Piglets Have to Eat
The first couple of days and weeks in the nursery are hard for a piglet to transition through with the changes in environment, diet and faces as they are commingled with other litters. However, the first couple weeks in the nursery will impact their health and growth potential through grow-finish.
Piglets are hard to start. This transition can be hard on the pigs and production teams alike. The challenge is that there are many aspects that can be impactful on their willingness to eat, from management techniques to diet make-up. However, little changes can have large dividends back in your pocket. A strong start is critical in raising high-value, high-profit pigs for your operation.
Working the Feeder
In the beginning, working the feeder and the agitator is foreign to just weaned pigs. For those first two weeks, or up to roughly 25 pounds, make sure you have about 50% pan coverage. This extra coverage will help them get started eating while they learn how to generate more feed. Once they get the hang of it, you can tighten the feed down to closer to 30% coverage.
Stir Them Up
A technique that additionally helps them transition to a solid diet is to mat feed them 3-4 times a day during that first week in the nursery. In the sow farm, these young pigs are used to eating at the same time as the rest of their litter. Take the feed to them — stir the pigs up and get them moving around the pen, then place some feed on the mat under the heat source where they like to congregate.
Always double check your water access to make sure they are all working and at an appropriate flow for the young piglets. Stirring them up will often encourage them to drink as well as seek out the feeder. However, keep an eye on them to ensure they all are able to find their water source.
A Quality Diet
The foundation of the diet is that it meets all the standard required specifications of a nursery diet. There are many ways you can put that diet together. Diets should flex to consider the operation set-up such as pig flow, health, age, weaning weight and feed mill capabilities.
Feed is a significant expense in raising pigs, so it is easy to hesitate to change diets. Evaluate the larger picture — what are the changes and what else are they impacting? It is critical to evaluate your ROI, not just feed cost. A strong start helps them finish well with the rest of the group, which translates to pounds out the door. In order to have the highest amount of profitable pounds, it all starts in the nursery.
Carthage Veterinary Service relies on science and experience to provide unique and practical solutions to achieve the best outcomes for producers and their animals. Our teams work with producers and our own production teams daily, and have a deep understanding of the challenges and intricacies of swine nutrition. Therefore, our diet formulations and philosophies are focused on production and finding the right solution for each operation.
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Casey Neill is a nutritionist for Carthage Veterinary Service. He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Swine Nutrition from Kansas State University in 2005 and has traveled to 18 countries working with nutrition since.
