Pig notes September 2008
Parity profile
During a recent farm visit a producer was complaining about litter size and number of pigs weaned per litter. After discussing various factors that influence born alive and weaned, we came to the conclusion that the parity profile of the herd was contributing to the problem. An analysis of his records showed that 26 percent of litters were from gilts and 25 percent from eigth + parity sows. In other words, half the litters born were from young or old sows. As gilt litter size is usually the smallest and parity three to five sows the most productive, too many young and/or old sows in the herd will influence performance. The ideal distribution of sows in each parity is given in table 1.
Table 1: Ideal parity profile
| Parity | % of sows in herd |
|---|---|
| 1 | 17 |
| 2 | 16 |
| 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 14 |
| 5 | 13 |
| 6 | 11 |
| 7 | 10 |
| 8+ | less than 4 |
If you would like help in working out the number of sows in each parity in your herd contact myself, tel: 028 9442 6767 or Mark Hawe, tel: 028 9442 6768.
Depop-Repop
With the recent increase in cull sow prices some people are thinking about destocking and repopulating (depop-repop) their unit. As high health units normally perform better, have lower costs of production and are easier to mange than conventional health units, a depop-repop is definitely worth considering. However, although high cull sow prices will result in increased revenue, this alone should not influence the decision to depopulate. The decision should be based on the following:-
- Current healthcare costs. CAFRE pig benchmarking year on year shows a large variation in healthcare costs. For the 2006/2007 year the cost of healthcare ranged from 1p/KG (80p/pig) to 7.4p/KG (£5.90/pig). The average cost was 3.3p/KG (£2.60/pig)
- Current performance, for example, born alive, mortality, growth rate.
- Distance to the nearest pig unit. The general ‘rule of thumb’ is that your unit must be at least 5km from the nearest conventional health pig unit. Air/wind is the most common way of spreading disease.
If your herd’s healthcare costs are high, performance isn’t great and your unit is more than 5km from the nearest pig unit, have a chat with your vet about destocking and repopulating.
Pig training course
We are planning to hold a short training course on basic pig production in late September/early October. The course will cover the basics of feeding, management and welfare and will be presented in English. It is particularly aimed at new staff who have a limited knowledge of pig production and foreign nationals who can speak and understand English. If you would like to attend the course or send an employee, please contact myself or Mark Hawe.
Timely tip – watch out for mycotoxins
The heavy rainfall over recent weeks is likely to affect grain quality with an increased risk of mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are toxins produced by moulds and can cause problems in both the breeding herd, for example, smaller litters, abortions, increase in stillbirths and the feeding herd, for example, reduced appetite. Home mixers, in particular, should be careful and only purchase good quality grain which should be stored at a low moisture content. It is also a good idea to empty bins on a regular basis especially if there is a musty smell or feed is not flowing evenly.
