Minnesota Vet Discusses Swine Health Problems BY SALLY BAIR Lancaster Co. Correspondent MANHEIM - Conrad Schmidt, a veterinarian in private practice in Minnesota and a columnist for National Hog Farmer, told south central Pennsylvania hog producers that they must become interested in nutrition and the environment to be successful. Speaking last week at a meeting sponsored by Timothy Trayer, D.V.M., Schmidt said, “Every disease is part of the environment. There are 27 things that can go wrong on farms every day to cause stress which causes disease. ” Addressing the economic effect of deaths, Schmidt said, “You are robbed when you lose a pig.” Because of the importance economically, he urged producers to keep death records. Pneumonia, he said, has the biggest effect economically in Pennsylvania, followed by in fertility and reproductive problems. He also urged herd health profiling to help in managing problems. “History is the main ingredient of a successful diagnosis.” Schmidt said. “You must share what you see so the veterinarian can make a good clinical evaluation.” Post mor tems should always be conducted. He added, “You should set realistic targets and keep track of deaths.” Schmidt called blood testing important, especially for anemia, adding, “If you don’t have healthy blood you don’t have healthy pigs.” Other aspects of a herd health profile that are important include checking for parasites, culturing, sensitivities, drug usage and drug response. Drug Usage In Feed Schmidt pointed out that USDA is going to begin spot checking for drug withdrawal on slaughter animals, and added, "We have to be protectors of what we’re selling. Drug usage and drug response has LIVESTOCK World's Largest Livestock Show Begins Nov. 8 LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 1986 “The North American will again stration exhibit.” North American International feature Championship Rodeo Also new this year is the Saddle Livestock Exposition opens Nov. 8 Finals which are PRCA sane- and Sirloin Club, a “Members and continues through Nov. 21. tioned; a barnyard featuring baby Only” lounge which follows in the Livestock breeders from across animals; many junior livestock tradition of the Saddle and Sirloin the nation will participate. The events and a variety of sales. The Club located at the old Chicago exposition, now in it’s 13th year, Agri-Products Show returns this International Livestock Show, has become the largest, all-breed, year and has been expanded to The show is sponsored by the purebred livestock show in the include free country music shows Commonwealth of Kentucky and world and is expected to attract and a wool products/demon- the Kentucky State Fair Board, nearly 14,000 entries, according to Harold Workman, Manager. Six NAILE To Host Angus Activities livestock types will be featured, M including beef cattle, dairy cattle, ’. J"° w .. . its Open Committee Meeting this swine, sheep, quarter horses and T breeder .® nationwide will travel to is co-sponsoring the draft horses 4 According to JouuwJf; ‘Saddle & Sirloin Roundtable Workman, virtually every f or the 103rd Annual „ Breeder Destmy „ ; Idea livestock breed will be represented asToSiot other Dialogue in Honor of Dr. Frank in the six livestock categories, Association and several otner Baker >. it will be held on Sunday, bringing total shows and livestock activities, all held in con- November 16 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. sales dming the 2-week exposition Satmnal^ at the Exposition Center, to nearly 100. rS L,!! Later that evening from 6to 8 Pennsylvania’s will be among P° ait ° S E; t e h r ’ p.m. is the Angus Reception. It will those vying for top honors. Paul D. “SaIaSL be held at the Executive West Miller of Spring Grove will be Al ?® n ,cn g H P w a ?L at f Pnm 47 The Roll of Victory Angus Show showing two head of Charolais beef . C A ha ebe will start the day’s activities off at cattle, and the number of sheep * a^ s bv memtersof thenat.ona" 8:00 am - on Monda y> November exhibitors includes Margaret tS3r 17 ‘ Grooms ’ overton ’ Herr, Narvon; Tim and Sarah ti h L. tth Texas, will judge Angus females Fleener, Lancaster; and William P M t tf2 n m on on Monda y and the bulls wlll show MacCauley,Atglen. Mondav Nowmber l? at the at 9:00 am ' on Tuesda y> Jack Ragsdale, Chairman of the iV on , November 17 at the NovemberlB NAILE’s Executive Committee, rasuhpi! The Annual Banquet is set for 7 announced that the big exposition :le f ( te n s ™ l \ C *±£Z p.m., Monday, at the Executive will also feature an expanded West. The featured speaker at the group of activities that will interest J. es f , * and di ‘ P t ’ banquet will be Ray Wilkinson, a both livestock breeders and the ®* ect 1e ” e ctor farm broadcaster for WRAL-TV in general public. Ragsdale said, ad V f e t he association having Raleigh, North Carolina. to be continually monitored.” Schmidt added, “We need to have diagnostic work done on our farms to understand drugs. Each farm should have sensitivity work done.” Questioning the attitude of “throwing something on the feed” to treat disease, Schmidt asked, “Does a sick pig eat?” He added that only five to 10 percent of any hog population needs the dose being given. “The most effective way to treat is by injection,” he said. Schmidt encouraged the breeders to decide their disease priorities, ranking diseases and their importance. He suggested working with the number-one problem, saying that number six and seven will probably go away. He urged producers to be aware of antibiotic usage and restric tions, and to be sure to note resistance. He said prevention should be by immunization, ad ding, “This is the key, especially where there’s not a lot of outside exposure.” Learning about disease control is vital to the economic survival of the pork producers, he stressed. “You should fit each step into a long range program.” Schmidt called the sow the ke« any successful disease program, adding that sanitation and cleanliness are of supreme im portance. He noted, “Any over whelming exposure will override a given immune level. You cannot cheat on sows.” Discussing immunities, Schmidt said passive immunities are those that are very short, like colostrum, and acquired last for longer periods of time. He pointed out that in any litter there will be some pigs that will not be effectively protected by cholostrum. “You can increase the herd immunities by management, diagnosis and vaccination,” Schmidt added, saying, “You should limit cost to $1.50 per pig marketed on the total anibiotics on your farm. No more than eight percent of the ration cost should be antibiotics.” Schmidt added, “Herd vaccination can lower antibiotic usage.” One limiting factor in hog production is the environmental issue, Schmidt noted. He said immunization should be increased before known exposure, and the sow should be vaccinated to protect the nursing piglet. According to Schmidt, a good vaccination program will cause a decrease in specific bacterial problems, and increase response to antibiotics and will shorten disease outbreaks, allowing pigs to come back faster after diseases. Dealing With Rhinitis Discussing the specifics of rhinitis, Schmidt said that 100 percent of all herds have rhinitis, though it may not be infectious. “Some kinds are costly to you. You must decide what kind of rhinitis your herd has.” Schmidt said that the disease cost pork producers $2lO million in 1984. Nearly 70 percent of tested hogs have rhinitis that is detec table to the naked eye. “It affects the average daily gain and it can >!' Mu 'nor L -on,e types of t-omoma.” i t > he note ’ can also affect average daily gain Bordetella bronchiseptica and Pasteurella multocida, Type A are primary culprits in disease. While Pasteurella is not costly in itself it sets up the environment for other organisms to get in, Schmidt said. Schmidt concluded, “If your vaccination and feed medication program isn’t working, challenge your vets to get with it.” He added that it is essential to have a preventative program with in coming boars. He said that atrophic rhinitis is “mere than just a bug problem. It is a management problem, and you must be willing to implement a program. You must know how much it costs and you must un derstand the problem.” Schmidt said that housing has the most direct effect on the severity of disease, and both density and ventilation must be controlled. He said finishing buildings are often too con centrated and animals are mixed too often. While nutrition is not a real cause of rhinitis, Schmidt said that sows must be fed adequately to produce colostrum so they won’t be Minnesota veterinarian Dr. Conrad Schmidt (left) talks with Dr. Timothy Trayer following a meeting with local pork producers last week. carriers of the disease. Resistance to the disease can be earned through genetics and heredity, and crossbreeding can be successful in getting it out. Death records will be helpful in understanding the disease and will how the economic cost of the ui.-1 ases to the herd. Schmidt made it clear that he has been impressed with the Lancaster County hog farms he visited during his stay here. He said, '‘Producers are conscientious and have a good attitude toward cleanliness and toward the en- Winterizing Cooling Systems There has been disagreement, m the past, about the advisability of evaporative cooling for chickens in Pennsylvania. Some individuals questioned the use of a cooling technique that would raise relative humidity in the poultry house because the higher relative humidity decreases the ability of the bird to shed heat through the respiratory tract. Because evaporative cooling reduces the dry-bulb temperature to near the wet-bulb temperature, others questioned the effectiveness of an evaporative cooling system in a high humidity climate. Research has indicated the beneficial effect of lower dry-bulb temperature exceeds the detrimental effect of higher relative humidity. Analysis of weather data for Pennsylvania reveals that high humidities do not accompany high dry-bulb tem peratures. From this observation one would conclude that evaporative cooling is more suitable to, Pennsylvania poultry buildings than originally con- sidered. The end result has been the in creased use of evaporative cooling systems in Pennsylvania poultry houses. These installations utilize misting or fogging systems instead of the more expensive pad system. These misting systems utilize water pressure and orifice diameter of the nozzles to achieve the desired droplet size required vironment. There are a lot of good things going on here. ’ ’ Trayer, of Hutchison and Trayer Veterinary Associates, Denver, discussed the “Pig Champ” computer program which he uses with clients foi herd analysis. Originating from the University of Minnesota, the program gives basic information in helping producers identify the strengths and weaknesses of their herds. With the program, producers can identify the top sows in the herd, and save replacements from the top 20 to 30 percent. Forest On Fowl by Forest Muir Penn State Extension Poultry Specialist for effective water evaporation. Evaporative cooling systems should not be needed again until next summer. Therefore, producers with houses that contain an evaporative cooling system should winterize them at this time. The procedures for winterizing existing misting'systems are as follows; 1. Open up the end of each line and drain any water that may be in the line. This will prevent the water from freezing during the winter and breaking the line. In addition, it will prevent any deposits from collecting in the pipe or nozzles. 2. Remove all nozzles and soak them for 10 to 20 minutes in ap proximately an 8 percent solution of hydrochloric acid. This can be prepared by diluting common swimming pool muriatic acid 3:1 with water. Dilute the acid in a plastic or glass container; do not . use a motal container. WARNING: ACID IS CAUSTIC - - DO NOT GET IN EYES, MOUTH OR ON SKIN! 3. Remove nozzles from solution and rinse with water. 4. Replace nozzles. 5. Service the pump in ac cordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. A small investment in time now, to properly winterize a mist evaporative system, will pay dividends when the system is once again needed next summer.
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