To set your pigs up for future success, it has been well established that the 3 to 10 days post-weaning are crucial. Madie Wensley, a nutritionist for Pipestone Nutrition, says aside from environment and health, the most important, and frankly, most overlooked component of wean pig care is the act of caretakers getting into pens.
Caregivers should get into the pens every day after weaning to identify pigs that are struggling with the transition. Executing strategies to minimize stress will create added opportunities for caretakers to get pigs up and observe them several times each day, Wensley explains.
“Each of these management strategies, however, is only successful when available to the pig, thus it’s important to make sure feed, water, mats and brooders are all located in a central area so that pigs do not have to travel far to access what they need,” Wensley says. “Frequent observations of hospital pens throughout the day should also be a top priority, with caretakers focused on getting pigs up and moving them toward feed and water.”
From TechMix Innovations Leader Denny McKilligan’s perspective, consistent observation is one of the greatest tools caretakers can utilize to help the weaned pig. That’s why he recommends walking “on top” of the pigs.
“If the pigs are narrow at the flank – regardless of how big they are – they aren’t eating,” he explains. “That’s a problem and you need to get the pig out of that particular group, whether you provide additional hydration fluids in a pan or hand feed or mat feed.”
The more observations that take place and the more aware caregivers are about what the pig and its environment look like, the more effective they will be in meeting the pig’s needs. McKilligan adds that having more empathy will also help the pig get through a stressful time better.
Read the entire series here:
Part 1: When Stress Stacks Up: It’s Time to Make Weaning a Better Experience
Part 2: When Stress Stacks Up: 8 Ways to Minimize Weaning Stress
