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HOG NEWS

Issue No 18/APRIL-JUNE 2014

Editorial We end the first half of the year on a brighter note given the improvement in the producer prices of pork. The first quarter had seen sub-economic pig producer prices and most farmers had scaled down their operations and some were contemplating quitting pig production altogether. Things took a turn for the better after the stakeholder meeting that we had at the end of March. Many believe that the frank exchanges that took place on that day helped to trigger the upward movement in the producer prices. The producer price and the wholesale prices of pork improved significantly in the second quarter. Sadly, not many farmers had stock to take advantage of the improved prices. A lot of them disposed light animals as they tried to cash in on the improved prices. While we rejoice over the improved prices we should be strategizing on how we can maintain the viable prices. It does not pay to undercut one another in order to sell our pigs because this negatively affects the industry. As producers we should be united and speak with one voice. Unilateral decision by the big players that harm the entire pig industry should be avoided. The interests of the smallholder pig producers should be considered when the big players make their decisions. The issues that affect the industry should be discussed in stakeholder meetings and a common position agreed upon. Once issues are discussed at stakeholder meetings there will be no room for finger pointing when things go wrong. We hope we have learnt our lessons and we won’t make irresponsible decisions to the detriment of the entire pig industry. This edition’s feature article is on the udder.

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Udder

A healthy functional well-formed udder is vital to piglet survival not only to provide colostrum and milk but also to give all the piglets easy teat access.

Teat and udder conformation

There are two fundamental factors that decide whether a sow can rear 12 or more pigs; first whether all piglets are able to get access to teats and second whether they can suck milk freely from them. These may seem obvious but how seriously are they considered when the gilt is being selected? It is not uncommon to see a gilt at farrowing with no functional teats at all, or a sow farrowing with say, five viable teats and the remainder non-functional. But selection for good teats and udders is as easy, particularly if the number of females to choose from is small. Some teats that appear small and inverted at selection may develop and be fully functional at parturition and vice versa. Fortunately, in large herds the odd mistake can usually be mitigated by cross-fostering. Nevertheless, if you are a farmer who selects gilts from your own herd you should not forget that successful rearing of litters starts at gilt selection.

Teat conformation

A basic understanding of the anatomy of the teat is helpful during selection as it aids in choosing gilts with good functional teats. Teat conformation can be classified from 1 to 5 (Fig.8-18). The perfect teat is elongated and pointed with two teat canals opening to the exterior. A class 2 teat will not be so elongated but the teat end protrudes well down. Class 3 is the cut-off point for selection and this is where the teat sphincter (often appearing as a black dot) can still be seen when viewed at eye level. A class 4 teat is one where the teat sphincter is not visible, in other words the teat canal is shortened resulting in an inverted teat. Such a teat should be considered non-viable. A proportion of inverted teats will be drawn out by the piglet at suckling, but at least 50% of them will remain blind. Why take the risk? A class 5 teat is usually one where the teat has been rubbed off in the first 48 hours of birth (Teat necrosis).

Teat numbers

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The optimum or minimum number of functional teats on the breeding gilt is a debatable point.

The ideal would be 16 teats, but this may represent only 5% of the gilt population, with around only 25% having 14 - so the commercial choice is 12 good teats with 14 or 16 in the Meishan cross breed. If however, you are selecting gilts from your own herd, select 14 or more if possible.

Teat placement

The position of the teats on the udder is equally as important as teat conformation. It is of no use having 14 perfect teats if their placement results in poor accessibility at birth. Teats should be equally spaced with no supernumerary ones and be in two parallel lines. When teats diverge they are poorly presented to the piglet at birth. Animals with large girths also exaggerate the teat placement (Fig.8-19).

Bad teat conformation is one of the major reasons why a breeding female will not rear 11 or 12 pigs. There may be a history in a herd of good litters born yet by the time the pigs are five days of age, two or three begin to show signs of lack of milk they loose condition and have to be fostered. Two pigs can survive on one teat in the first 12-24 hours after farrowing but eventually the stronger pig takes over and the other is left with the teat that has now become accessible but it has started to dry off.

The placement of good teats on the boar that is used to produce breeding females should also be given due emphasis at selection.

Reputable breeding companies selling replacement breeding stock are fully aware of the importance of teat conformation, teat numbers and teat placement hence they make their examination an important part of the selection process. As a commercial producer buying gilts you should always check their underlines on arrival.

Teat necrosis

It has been recognised for a number of years that within 18 hours of birth some of the teat sphincters on those teats in front of the umbilical cord are damaged by the floor surfaces. This causes the sphincter to become necrotic (die). It is most likely to occur in piglets born with swollen, oedematous teats and glands which results from the sow's female hormones crossing the placenta. Such damage occurs on most floor surfaces but is obviously worse on rough floors and is almost complete within 24 hours of birth. If gilts are to be selected, their teats should be protected from this trauma as soon as possible after birth. In some circumstances this can be helped by maintaining a deep bed of straw or shavings beneath the sow but in many cases this is

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not practical. The alternative is to protect the teats by painting them with cow gum, (which is a rubber solution, often used for attaching photographs to paper), contact adhesive or covering them with adhesive zinc oxide elastoplast for up to 36 hours.

Selection technique

Gilts for breeding can be selected initially at five days of age (and ear notched) for conformation and 12 to 14 good pointed well placed teats. This will give an indication of the number of animals that are potentially available for selection at a determined future date and with a simple computer programme details of availability at that date can be predetermined. Up to 90% (but allow for no more than 75%) of these animals should be finally selected at 90kg weight. (cannot understand)

Potential breeding animals should be examined first in a confined space such as a weigh crate to check the teats. If a five day selection has been carried out you will know that most gilts will have 12 to 14 teats. The ideal is to set a weigh crate on a ramp so that the gilts udder is 0.9-1.2m from the ground. The observer can then carry out a detailed examination and at the same time assess the lateral displacement of teats. The final selection should be based upon a normal vulva, overall conformation and ease of movement to reduce the risk of leg weakness.

Recognising impending disorders and possible lactation failure

These must be determined at the onset and the following procedures will help:

The udder of every sow at farrowing and 12 to 24 hours afterwards should be palpated. The palm of the hand is placed over each gland with the teat in the centre and pressure applied to a normal gland to the point at which the sow just responds. This standard is then used to detect any abnormal pain and changes in texture to the other glands.

The presence of oedema or fluid in the vulva or in the surface tissues between the legs should be noted.

A finger should be pressed hard into a gland to see whether a small impression is left behind. If so this is further evidence of the very early stages of oedema.

The first detectable changes are usually seen 4 to 6 hours after farrowing but occasionally severe mastitis or infection of the gland would be evident before farrowing in which case loss of appetite and failure to suckle are observed.

The experienced stockman or the veterinarian will recognise lactation failure by behavioural changes in the sow, lack of alertness and failure to lie over and suckle.

Affected glands may be discoloured and swollen. The sow may be off her food with a fever and laid on her belly.

The first indication of lactation failure is shown in the piglets by raised hair, hollow flanks and they actively seek food.

Disorders associated with the udder can be grouped into four conditions;

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Udder oedema and failure of milk let down. Mammary hypoplasia. Agalactia. Mastitis

2. PRODUCER’S CORNER

Question 1 My sow has farrowed but is not producing much milk though the piglets

are well. What do I do in such a case?

Answer: A lot of farmers ask such a question especially through excitement that they have received newly baby pigs. For them a normal suckling would take a time that is equivalent to what they have seen happening with cows. A cow would suckle until the calf foams at the mouth. The process takes quite some time up to about 30 minutes. Farmers with such an experience would try to equate that to pigs and yet pigs take just as little as 15 – 30 seconds at a time and normally suckles hourly. To show that the sow is producing milk, there are basically three pointers. The first one is to squeeze the teat and milk will either come out or it fails. The second method is to observe carefully how the piglets suckle. They start off caressing the udder. As they do so, the sow will be groaning at intervals. Once milk starts coming out, frequency of groaning increases and the piglets would hold tight the teat and at the same time pulling it out. That phase lasts for only 15 – 30 minutes. The third one is to see if the piglets are starving through their behaviour. They can make a lot of noise and at the same time become weak and stressed. Normally milk fails to come out when sow is given feed containing ergot. If the sow is fed inadequate amount of feed, it produces less milk than its potential. The latter condition leads to a sow losing condition since it will be using its body reserves to make milk for the piglets. As a guideline, a sow is allowed 0.5kg per every live piglet born over and above its own allocation of 2kg per day.

Question 2:

Some of my pigs eat their dung. What is likely to be the problem?

The feed that is given to the pig should be able to meet all the body requirements, namely, body maintenance and production (growth, and if they are breeding animals reproduction). The feed should be balanced in terms of the essential nutrients (energy, protein, vitamins and minerals). If the feed is lacking some of the essential nutrients or if the quantities being fed does not allow the pig to get its requirements from the diet the pigs will tend to respond in different ways. Some animals will lose balance when walking,others will lose weight while others try to eat anything they come across as a way of making up for the deficient nutrients. This includes eating of the dung which is cited as the problem.

3. PIB’S CORNER

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3.1 PAST EVENTS 3.1.1 FEEDS AND FEEDING COURSE ON PIG PRODUCTION A one day course on pig feeds and feeding was run at Management Training Bureau on 30 June, 2014. Twenty trainees attended. The fee was $40.00 per trainee. 3.2 FOR THE DIARY 3.2.1 PRACTICAL COURSES IN PIG PRODUCTION TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR THE THREE WEEK PRACTICAL COURSE: Starting Date Ending Date

21/07/2014 08/08/2014

01/09/2014 19/09/2014

22/09/2014 10/10/2014

13/10/2014 31/10/2014

03/11/2014 21/11/2014

24/11/2014 12/12/2014

Course fees: $120.00 per participant. Pig Industry Board offers accommodation, bed, stove, protective clothing, stationery and literature. Trainees are required to bring their own food, cooking utensils, blankets and toiletries. N.B. Fees remain the same even if the trainee decides not to reside at the station. For those farmers in and around Bulawayo please confirm with the PIB Bulawayo station manager. 3.2.2 FIVE DAY PRACTICAL COURSE ON PIG PRODUCTION Farmers who feel the 3 week course is too long can enrol for the 5 day practical course. Contact PIB technical department for finer details. The course fee for the 5-day course is $50.00. 3.2.3ONE DAY COURSE A one day course on pig diseases, prevention and control will be run during the 3rd quarter at a venue and date to be advised. 3.2.4 FARM VISITS The Extension Department will be visiting pig producers throughout Zimbabwe. Producers are encouraged to liaise with the Technical department so that they are not left out when PIB officers visit their areas. 3.2.5 PPAZ, SMA and ZPA A combined symposium by the Pig producers’ association of Zimbabwe, Stockfeed Manufacturers’ Association and Zimbabwe Poultry producers’ association will be held at Art Farm in Harareon 30 July 2014. A registration

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fee of $5.00 and $15.00 will be charged to members and non-members respectively. Contact PPAZ offices for finer details. 4.0 BASIC INFORMATION TO BE KNOWN

4.1PIG PRODUCERS’ ASSOCIATION OF ZIMBABWE (PPAZ) Pig producers are encouraged to join the PPAZ so that they can speak with one voice and lobby for their interests as a strong body. Farmers wishing to join the association can either contact PIB officials or the PPAZ secretariat on 04-756600/772915/777391, fax-04-774800. E-mail: admin@lit.co.zw 4.2PIG REGISTRATION FACILITIES Section 4 of the Animal Health Act (African Swine fever) gazetted 1994, specifies that no pig may be kept on any place except in facilities approved by the Director of Veterinary Services. An approved facility means a facility fenced to the satisfaction of the Department so that there will be no direct contact between domestic and wild pigs or warthogs. In order to achieve this, the domestic pigs must be housed in sties, which must be further protected by an outer perimeter fence. Any units not in compliance with the swine-fever regulations may be closed with immediate effect, at the discretion of the Veterinary Services Department. Contact details for pig facility registration: Dr.Gadaga on 0772375315 4.3 VETERINARY MOVEMENT PERMIT A circular, from the Department of Veterinary Department, Division of Field Services stipulates that with effect from 3 March, 2014 a pig movement permit would cost $10.00. 5. PORK TALES PIB operates a butchery outlet at its Arcturus station. Pork is also wholesaled from Bulawayo and customers in and around Bulawayo can get in touch with the PIB Bulawayo Station Manager to place orders. The prices for the pork and pork products are very competitive. Carcasses are wholesaled at $3.60 per kg. The range of processed products includes sausages, bacon, salami and polony. The abattoir offers service slaughter facility to farmers. Farmers wishing to slaughter their pigs should get in touch with the Abattoir and butchery manager for finer details. PIB BUTCHERY PRICE LIST

FRESH PORK PRICE $/KG Pork chops 4.75

Pork leg, pork shoulder 4.50

Pork trotter,shank,belly 3.50

Ration pork 3.50

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Pork fillet 8.00

Braai ribs 8.00

Carcass 3.60

Headless carcass 4.05

Value pork 4.00

PROCESSED PRODUCTS PRICE $/KG Pork sausages 7.00

Boerewors 8.00

Pork mince 6.00

French polony 6.00

Salami 8.00

Barbeque sausages 6.00

Gammon ham 9.00

Bacon 10.00

Slaughter fees (up to 104kg cdm) $12.00/PIG

Slaughter fees above 104kg CDM $20.00/PIG

Slicing fee $ 0.25/KG

6.PIB DIRECTORY Arcturus station 0274 2394 or 2395

0772 234 650 chitateg@gmail.com Reception

Technical department 0772 234 651 thmuza@gmail.com

Butchery 0772 289 156 lardiemahovo@gmail.com

Bulawayo Station 09 296069 0772517935

mbeure@gmail.com

Farm Manager 0777882965 shavattwo@gmail.com