good.

Charlie,

Yes, it was very sad to lose the gilt, however, to be truthful, I was pleased she died & wished she had done earlier. Can't imagine the pain she had gone through for thoses days? The positive outcome being her brood of nine survivors should be weaned in a few days and have done quite well inspite of a very 'rocky' start.

Mating: In my opinion a minimum of two services, even three if the gilt/ sow will stand for a third....." make hay while the sun shines:)"

A fully mature, healthy boar should have no problems serving three (6 jumps) sows/ gilts per week, two (4 jumps) being ideal. Younger boars no more than one per week until he's around a year or so old. Old boars the same, although, it is prudent not to use the old boys at all.

If your local 'boar guy' only gives you one service, I'd seriously be considering either getting a boar yourself or going over to AI. We predominantly use AI now, with 'touch wood' very good results.

Earlier in the year during the abnormally hot, hot season there were large numbers of farrowings with the majority of the piglets 'stillborns' This was quite widespread throughout Issan, the excessive heat being credited with the cause. We ourselves had our share, with 14 out of a litter of 16 stillborn & 10 out of a 14 litter, the oddest one being one sow we had who went eighteen days over her due date before producing a litter of mummified piglets! Needless to say, that was a lousy month down on Fruitys little farm:)

Generally, it is fair to expect one or two stillborns per litter. In large litters, they nearly always occur towards the end of the labour, those who have had the longest trek & they are often bigger than their bedfellows, nearly all stills are caused by delays in some way, or can result from the piglet becoming seperated from its placenta too soon and it basically suffocates before it can be delivered. For whatever reason a fetus can die several days / weeks before birth, this is different from described & you can easily tell these apart.

Hope that helps!

Cheers

Fruity

Thanks for that Fruity. That's really another top notch response that hopefully is of interest to other as well as myself. I now have a much clearer picture as to what we need to do in future to maximise our litter size potential and of external factors that we need to be aware of.

I understand totally what you are saying about wishing the gilt had died earlier. There's nothing so wretched as watching a sick animal failing to respond to medication and knowing that there's nothing else you can do but hope. We had an awful experience with 4 young pigles at the beggining of the year. It was a relief when they eventually found death. I'm pleased to hear your nine survivors are doing well.

[charlie10]

Just to add a happier note to this thread.

Last night, the sister to the sow who had such a disappointing number of piglets, gave birth to 13 healthy piglets. No dead births. Pretty much a model labour with a nice quick frequency between births. Only one longish delay between delivery of third and fourth piglet (45 minutes) and just as I was considering administering some Oxytocin, bingo, the next piglet arrived. Gave Oxytocin after the 11 th piglet came out. No problems with the last two piglet deliveries or the afterbirth expulsion. Both mother and little un's seem in fine fettle today. Now that I've caught up on some sleep, I'm not feeling too bad either!

[fruity]

Just to add a happier note to this thread.

Last night, the sister to the sow who had such a disappointing number of piglets, gave birth to 13 healthy piglets. No dead births. Pretty much a model labour with a nice quick frequency between births. Only one longish delay between delivery of third and fourth piglet (45 minutes) and just as I was considering administering some Oxytocin, bingo, the next piglet arrived. Gave Oxytocin after the 11 th piglet came out. No problems with the last two piglet deliveries or the afterbirth expulsion. Both mother and little un's seem in fine fettle today. Now that I've caught up on some sleep, I'm not feeling too bad either!

Congratulations Charlie, a job well done:)