Pigs and piglets do not eat well and do not grow: what to do

Piglets eat poorly and grow poorly due to many factors that must be taken into account when keeping pigs. Sometimes the lack of appetite in pigs is attributed to stress, but this condition rarely lasts longer than one day, and the piglet does not have time to stop growing. It is worse if the pig does not eat well for several days. Loss of interest in food is often associated with an infectious disease or parasites.

What is the danger of lack of appetite in piglets and pigs

Pigs are greedy animals. If a pig doesn’t eat well, it’s in trouble. In itself, fasting for a fattened pig is not dangerous, but this is the first sign of other problems.

Hunger strike is dangerous for newborn piglets. They still have neither fat reserves nor a fully developed gastrointestinal tract. If a pig doesn’t eat well for the first few days, it may starve to death. Weak piglets, who get the poorest teat, do not grow well, because they cannot fully eat.

Is the piglet healthy?

Before buying a piglet, the productive direction of the pig is first determined. Having found a suitable breed, they look at the behavior of the piglets. Any signs of a good piglet will be useless if the brood is sick.

A healthy piglet, when trying to pick it up, will throw a tantrum throughout the district, calling for a pig. And it is better that the pig is securely closed. If the piglet is silent or squeals softly, this is a sign of illness or severe weakness of the cub. When buying on the market, you should not believe the assurances of the seller that the pigs are just tired, run up and want to sleep. Full of strength, the piglet will squeal from sleep. The eyes of the piglet should be clear and shiny, without signs of “nitrous”.

You can not buy a pig in a bag where it was placed “for the convenience of the buyer.” All the piglets are silent in the bags. At one time, this served as the source of the saying “buy a pig in a poke.” There was a custom in Our Country to buy young pigs directly in bags, only by estimating the weight of a pig on his hand. Since all animals are silent in a closed dark space, unscrupulous sellers sold cats instead of pigs. By weight, a monthly piglet was just equal to an adult cat. If the pig in the bag is silent, it is impossible to understand whether it is healthy.

After you have decided on the health of the looked after piglets, you need to pay attention to the size of the littermates. Pigs in a brood often have 1-2 piglets that are much smaller than the rest. Such a pig eats very well, but grows poorly. You do not need to take it, even if they offer to sell it at a discount. On large farms, such piglets are destroyed immediately.

exterior features

After the health and the main fattening prospects have become clear, attention is paid to the exterior features of the pig. A good piglet has a broad chest and a strong, straight back.

Legs are straight and strong. Leg length estimation will depend on the direction chosen for fattening the pig. Long legs are good for a pig intended for meat. If fattening is planned for fat, you need to take a short-legged pig. Meat pig breeds grow slowly to full size, but gain weight quickly as they build meat. A short-legged greasy pig will quickly stop growing and begin to gain fat.

The issue of a ringed tail as a sign of a good piglet is debatable. Vietnamese lop-bellied pigs have hanging tails. And this breed of pigs is not the only one in the world. In addition, sometimes the tails of piglets are docked so that they do not gnaw them off from each other due to beriberi or mineral deficiency.

Perhaps the owner stopped them to hide the necrosis of the tip of the tail in B₆ beriberi.

But if the question is about choosing a piglet of a large white breed, then it should have not only a tail with a ringlet, but also large pink, forward-pointing ears.

In other breeds of pigs, little attention is paid to the color of the ears, their size and degree of lop-earedness. The main thing: the inside of the pig’s ears must be clean. A scab inside the ear indicates the presence of a sarcoptic mite.

Special attention should be paid to the teeth and bite of the piglet. On the lower jaw, the incisors are razor-sharp and point forward. If the lower jaw is shortened, the pig does not eat well and does not swallow food well, as the lower incisors interfere with it, injuring the palate. If the lower jaw is too long, there will be less problems, but such a piglet will grow more slowly than its littermates.

To check the bite, you will have to wait until the piglet squeals to its heart’s content. After the pig closes its mouth, the lips should be carefully parted and the bite assessed.

If the piglet turns out to be with character, he will bite. Checking a bite in a pig is difficult. It is viewed from the front, and the pig has a sedentary snout in front. The position of the lower jaw in a piglet is assessed by looking at it from below. The undershot will be clearly visible.

A “meat” pig at the age of 1-2 months has a heavy head, while a “greasy” pig has a light, snub-nosed head. When buying a purebred pig, abnormalities often indicate inbreeding. If you are buying a pig of an unknown breed, these signs will help determine the type of pig you need.

eating food

Selected pigs are evaluated for the desire to eat food. You can look after the most greedy piglets even at suckling age. When buying a piglet, it should already be ready to eat on its own. The monthly pig already eats itself, but continues to suck the sow. At this age, it is difficult to assess how fully he will eat on his own. Monthly piglets can still eat liquid food badly, “suck”. At 2 months old, piglets already know for sure that they need to open their mouths wider and immerse their snouts in the swill as deep as possible. So more breaks in one sip. The most greedy pig out of those looked after must be chosen. The pig eats well and grows well. If a piglet continues to sort out food even at 2 months old, it will either grow poorly or be sick.

A pig or a piglet does not eat well: causes and how to fix it

All the reasons why pigs do not eat well and do not grow can be divided into 3 large groups:

• inadequate diet;
• diseases;
• genetic problems.

The owner has to approach the preparation of a diet for pigs in a complex manner. It is impossible to focus only on the calorie content of the product, without taking into account vitamins and minerals. With monotonous feeding in pigs, there is a shortage of some elements and an overabundance of others.

Diseases of pigs, even non-contagious, are almost all characterized by a lack of appetite. The pig does not eat well and prefers to lie down even because of the pain in his leg. The pain in this case is caused by the fact that the leg was injured in the process of playing with littermates.

Congenital pathologies

Genetic problems usually result from inbreeding, to which pigs are very sensitive. One of these problems, which can hardly be called a pathology, is dwarfism. In this case, piglets do not grow well and often grow 2 times less than normal. But they have an excellent appetite. Such “mini-pigs” eat a full portion of their large relatives. There are no other developmental disorders in dwarfism.

Among the genetic abnormalities that lead to poor food intake and lack of growth, one can name malocclusion, umbilical and inguinal-scrotal hernia, and gastrointestinal pathologies.

Malocclusion

Never acquired, no matter what some breeders of pigs, dogs, horses and other animals say about it. With a snack, the problem at suckling age is practically not noticeable. In older piglets, undershot bite also interferes much less with living and eating than undershot bite. A pig is an animal adapted to dig roots out of the ground with the incisors of the lower jaw. Rummaging in the soil, a suckling pig grinds off its teeth, and they do not cause him much inconvenience.

Worse is the case with undershot bite. Piglets are born with already “ready” baby teeth. With undershot bite, the incisors rest against the sky and interfere with eating already in the lactation period. Such piglets from the first days grow poorly and gain weight. With age, the problem will worsen, as the incisors will not wear down on the ground. Conscientious breeders immediately destroy such cubs, since it is possible to solve the problem with undershot bite only by breaking the pig’s incisors.

Hernia

Hernias do not interfere with eating, they interfere with digesting food. There can be three types:

• umbilical;
• inguinal-scrotal;
• perineal.

The latter is rarely seen in pigs. It results from rupture or stretching of the blind sac of peritoneum between the rectum and the bladder (males) or vagina (females). It is not congenital and occurs as a result of attempts during farrowing or prolonged severe pain in the rectum without excretion of feces. In piglets, it can occur as a result of any gastrointestinal disease.

Umbilical hernia

This defect is considered hereditary. Most often occurs in multiparous animals, including pigs. A hernia occurs at the site of the umbilical ring, which did not close after the birth of the piglet. One of the main reasons for the appearance of umbilical hernias is inbreeding and a violation of the technology for raising pigs.

But umbilical hernia in piglets can occur due to the umbilical cord being too short in relation to the uterus. This usually applies to those piglets that are located in the anterior ends of the uterine horns. In this case, tension on the umbilical cord expands the umbilical ring before the piglet is born.

Some practitioners believe that umbilical hernias may occur due to piglets fighting for the nipple or crawling into holes that are too low. If the piglet arches its back too much, the ventral wall of the abdomen is pulled tight and the umbilical ring expands. Also, a hernia in a piglet can occur due to tearing off the umbilical cord without first fixing the stump (pigs cannot bite through the umbilical cord, like predators). There are other reasons that can lead to umbilical hernia in piglets. But there is no definitive reason.

Symptoms and Treatment

There is swelling at the site of the umbilicus. When you press it in depth, you can sometimes find the umbilical opening. If the hernia can be reduced, its contents are pushed into the abdominal cavity when pressed. When part of the intestine falls into the hole, you can feel its peristalsis.

With strangulated hernias, the animal is restless. Pigs may vomit. The swelling is hot and painful, as peritonitis begins to develop.

Treatment of a hernia is always surgical. When reducible, the operation can be planned. With a restrained account, minutes go by, and surgical intervention should be carried out immediately.

Inguinal-scrotal hernia

An inguinal/scrotal hernia is a prolapse of the intestine between the scrotum and the common vaginal membrane. Introvaginal – prolapse between the testis and the common vaginal membrane.

The reasons for the formation of such hernias are genetics or metabolic diseases:

• rickets;
• exhaustion;
• avitaminosis;
• flatulence;
• diarrhea.

May occur due to tension in the abdominal wall.

Symptoms and Treatment

The skin of the scrotum hangs down on one side and is smoothed out from folds. The contents of the scrotum are soft and painless. Treatment is surgical only. The inguinal rings are sutured.

Congenital anomalies of the gastrointestinal tract

There can only be a genetic problem, since the anomaly is laid in the embryonic period. In the normal development of the embryo, the blind end of the intestine is connected to the protrusion of the skin, forming the anus. If something went wrong, there are possible options for incorrect development:

• smooth skin instead of an anus, but under the skin a well-developed rectum with a blind end;
• the skin opening is present, but the rectum ends in the pelvic cavity with a blind sac;
• the skin opening is absent, the rectum is short and ends deep in the pelvic cavity with a blind end;
• in mumps, the rectum can open into the vagina in the absence of an anus.

Treatment in all cases is only surgical. With piglets, the issue is usually resolved more simply: they are immediately killed.

Lack of vitamins, minerals or micro and macro elements

Often any problems with growth and weight gain in piglets are attributed to a lack of vitamins. And it is. With any type of beriberi, piglets stop developing and do not grow. But the same thing occurs with a lack of micro- and macroelements in the diet of pigs. Usually this point is overlooked, although there are areas where pigs do not grow not because of beriberi, but because of the lack of the necessary trace elements in the soil.

Avitaminosis

The most famous vitamins are: A, E, C and group B. The remaining vitamins have less effect on the formation of a growing organism. But the lack of any of these vitamins leads to a slowdown in the growth and development of the pig. Although with avitaminosis B₁, the piglet does not have time to stop growing. He dies a few days after the appearance of clinical signs of avitaminosis B₁.

Avitaminosis A

Occurs with a low content of carotene in the feed. With avitaminosis A, pigs do not gain weight well, and then lose weight. General signs of beriberi:

• anemia;
• weakness;
• exhaustion;
• eye diseases;
• eczema and dermatitis;
• drying and peeling of the skin;
• abnormal growth of the hoofed horn;
• violation of coordination of movements;
• sometimes paralysis and convulsions.

Due to general weakness, pigs do not eat well. Avitaminosis A can also occur with a full diet if carotene is poorly absorbed.

Pregnant pigs experience:

• endometritis;
• infertility;
• abortion;
• retention of the placenta.

A decrease in fertility has been recorded, but one cannot be sure that the brood is small due to beriberi, and not due to other factors. In boars with avitaminosis A, spermatogenesis is impaired.

Piglets suffering from avitaminosis A do not grow, eat poorly and stop developing. They often suffer from bronchopneumonia.

Treatment

Providing pigs with feed rich in carotene:

• carrot;
• green grass;
• beet;
• herbal flour in winter;
• silage and haylage.

Vitaminized fish oil is added to the feed: piglets 20 ml 2 times a day; adult pigs 75 ml once a day. Vitamin A injections are done subcutaneously or intramuscularly: pigs 75 thousand IU, piglets – 35 thousand IU daily.

For the prevention of beriberi, depending on the season, pigs are provided with:

• fresh grass;
• germinated grain;
• hydroponic greens;
• needles or coniferous flour;
• red carrots;
• herbal flour.

If necessary, an oil solution of vitamin A is added to the feed.

Avitaminosis C

Pigs are one of the animals most affected by this type of beriberi. This is due to the fact that the owners, wanting to fatten the piglet faster, give him mealy feed:

• porridge;
• boiled potatoes;
• compound feed.

Vitamin C is destroyed by heating. A pig that eats only boiled foods will inevitably fall ill with beriberi C. Another cause of the disease is a disruption in the digestive tract, when the vitamin is no longer absorbed and synthesized. Less common is beriberi C, which has developed as a result of infections, intoxication and inflammatory processes.

Clinical signs of beriberi C in animals are different. In pigs, beriberi C is characterized by:

• growth retardation;
• hemorrhages;
• pale skin and mucous membranes;
• unpleasant smell from the mouth;
• shakiness of teeth;
• necrosis and ulcers in the oral cavity.

Symptoms of vitamin deficiency are very close to the description of scurvy in humans. It is scurvy that avitaminosis C in pigs is.

Treatment

The treatment of beriberi is to provide pigs with feed rich in vitamin C: fresh herbs, uncooked potatoes, milk. Pigs are given vitamin C additionally: piglets 0,1-0,2 g; adult animals – 0,5-1 g. fed with food, water or injections.

Avitaminosis E

Accompanied by metabolic disorders. There is no stopping of piglets in growth, since in young animals the consequence of beriberi is white muscle disease. Action must be taken immediately. After a few days, changes in the body become irreversible and the piglet can only be slaughtered. In adult pigs, avitaminosis E is characterized by degenerative changes in the reproductive system.

The treatment consists in the development of a complete diet and, if necessary, the addition of an oil solution of vitamin E to the feed.

Avitaminosis B₂

According to the main features, it is similar to avitaminosis B₅ (pellagra). It occurs due to the low content of vitamin B₂ in feed or as a result of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

Symptoms

Pigs do not grow, lose weight, do not eat. Gradually, they develop anemia. Dermatitis appears on the skin of piglets. Eye diseases develop. The stubble falls out on the back.

Treatment and prevention

Pigs are omnivorous animals, therefore they are provided with feed of animal origin with a high content of B vitamins. As a preventive measure, the diet is balanced by protein.

Pellagra (rough skin)

The disease also refers to avitaminosis. Rough skin is the popular name for this type of beriberi, derived from one of the symptoms. Other names for pellagra: avitaminosis B₅ (PP). The vitamin itself has less memorable names:

• niacin;
• a nicotinic acid;
• antipelargic factor.

The vitamin is synthesized by microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract, in plants and, with normal metabolism in a pig, from tryptophan.

The latter is an essential amino acid found in animal protein and soy. Pigs are usually not pampered with meat, and soybeans are not grown in Our Country, and it is not customary to feed livestock with it. Grain feed is not able to provide pigs with vitamin PP. The best grain for fattening piglets is corn, the owner often feeds pigs with it. But a large percentage of corn in the feed causes a lack of B vitamins and tryptophan in pigs, which leads to pellagra.

Symptoms of pellagra

It is characterized by damage to the intestines, skin and central nervous system. It can occur in 2 forms: acute and chronic. In piglets, the acute form is more common, which looks like eczema of the skin with the formation of black scabs. The first 2 weeks of the rash are symmetrical. Later they spread to the entire body of the piglet. Cracks and scabs that have dried on the legs cause pain to the animal, which often causes the pig to stop moving. Piglets are not growing well.

In addition to eczema in young animals, they note:

• swollen mucous membrane of the gums and cheeks with small bruises;
• salivation;
• anemia;
• inflamed tongue;
• digestive disorders;
• growth retardation;
• unwillingness to eat;
• convulsions;
• violation of coordination of movements;
• desire to lie down.

In pregnant pigs, non-viable offspring are born, which die in the first days. There is also a decrease in fertility. Abortions are possible with a simultaneous lack of vitamin B₂.

The chronic form of pellagra develops slowly, the symptoms are weak and blurred. Piglets get sick most often in winter and spring, when there is a lack of vitamins in the diet. In industrial pig farms with mixed fodder ration, vitamin deficiency B₅ occurs year-round.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis is made on the basis of external symptoms of vitamin deficiency: disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, damage to the central nervous system and skin. Confirm the diagnosis by pathological examinations:

• cheesy plaque on the mucous membranes of the colon and rectum;
• ulcers on the intestinal mucosa;
• fatty degeneration of the liver;
• atrophy of bones, endocrine glands, muscles.

When diagnosing, a lack of cobalt and vitamin B₁₂, paratyphoid, scabies and dysentery are excluded. Treatment and prevention are carried out in the same ways. Only the dosage of the drugs differs.

Treatment and prevention

Feeds containing a large amount of B vitamins are introduced into the diet:

• beans;
• animal protein;
• wheat bran;
• herbal flour;
• fresh herbs if possible.

Vitamin B₅ is administered orally at a dose of 0,02 g 3 times a day for a course of 2 weeks. Injections are made intramuscularly or subcutaneously at a dose of 1-2 ml once a day. Also within 2 weeks.

Prevention of avitaminosis consists in the constant provision of pigs with complete feed. If necessary, vitamin B₅ is added to the feed at the rate of 13-25 mg per 1 kg of dry diet.

Avitaminosis B₆

Contributes to the occurrence of vitamin deficiency long-term feeding of pigs with moldy, spoiled and boiled feed. Although the pig will eat fish with pleasure, you can’t get carried away with such a source of protein. Fish contributes to beriberi.

Signs of beriberi:

• pigs grow and develop poorly;
• disruption of the CNS.

In pigs, appetite perversion, gastrointestinal upset, necrosis of the tip of the tail are often observed. Piglets develop skin lesions. Especially in the lower abdomen. Dermatitis appears around the eyes and nose.

Treatment

Avitaminosis B₆ is often overlooked and rarely recorded as an independent disease. The treatment is almost the same as for B₂ beriberi. For prevention, feed containing a large amount of pyridoxine is included in the diet:

• sprouted grain;
• greenery;
• dairy;
• egg yolk;
• fruit.

1-4 mg of pyridoxine per 1 kg of feed is regularly added to food.

Avitaminosis В₁₂

Appears:

• poor growth and development;
• progressive anemia;
• metabolic disorders;
• a decrease in immunity.

The skin may show signs of eczema.

Treatment is carried out by including animal products in the diet.

Vitamin Compatibility Issues

B vitamins can be fat- or water-soluble. When mixed, they are destroyed. Incompatible vitamins:

• B₁ and B₆, B₁₂;
• B₂ and B₁₂;
• B₂ and B₁;
• B₆ and B₁₂;
• B₁₂ and C, PP, B₆;
• B₁₂ and E.

This does not mean that different vitamins cannot be contained in the same product. This means that vitamins cannot be mixed in the same syringe or added to the same feed.

Avitaminosis D (rickets)

If the piglet does not grow, first of all they sin on rickets. This is the most common problem in raising animals. Rickets develops with a combined deficiency of vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus in the body. But vitamin D starts the process, without which calcium is not absorbed. The course of rickets is chronic and it develops gradually.

The main symptoms are:

• piglets do not grow and stop developing;
• try to eat inedible objects (lick whitewashed walls, eat earth);
• diarrhea;
• bloating;
• constipation;
• dull bristles;
• dry inelastic skin;
• joint enlargement;
• lameness;
• soreness and curvature of the bones.

As a complication in the later stages of the development of the disease, tachycardia, anemia, and cardiac weakness appear.

Treatment and prevention

The diet of piglets includes feed rich in protein, vitamins A and D and minerals. Perform ultraviolet irradiation. An oily solution of vitamin D is injected intramuscularly. Yeast is fed.

The basis of prevention: calcium-rich feed and a long walk in the open.

Lack of micro and macro elements

When raising piglets, they usually do not focus on anything other than vitamins. The only exception is iron deficiency, as it manifests itself quickly, and piglets often die from alimentary anemia. But there are other elements that make piglets grow poorly.

Piglets do not grow well with hypocobaltosis, hypocuprosis and lack of manganese. Piglets are less sensitive to the lack of cobalt and copper than other animals. But they can also get sick if these elements are absent from the diet for a long time.

The lack of manganese is acutely felt by 2 types of domestic animals: pigs and cattle. With a deficiency of manganese, piglets grow poorly, their bones are bent and coordination of movements is disturbed.

Дефицит железа

Of all young domestic animals, piglets are most often ill with iron deficiency anemia. Wild pigs do not have such problems, as their piglets get the right amount of iron by digging in the forest soil. Domestic pigs are often kept on concrete floors. This is hygienic and convenient, but piglets have nowhere to get iron in the absence of pasture walking. Most often nutritional anemia occurs during winter farrowing.

Immediately after birth, a piglet has 50 mg of iron in its liver. The daily requirement is 10-15 mg. Piglet receives 1 mg with milk. The rest he must “get” from the ground. The disease develops due to lack of access to soil. But the piglet stops gaining weight and loses weight not 5 days after birth, but only on the 18-25th day. It is at this time that signs of iron deficiency appear.

Symptoms of anemia

The main symptom: pale mucous membranes and skin, appears on average 3 weeks after the birth of the piglet. By this time, diarrhea develops. The back of sick piglets is hunched, they are shivering. The bristles are dull. The skin is wrinkled and dry. Piglets do not grow well and often die. Often, shortly before death, piglets paralyze their hind legs.

Treatment and prevention

There is virtually no treatment, since measures must be taken in advance. If signs of anemia appear, the further prognosis is usually unfavorable.

For prevention, piglets are injected with iron-containing preparations on the 2-5th day of life. There are many similar drugs, the dosage and timing of injections should be looked at in the instructions for a particular type. Most often, ferroglyukin is used at a dose of 2-4 ml. The first injection is made on the 2nd-5th day of the piglet’s life. The second time the piglets are injected with “iron” after 7-14 days.

Presence of parasites

Parasites that cause pigs to lose weight usually mean worms. But there is another parasite that keeps pigs from eating poorly and not growing: the sarcoptic mite.

This is a scabies itch that lives in the epidermis. As a result of vital activity, it causes scabies and inflammatory processes on the skin. Consequence of the disease: violation of skin respiration and exhaustion of the pig. They do not eat pigs because of the scabies and stress that bother them. Infection occurs when a piglet comes into contact with a pig. Usually at the age of one month. In pigs, sarcoptic mange occurs in 2 forms: ear and total.

Signs of sarcoptic mange:

• the appearance of papules;
• roughness and thickening of the skin;
• bristle loss;
• peeling;
• severe itching.

A pig can get sick for 1 year, after which it dies. Pigs are treated by spraying or rubbing acaricidal preparations.

Helminthiasis

In pigs, flat, round and tapeworms can parasitize. Regardless of the biological classification of the parasite, infestation with worms results in weight loss in the pig. In some cases, this happens gradually, as in metastrongylosis. Sometimes a pig loses weight rapidly, as with trichinosis. With a strong infection with trichinella, the pig may even die after 2 weeks.

Treatment and prevention of helminth infections are the same: the use of anthelmintic drugs. For the prevention of worms driven every 4 months.

The tapeworm is also dangerous for humans, as humans are the ultimate hosts of this 8-meter-long parasite. But in pigs, infection with tapeworm occurs without symptoms.

Erysipelas

Infectious diseases almost all lead to emaciation of pigs. Erysipelas is one such bacterial infection that affects piglets between 3 and 12 months of age. The causative agent of swine erysipelas is very stable in the external environment. It is able to persist for several months in the corpses of pigs. It survives up to a month in indirect sunlight, but direct sunlight kills the bacterium in a few hours. Preserved in salted and smoked pork. At temperatures above 70 ° C, it dies in a couple of minutes.

Symptoms

Pig erysipelas has 4 forms of leakage:

• lightning fast;
• sharp;
• subacute;
• chronic.

In the first two forms, the piglet does not have time to lose weight, because after 2-8 days of the incubation period, the severity of the disease increases very quickly, and the pig dies in a few hours (lightning fast) or 3-5 days after the first signs of the disease. Lightning current is rarely recorded. Mostly piglets are 7-10 months old.

Signs of an acute course:

• temperature 42 °C;
• chills;
• conjunctivitis;
• the piglet does not eat well;
• bowel disorder;
• blue skin of the peritoneum and submandibular space;
• sometimes erythremic spots.

Signs of the subacute form are similar, but less pronounced.

Subacute and chronic forms are also characterized by:

• anemia;
• arthritis;
• exhaustion;
• skin necrosis;
• verrucous endometritis.

In addition to the form of leakage, septic, cutaneous and latent types are also distinguished in swine erysipelas.

Treatment and prevention

The bacteria that cause erysipelas in pigs are sensitive to tetracycline and penicillin antibiotics. In addition to antibiotics, anti-erysipelas serum is used.

Prevention consists in vaccinating all pigs from 2 months of age, observing quarantine and keeping conditions.

Violation of the rules of feeding

Violation of the rules for feeding pigs leads not only to malnutrition and beriberi. Even the sex of the pig affects the development of the diet. If a breeding boar eats a large amount of voluminous feed, his sexual energy decreases. Watery foods reduce the number of viable motile spermatozoa. The lack of minerals and vitamins reduces the fertilizing ability of the boar. For these reasons, boars are fed strictly according to the norms.

Pregnant pigs are very sensitive to lack of amino acids and vitamins, since they have almost no synthesis of microbial protein, vitamins and amino acids. With an unbalanced diet, pigs begin to get sick.

Their fecundity, large-fruitedness decrease, and the evenness of the litter is disturbed. Reduced milk flow, which is why suckling piglets die. By problems in newborn piglets, you can even determine what the pig lacked during the gestation period. But it’s too late to fix it.

Pregnant pigs should definitely eat succulent feed and grass/grass meal.

From the age of 3 days, piglets are provided with biologically pure red clay from a depth of at least 1 m. This is how anemia is prevented without the use of injections of iron-containing preparations. From day 5, various mineral supplements are given. From a month they are accustomed to juicy feed. Piglets are taken away at 2 months and transferred to normalized feeding. Concentrates are given in the form of porridge, making sure not to unbalance the diet and not cause beriberi. Piglets start eating “adult” food after 1 month.

Non-compliance with the content rules

When keeping pigs in groups, a homogeneous composition is selected. The piglets in the group must be of the same age and size, otherwise the strong will begin to oppress the weak at the feeders. Weak piglets will not be able to eat and will grow poorly, and then they may die completely.

Pregnant pigs are also collected in fattening groups. The difference in the time of fertilization of different individuals should not exceed 8 days.

You can not violate the norms of area per pig. When crowded, pigs experience stress. Pigs in this case do not grow well. The pigs are losing weight.

Newborn piglets with a pig are kept in a room with an air temperature of + 25-30 ° C. If the temperature regime is violated, piglets freeze, eat poorly and grow and may die.

Preventive measures

Prevention depends on the reason the piglets are not growing or gaining weight. If these are infectious diseases, in order to prevent them, it is necessary to observe sanitary standards for keeping pigs.

Avitaminosis and mineral deficiencies are easier to prevent by carefully compiling diets and taking into account the pig breeding area. The easiest way to prevent stressful pigs due to high crowding. Enough to give them a spacious range.

Conclusion

Piglets eat poorly and grow poorly, usually due to an oversight by the owner, who did not take into account the nuances of feeding pigs. But an overabundance of nutrients in the diet can also be harmful. Sometimes hypervitaminosis is much worse than beriberi, and an excess of micro and macro elements can cause poisoning in pigs.