April 2023 - Strategy FINAL - Flipbook - Page 12
Management
3
Pig Flow:
the biggest
influence on
health and
performance
by Dr. Evan Koep
Producers think of disease in
two words: bugs and drugs. Bugs
are the disease and drugs are the
medication to treat the disease.
When bugs and drugs are used,
it means that disease was present
goals
ALL IN/ALL OUT BY SITE
SINGLE SOURCE
SINGLE AGE GROUP
and needed to be treated. How
do we prevent disease in the first
place? Then, how do we stop the
disease cycle? And lastly, how
do we lessen the performance
drag of disease and maximize
revenue?
issues or improve performance.
Do not be afraid to think outside
of the box and try something
new. Just because ‘that’s how
we’ve always done it’ does not
mean that’s how we need to
operate today.
Let’s take a step back and look
at the big picture of animal health
in your operation. Is your pig
flow designed to prevent disease
spread between groups, start
better at weaning and maximize
your pigs’ performance potential?
Rethinking the pig flow and
design of your operation may fix
BIG PICTURE DESIGN
How your operation is designed
matters. This includes your pig
source and where/how the pigs
are placed. Fundamental goals to
improve health and performance
include:
why
• limits disease to a single group
• makes for easier and more succesfull disease clean up, if needed
• all pigs on the site carrying same bugs
• no spreading disease between source groups
• prevents spread of disease from older pigs to younger pigs
• limits the compounding effect of the disease from older pigs to the
MINIZING AGE SPREAD
WITHIN GROUPS
CONSISTENT, HEALTHY
PIG SOURCE
BIOSECURITY
youngest pigs
• easier to start pigs
• better match of the right diet to right age of pig
• impact of long fill times can equal $0.25+/pig for each added day of
fill time due to mortality and production drag
• healthy pigs perform better than sick pigs
• consistent source allows you to know the health status and be familiar
with what to expect
• prevents diesease spread
• needs to be thorough, but practical
• fundamentals such as entryway benches, and shower-in/shower-out
work
CASE STUDY
A producer in South Dakota
had 15-20% mortality groups
for almost two years after the
pig source eliminated PRRS.
The producer sourced their pigs
from one farm but housed six
different age groups on one
site. This setup had worked
well for over ten years, but the
introduction of PRRS changed
everything. The site was
emptied to break
the chain of PRRS infection,
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PIPESTONE JOURNAL
then the flow was redesigned to
create fewer age groups on the
site. Having fewer age groups
decreased the performance
drag of all groups, but also
increased the chance of cleaning
up diseases, such as PRRS,
should it be introduced again.
Since making these changes to
their pig flow, the producer’s
wean-to-market mortality has
been normalized between 4 to
7%.
SUMMARY
Pig flow plays a crucial role
in the health of the operation.
Striving for all-in/all-out sites, a
fast fill with a large pig source,
and a larger, 24-day-old pig
at weaning have proven to be
successful. Consult with your
veterinarian on areas to improve
your health, reduce the need
to use antibiotics, and increase
your bottom line.