Sow Death Loss: What’s Beneath the Iceberg?

(Canva.com)

It’s not easy to put a price tag on sow mortality, says Dan Bussières, a swine nutritionist and co-owner at Groupe Cérès Inc.

But research shows a 1% reduction in sow mortality is worth anywhere from $25,000 to $30,000 for a 2,500-sow farm. That’s 40¢ to 50¢ per pig or $10 to $12 per sow, he said. 

“When you talk about a 3% to 5% reduction in a herd, that becomes a big number,” he said. 

Sow death loss rates climb higher and higher every year. Four experts shared their thoughts during the Gestal Swine Summit on sow mortality and what the industry needs to do to decrease this devastating issue on farms across the country.

Small Losses Add Up Fast
When it comes to sow mortality, we often take note of the upper part of the “iceberg,” but we really need to be concerned with what’s below the surface, said Carlos Piñeiro, DVM, and director of PigCHAMP Pro Europa, S.L.

When he sees a farm having a mortality problem, he said is most concerned about what he doesn’t see such as pain, sows losing milk or sows losing body condition. 

“It’s the small losses all the time that add up,” Piñeiro said.

He said these losses are the most challenging to quantify as many sows are culled because of low productivity. He believes it’s important to keep records and standardize the reasons on sow mortality, but he cautions producers to not stop there.

“Mortality is a very good indicator of other things we are not doing well. So, keep the figure about mortality. But do not forget the most important part is what you don't see – the poor and bad things you're doing at that farm,” Piñeiro said.

Layers of Stress
It’s easy to underestimate the stress a gilt or young sow experiences in her life, Piñeiro said. From poor health care to lack of a specialized nutritional program targeting that female’s needs, the stressors add layer after layer.

“Sometimes it's a black hole, we know almost nothing about them,” he said. “We say it's very important, but we have very few data about them. We need to put data on our gilts – they deserve it.”

He believes it’s critical to feed gilts with the appropriate amount of macro minerals they need to prevent problems such as lameness and joint issues later on in life. He also said that age at breeding, heat stress and acclimation are topics that warrant more attention in gilts.

“We don't care about our gilts the right way. We take that for granted,” Bussières added. “We have to care about our gilts better – how you bring gilts into the herd is really important as well.” And this is generally underestimated.

It’s also important to remember a young sow is not a mature animal and shouldn’t be treated like one, said Karine Talbot, DVM, at HyLife Ltd in Manitoba, Canada.

“Sometimes we think, ‘Now she’s mature because we're breeding her,’ but she's not a mature animal. She's still growing up for a few parities more,” Talbot said. “Maybe we underestimate that effect in addition to the impact of disease in your herd. Maybe the disease in your herd is minor, but there are also small bugs that can affect them.”

Don’t Overlook Labor
For Martin Bonneau, DVM, of Demeter Veterinary Services, the quality of management around sows at farrowing is critical to reducing sow mortality. 

“Make sure people do a proper job to get better farrowing on these sows,” Bonneau said. “Then, indirectly, it will make the sow eat faster right after farrowing.”

It’s fairly simple, Bonneau explained. The best producing herds tend to have less sow mortality. 

“So that tells me those highly productive sows probably require more attention. But if you give them that attention, if you give that animal care, if your staff is able to recognize problems faster, then I think you'll get a big benefit,” he said.

Recognizing and treating issues well enough and early enough can prevent major problems.

“When we look at our R&D barns over here, we tend to have more people, more presence, more experienced staff working in these facilities,” Bonneau said. “As a result, we tend to have better performance, less mortality. There's something there, I think we need to go back to basics and make sure training is provided to help employees recognize stressors.”

To watch the entire webinar on sow death loss, click here.

More from Farm Journal's PORK:

Precision Feeding: What’s Best for the Sow?

6 Trends to Watch to Maximize Sow Farm Labor Resources

Telemedicine and African Swine Fever: 5 Reasons to Take a Closer Look

 

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