ft
Ask the
VMD
A reader asks:
What considerations
should I make when selec
ting new breeding stock for
my hog herd?
Dr. Trayer comments:
The one most important
fact to consider in the
selection of new breeding
stock, especially boars, is to
start three months in ad
vance
If you are selecting gilts
from your own herd, you will
have to start six to eight
months in advance and
that will start in the
farrowing house
With any new stock added
to the facility from outside
your own herd, there are
Qpveral critical con-
Wderations.
You should look at the
person you’re buying the
animals from very closely,
primarily their herd health
program The old addage,
“You can buy your
problems” pertains as well
to the swine selection as to
It pays to bring this coupon to us, your local Behlen builder.
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anything else you might buy
for the farm.
It is wise to select
animals from a farmer that
has taken the time to have
his herd certified free from
pseudorabies, also called
mad itch, and brucellosis.
Certification for these two
dieseases requires either an
annual blood test of all
breeding stock or blood tests
on I ,a of the breeding stock
every 90 days, after an initial
two bleedings within a 90-
day period.
Find out about the far
mer’s vaccination schedule
for the replacement stock.
Whether it is for a boar, sow,
or gilt, the following vac
cination schedule is a
minimum
Every tune a sow goes
through the farrowing house,
she should receive lep
tospirosis vaccination, the
five way strain And
erysipelas vaccine should be
administered at the same
time.
. Die-formed footing
channels
• Wide variety of doors,
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• Grain storage models
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Buckwalter Rd., Rt. 1
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Boars should be vac
cinated twice a year with the
erysipelas bacterm and pigs
that are weaned between six
and eight weeks of age
should receive the vaccine
too This should be boosted
again when selecting out the
gilts for replacement, or the
boars.
The Lepto vaccine should
be given to the boar prior to
turning him in with the new
breeding stock, or turning
the gilts in. The gilts should
be boosted with the vaccme
every time through the
farrowing house, and the
boars twice a year.
Atrophic rhinitis history of
the farm should also be
sought out before buying
hogs. This is a disease
believed to be caused by a
bacteria, Bordetella bron
chiseptica.
If you see any clinical
signs of atrophic rhinitis,
such as bent noses with any
deviations to the right or left
or any blood m the pen
IS)
ly
a J
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Stop in for all the facts and a price
quote. And bring the coupon to us to
gn. Behlen will mail a $2O check to the
■st 50 farmers we give a quote to on any
jehlen product(s) with a $lO,OOO or more
list price. There’s no obligation to buy
only to learn the difference between the
so-called “lower-priced” buildings and one
that’s built right to save you money.
coming from the noses, you
should not buy any breeding
stock from the seller unless
this can be clinically proven
not to be atrophic rhinitis.
Without these clinical
signs of the disease, it will be
hard to tell whether there
are any animals infected.
One question you might
ask the seller is whether he
has taken the time to have a
slaughter animal checked by
his veterinarian and what
was found.
What is usually done in a
slaughter check by a
veterinarian is: 1. observe
the animals prior to
slaughter for general health;
2. observe the slaughter line
for any external ab
normalities, such as ex
cessive amounts of ab
scesses, bruising, and
swelling; 3. watch the
slaughter line for joint ab
scesses, adhesions of the
lungs to the internal carcass,
and overall disposition of the
carcass as it moves down the
line; 4. check livers for
ascand or round worm
migrations; 5 visual exam
of the internal parasitism of
the internal gastro-mtestmal
tract; and 6. check some of
the heads by cutting open the
snout and looking for signs of
atrophic rhinitis.
After this, a report is given
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 15,1980—A19
back to the producer, along
with any recommendations.
Another consideration in
buymg breeding stock is to
ask the seller if there has
been any lameness in the
herd, particularly m the
boars. This could be a sign of
myco plasma infection in the
herd, or general bacterial
joint infection, either strep
or staph, which usually
occurs at a very early age
from abrasion of the knees
or improper dipping of the
naval cord at birth.
If there is a question of the
health of the breeding stock
you are about to buy, you
should get an independent
opinion from your
veterinarian.
The seller should be
worming all pigs after
weaning at 6 to 8 weeks of
age, and repeating two
weeks later. All breeding
stock should be wormed a
minimum of twice a year.
The seller should also tell
you what wormer he is using
and he should be rotating the
produce he uses. If he does
not rotate, he should have a
fecal and carcass check done
at least twice every year for
signs of parasitism because
one wormer does not get all
the internal parasites of
swine
Does the seller have a
problem with lice and
mange. If so, what is he
using or domg about the
problem.
Mange is a hard problem
to treat because there are no
readily available products
that are effective against it.
The most effective treat
ment, Lindane, has been on
and off the market.
The seller should be able to
give you general per
formance information. For
boars, he should be able to
give you information on his
feed conversion, how the
boar’s individual per
formance compares to the
rest of his stablemates and
relatives.
If, after checking out the
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STRAW &
EAR CORN
SALE
EVERY MONDAY
At 11A.M.
NEW HOLLAND SALES
STABLES, INC.
Phone 717-354-4341
Lloyd H. Kreider, Auct
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with
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ALSO BARN CLEANING SERVICE i
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To have your barn cleaned with air it will I
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Barn spraying our business, not a side-line. X
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seller’s health records, and
performance records of the
swine, you decide to pur
chase some of the breeding
stock, the next step is to have
the new animals blood
tested, whether you’re
within the state or moving
across state-lines. All new
additions to your herd should
be blood tested.
Blood testing should be
done for pseudorabies, as a
minimum, brucellosis, and it
isn’t out of line while your
drawing the blood to check
for leptospirosis.
Test before the animals
leave the seller’s farm, no
matter what the status of the
producer is, whether or not
he is certified brucellosis
free. And, retest after thirty
days of bringing them home
to the farm.
The animal should remain
in isolation for those thirty
days in the event of a
positive result the animal
can be identified without
harming the rest of your
herd.
Next week we will discuss
the treatment of the new
breeding stock once you’ve
brought them home to your
farm.
If you have a question you
would like answered by the
team from Valley Animal
Hospital, send it to Ask the
VMD, Box 366, Lititz, PA
17543. Questions will be kept
anonymous on request.
Rural
preservation
conference set
WEST CHESTER The
Chester County Historical
Society is sponsoring the
first Annual Preservation
Conference on the critical
subject of rural preser
vation.
The two day conference
held Friday and Saturday,
March 21 and 22,1980 on the
campus of West Chester
State College, West Chester.
Mam focus will be on the
conservation of open space
and the maintenance of
prime agricultural land.
The cost for the two-day
conference, including lun
chs, $35.
The speakers for the
conference and themes for
the workshops will address
four basic issues which must
be confronted in effectively
implementing rural
preservation programs.
They are philosophical,
political, legal, and prac
tical.
AND VEAL PENS.