What's it Worth to Reduce Your Herd’s Stillborn Rate?

(Jennifer Shike)

Despite advances in genetics, health, nutrition and management, U.S. pig farmers are losing more than 10% of their pigs before they even hit the ground, says Andrew Bents, swine technical veterinarian at Hubbard Feeds. 

“We work so hard in the breeding barn to provide a good environment, nutritious feed, optimal boar exposure and a comfortable living space for the sow, and we want to be rewarded with the fruits of that labor as we walk the farrowing rooms by seeing big litters of pigs competing for their mothers’ milk,” Bents says. 

In 2020, the average number of pigs born in total per litter was 14.99 pigs per sow, PigChamp reports. However, of those pigs, an average of 1.12 per litter were stillborn and 0.41 per litter were mummified. 

Tim Safranksi, University of Missouri Extension state swine specialist, says in order to reduce the number of stillborns, it’s important to fully understand what a stillborn is. 

“If a pig fetus dies, it is not aborted as that would complicate pregnancy for the remaining live fetuses. Those piglets remain arrested in development and undergo some decomposition, normally resulting in an olive-colored, drab, piglet-shaped mummy,” Safranski says. “Stillborn piglets look completely normal and fully developed, because they are. How many ‘stillborn’ piglets are found if you take the piglets by C-section at term? None. A stillborn piglet was alive when its mother went into labor but died before being born.”

The modern sow is a complex creature and has excelled in so many areas. Unfortunately, higher litter size and subsequent increased duration of farrowing can contribute to the high stillborn rates evident in the industry today.  

Monitor Farrowing Closely

If duration of farrowing is a contributing factor to stillborn rate, and most stillborns come from a subset of the sows, how can that be addressed in the farrowing barn? Safranski says it’s simple – by attended farrowing. 

There’s no question that a farrowing monitor is an asset to any pig operation. From udder massage to stimulate endogenous oxytocin release, to sleeving to remove obstructions in the birth canal, to administration of exogenous oxytocin or calcium to support uterine contractions, the farrowing monitor can catch problems before they happen.

Being able to provide timely obstetrical assistance can reduce the number of stillborns by ¼ to ½ piglet per litter or more, Safranski says. If a farm averages one stillborn per litter, it’s not because each litter has one stillborn. He says it’s much more common to see six litters with no stillborns and one old sow with a lot of pigs and seven stillborns. Close monitoring allows employees the opportunity to intervene in piglet delivery. 

“This allows a reduction in the number of piglets crushed, the number who suffocate in their placenta after birth, and the proportion not receiving adequate colostrum. Those are all benefits to the farm, but independent of the effect on stillborns,” Safranski adds. “From the 1990s through today, multiple data sets have demonstrated the value of attending farrowing on reducing the number of stillborns.” 

Midwives in the barn

Amy Halbrook, barn manager at Tosh Farms’ Crutchfield sow unit, has seven employees who serve as farrowing monitors or midwives. She says she can’t imagine her barn any other way. 

“The benefit to having midwives to focus on every sow helps to save babies and catch farrowing complications in the early stage, which in turn can save sows,” Halbrook says. “They are trained to recognize when a sow is in distress, when she is tired, and when she needs a belly rub to help stimulate her to push. They are trained to recognize when a sow is in need of medication. They are also trained to recognize when a piglet needs extra care and to ensure piglets start nursing to get colostrum.”

Her team uses a pig count card to track every birth of every piglet on every sow which gives the midwives the advantage in assisting and picking up on patterns for each sow. Once that pattern is broken, they can quickly intervene, she adds.   

Bents encourages recording the time of each farrowing observation to ensure that the delay between pigs isn’t too long. On average, a pig is usually delivered every 15 minutes, so if all the pigs are dry and the placenta hasn’t been expelled yet, it may be worth checking. He also encourages checking for any meconium-stained pigs, as this points to delivery difficulty of that pig. 

This interval tends to get longer the later you go into the farrowing process, Safranski adds. As the sow gets more tired, intervention should take place more quickly.

Observing farrowing can help reduce stillborns due to more accurate identification of cause of death, Safranski says. For example, piglets found dead in the morning that were not there at the end of the previous day are often classified as stillborns, while many were born alive but needed that extra support to get oxygen, warmth or colostrum.  

Pigs Needed to Be Saved Per Hour to Justify Hiring a Farrowing Monitor

What’s it Worth?

Even though research points to the benefit of attended farrowing, labor challenges can stand in the way. However, if you could cut your stillborn rate in half, what is that worth? 

First, determine what the cost of providing supervision will be, Safranski says. Obviously, in larger groups of farrowing sows, the farrowing monitor can more quickly cover the cost of their time. 

In order to pencil out attending farrowing, he says some economic assumptions need to be made.  

What if the number of litters is not predicted to allow the increased number of live piglets to offset costs? Make sure more litters are born in a shorter period of time, he says. 

“Induction of farrowing has been used effectively to facilitate supervision of farrowing. That can be done with Prostaglandin-F-2-alpha administration not more than two days prior to natural farrowing. With today’s sows, that means treating sows at 114 to116 days rather than the 112 days often talked about since gestation length is now 115.5 to 118 days in most modern maternal lines,” Safranski says. 

He believes this protocol can tighten up a farrowing group by inducing the “tail enders” that might otherwise farrow over another five days or more, as most sows will farrow 24 to 48 hours after treatment.  
Another induction protocol is to treat with Prostaglandin-F-2-alpha and then treat with oxytocin 24 hours later. He says this procedure is expected to induce sows to farrow 24 to 32 hours after the initial injection, meaning the vast majority will farrow during the “workday” (or a slightly extended version of a workday). This practice can increase the proportion of live piglets if supervision is provided, but without supervision, may increase stillborn rate. 

“Attending farrowing of sows going into labor naturally will result in the greatest piglet survival. Inducing to facilitate supervision is next highest,” Safranski says. “Unattended natural farrowing is next, and the lowest is induced but not attended farrowing (no need to do the latter),” he says.

Monitoring farrowing can make or break your farm, Halbrook says. 

“There are so many opportunities lost to save both the babies and the sows. Some farms may choose to not budget for the labor of having a midwife, but if you spend X in labor but gain XX by having a midwife reducing loss, then you’re in the positive at the end of the day,” Halbrook adds. “Another holdback would be the ‘this is how we have always done it’ thinking on a farm. Some farms may not understand the importance of the midwife role, but with education and observation, it can be a game changer.”

More from Farm Journal's PORK:

 

Sow Management in 2022: 7 Trends to Watch

Train Your Employees for Electronic Sow Feeding Success

Ease Your Gilts into Electronic Sow Feeding Systems

 

Latest News

Why You Need to Understand How USDA Purchase Programs Work
Why You Need to Understand How USDA Purchase Programs Work

With pork producers facing prolonged economic headwinds, recent USDA commodity purchases of pork offer relief at pivotal times. It’s important to understand how these programs work, says NPPC president Lori Stevermer.

Get the Facts Straight on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Get the Facts Straight on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

Now that the mystery illness impacting some dairy herds has been revealed as the same strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza that has been impacting the U.S. poultry flock, pork producers are asking questions.

Merck Introduces Sequivity with Microsol Diluvac Forte Adjuvant Prescription Vaccine
Merck Introduces Sequivity with Microsol Diluvac Forte Adjuvant Prescription Vaccine

Merck Animal Health announced it has received license approval from the USDA for Sequivity with Microsol Diluvac Forte adjuvant prescription vaccine for use in gilts and sows. 

What Does the Next Generation of the Pork Industry Want?
What Does the Next Generation of the Pork Industry Want?

It’s easy to make assumptions about what others think, but recent research funded by the Indiana Pork Producers Association and the Indiana Soybean Alliance proves it’s always better to go to the source itself.

Skills Survey Reveals U.S. Agriculture & Food Industry Workforce Needs and Gaps
Skills Survey Reveals U.S. Agriculture & Food Industry Workforce Needs and Gaps

U.S. employers report challenges in finding suitable job candidates with work-ready skills to fill open roles in ag. The AgCareers.com U.S. Skills Survey offers insights, data and trends to address skill development.

5 Ways to Improve Sow Longevity
5 Ways to Improve Sow Longevity

The potential for a successful sow starts well before the sow is first bred. Here are five ways you can improve sow longevity by focusing on the gilt from weaning until the time of first breeding.