Herd Health Focus Of LanChester Pork Council Meeting
(Continued from Page A 1)
speaker at a LanChester Pork
Council meeting Tuesday.
Rodibaugh, DVM, Swine
Health Services, Frankfort, Ind.,
was one of several speakers at the
44th annual meeting and pork
production forum. The meeting
drew approximately 80 producers
and industry representatives to
Yoder’s Restaurant.
By definition, nonproductive
days (NPD) are any days that a
sow or gilt is not gestating or lac
tating. Reducing the NPD im
proves herd efficiency and de
creases costs per pig produced on
such factors as feed, facility, ge
netics, and labor.
The components of NPD are:
• Preservice intervals (entry to
service, gilts) (wean to service,
sows).
• Postservice intervals (days
from service until detected non
pregnant).
• Removal intervals (cull,
death); (wean to removal); (Serv
ice to removal); and (entry to re
moval).
Although establishing a bench
mark is difficult, targets would be
(the data is a little optimistic,
said Rodibaugh):
Gilts:
• Entry to first service: 10-20
days.
• Entry to removal (no serv
ice): less than three days.
• First service to conception:
less than three days.
• First service to removal: less
than three days.
These numbers are a little
higher for sows.
Total NPD numbers are ideal
ly between 30-50. The interval
from service until detected as
open is a leading predictor of
NPD, and “that’s what we proba
bly work on more than any
thing,” said Rodibaugh.
“Putting NPD knowledge into
practice is not rocket science, and
Agriculture - Residential - Commercial ;<
• Buildings • Basement • Floors
• Retaining Walls • Footer
• NRCS Approved Tank Designs
• All Types Of Flat Work
Invest In Concrete, Quail
CALL FOR FREE ESTIMATES CONTACT
AND SEE HOW AFFORDABLE ROY SENSENIG
CONCRETE WALLS CAN BE 717-355-0726
Authorized Dealer For Keystone Concrete Products
J 2) fPH IP H (F* concrete
IT ini lE. E WALLS, INC.
you already know them (good
management routines). It’s just a
matter of knowing the tools.”
Estrus detection, real time ul
trasound at three days, and ges
tation management, such as nu
trition, watching sow conditions,
checking for physical problems,
and stress are part of shortening
the NPD number.
Numerically, the value on one
NPD might have on an operation
is about .05 pigs per female per
year. “NPD is an indicator of fe
male throughput, which has eco
nomic consequences,” he said.
Dr. Nate Winkelman, swine
consultant and owner of Swine
Services Unlimited, Inc., dis
cussed not only the diagnostics of
ileitis but also the treatment, con
trol, and prevention of the dis
ease.
“The disease has been around
for a while,” said Winkelman. It
was first described in scientific
journals in 1931, but it was not
until 1993 that the cause of ileitis
Lawsonia intracellularis,
was first cultured.
In 2001 the first vaccine went
on the market.
The disease also occurs in rats,
hamsters, horses, rabbits, deer,
fox, ferrets, emus, ostriches, and
monkeys but not humans, he
said. It has worldwide distribu
tion.
In addition, it is considered the
most common cause of diarrhea
by U.S. veterinarians.
According to Winkelman, out
breaks cost producers $3.50-$7
per pig in lost performance and
mortality. The disease peaks at
18-28 days with a lot of diarrhea
from the animal, but it may have
a long incubation period. The an
imals, he said, may not test posi
tive for two to six weeks.
In its chronic form, found in
animals 10-20 weeks old, the pigs
have a dramatic weight variation
as they go off feed and have soft
to-wateiy stool. It is transmitted
601 Overly Grove Rd., New Holland, PA 17557
For All ;<
Your Concrete |
Walls And \
Construction Needs *
Specializing In
Manure Storage
Round or Rectangular,
In-Ground or
Above-Ground
Work That Wifi Last A Lifetime
fecal-to-oral contact, but mainly
through pig-to-pig contact, al
though boots and vehicles may
also spread the bacteria. It can
live in the pit for 13 days.
Its acute forms, in young
adults 4-12 months, may cause
sudden death with no apparent
clinical sings. The pigs may be
pale and anemic looking, plus
have black or bloody feces.
A variety of tests run on tissue
cultures from the small intestine
can show whether the animals
had ileitis. Besides postmortem
examinations, tests can be run on
pea-sized fecal samples.
The samples must be taken di
rectly from the rectum (as op
posed to the floor) and kept on
ice before taken to the lab within
24 hours.
As for treatment and control,
there are four feed-grade antibi
otics approved by FDA, and sev
eral pending approval. Feed ad
ditives are much better to use as
a prevention and control mea
sures rather than as treatment, he
said. “You have to get ahead of
the disease.”
In addition, there are several
water medication options. Inject
able antibiotics have worked well
in trials, he said. Feed antibiotics
may not be as effective if the ani
mal has ileises, since they eat less
when they have the disease.
“You want to pulse them with
feed antibiotics before you see
clinical signs,” he said. Also, too
many stressors can overwhelm a
feed-grade antibiotic.
“If you’ve got an outbreak, you
need to be using water medica
tion that’s what is going to
stop that outbreak.” Pulse the
antibiotics ahead of time, since
the disease is harder to control
with increased severity.
“Be aggressive with effective
injectable and water medication,”
he said.
Disinfectants that kill the bac
teria are ammonium chloride or
kTATATATVi
an iodine-based disinfectant,
though most importantly the fa
cility needs to be cleaned with a
hot water wash to get rid of the
fecal matter, said Winkelman.
In fact, prevention includes
designating a clean and dirty
zone in the barn for boots or barn
clothes. Change boots between
barns, and clean off boots before
dipping into a footbath, he said.
Follow up with appropriate
feed-grade antibiotics.
National Pork Board spokes
man Nicole Boettger highlighted
pork checkoff efforts.
Success in the industry, she
said, has been achieved as pro
ducers evolved to meet consumer
demand, since there is 31 percent
less fat on hogs than 20 years
ago. She also noted that the
“Pork. The other white meat”
campaign, launched in 1987, is
the fifth most recognized tagline
in marketing history.
The organization also helped
the industry make strides in ex
porting. America has moved
from being a importer to a large
scale exporter of pork. Also, the
pork board’s efforts have helped
to increase pork in foodservice 17
percent in 2001.
Other efforts by the board in
clude rebranding giving a new
look to the pork checkoff. In
addition the board offers a Pro
ducer Service Center
1-800-456-PORK for questions,
education, and market reports.
The afternoon consisted of
PQA Level 3 recertification by
Chet Hughes, Lancaster County
livestock extension agent. Hughes
highlighted animal handling pro
cedures that are part of the
Trucker Quality Assurance Pro
gram (TQA).
Hughes wanted to enhance the
PQA program by bringing to
pork producers information pres
ented to livestock haulers “so
that you can understand what
you need to do before the hogs
get on the truck, and what hap-
aT V
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 21,2002-A37
pens until they get to the plant,"
he said
One example of proper animal
handling procedure is the spare
use of electric prods, which can
cause stress which ma> lead to a
heart attack and perhaps death.
Although Hughes did not say
that the prods should never be
used, “learn to minimize use and
find better ways to handle hogs
without the abusive use of
electric prods.” he said.
As for loading ramps, they
should generally be 20-25 percent
slope or less.
While the hogs are being load
ed, “it’s not a race to get the pigs
on the truck it’s not a contest,”
Hughes said.
“Give them time to find their
way, and it's a little smoother.”
Move the animals in smaller
groups (3-5 animals) for easier
handling and less stress.
The goal, he reminded the au
dience, is to “get the pigs to the
packing plant not all banged up
and bruised and stressed.”
Do not load downer pigs that
cannot stand; rather, put them on
a sled to move to a pen, Hughes
said.
Also, “make sure that your
load-out crew understands how
to load pigs, and what you’re try
ing to accomplish,” said Hughes,
recommending to “put the dog
away,” and not hang a jacket on
the loading chute.
Producers should also inspect
the loading chutes for anything
that would bruise or tear the
hogs.
Opening the barn curtains 15
minutes prior to loading allows
the hogs to get acclimated to the
outside temperature.
“This animal handling issue is
one that is in the front burner
right now. It's something we have
to think about.
“Ft's to your advantage that
you get the hogs there safely its
important to have a good rela
tionship with your truck driver.”