Farrowing - a detailed overview

Objectives
Get as many of the piglets that are there out alive and
“kicking”
Get the sow through the process alive and “pumping”
Keep sow and piglets kicking and pumping
Have piglets take as few problems as possible with them into
weaner stage
Have sow get pregnant with good litter soon after weaning
Getting sows in crates on time
– the obvious
– giving sows (esp. gilts) time to settle
• MMA
• Savaging
Adequate time to manage/influence things
– Mg, Ca, constipation, mange, E levels
– Duration of farrowing
» stillborns, piglet viability, MMA
– MMA
» piglet survival, sow health
– Sow comfort
» piglet survival
Managing feed
– condition/obesity
– duration of farrowing
– birth weight
Timing vaccinations
Can get room properly clean
• MMA
• PWM
Ease of management
• Feeding
• Fostering
• Temperature
• Mixing litters
• Treatments
• Weaning
Reduced horizontal transmission
Involves/requires planning
• Mating targets, can be inefficient if mismanaged
Do vaccinations on time
– Colostrum
produced in 10 days prefarrowing
– Need response to vaccine before this (7 days)
Vaccinate > 2 weeks prefarrowing
– E. Coli (critical)
– Leptoeryvac (can be helpful)
Hold or increase sow feed (best to be increasing) last 3 weeks
– not time to manage condition
– piglets growing, sow producing colostrum
Clean “crap” out of farrowing rooms
– main
reason for AIAO
– proven to reduce PWM
– proven to reduce MMA
– do crate check
Wash sows in transit
– proven to reduce PWM, why clean crates otherwise?
– enables inspection
Keep crates clean!
- prevent/reduce MMA
Hold feed back (≤ 2kg per day)
– prevent/reduce MMA, mastitis, minimise periparturient anorexia,
reduce degree of hypocalcaemia, avoid delayed farrowings
Feed special things
– Mg, bran, Ca, anionic salts, Farrow-rite, mycotoxin detoxifier,
medications
Assess sows
– review records for problems sows, more likely to have problem
again, teat number, teat line, plan inductions
Monitor sows
– milk production, discharge, mastitis
– signs of farrowing (panting <40, >90, <80, bed making,
restlessness, abdominal straining, vulva)
Adjust room temperature
– 22-25 until all sows have farrowed, 20-22 once sows have
farrowed
Prepare creep
– turn on!
– extra lights
Be there
Be calm, quiet,
Treatments as necessary e.g. NSAID
Count teats
Monitor signs of farrowing
Monitor progress of farrowing
Assist as required (manual/oxytocin)
Provide emergency piglet care
Farrowing
To occur must have open gate – cervix dilated
Check if progress not occurring
• not dilated – apply gentle pressure to cervix
• torsion – will be twist, walk sow, try again, do emergency
caesarean
• oxytocin – hell no
Easier if tunnel well lubricated
Provided by amniotic fluid
If dry, piglet often wont move
– assist – use heaps of lube
Need gap big enough for piglet(s)
Compromised by fat, poop (especially hard stuff)
Extra big piglet i.e. two!!
Easier head first
Farrowing
Need contractions (of uterus) – rhythmical synchronous
Don’t usually get abdominal straining once underway- if all is
well
Need oxytocin release and adequate calcium
Piglets pop out every 1 – 30 minutes
Depends on birth number
Sow usually doesn’t get up during farrowing - if all is well
Membranes expelled within 15 minutes to 4 hours
If they don’t come out, there is usually a piglet holding them in
as retention rare in pig
If they do come out – may still be more pigs
After farrowing
Make sure all piglets are warm and dry
Make sure all piglets are getting a feed
Check that after-birth is passed
Get sow up for a drink
Consider locking piglets away while you do this
Clean up crate (blood, membranes, etc)
Update records
Get sow up for drink
Monitor sow for signs of MMA, mastitis, discharge
Get into processing and fostering early
Treat sows early if any signs of problems
Stillborns = foetuses that are alive at start of farrowing but born dead
Born dead because uterus sadly is not filled with air
Once placenta separates or cord breaks, if piglet still inside
Its oxygen levels fall – becomes anoxic, asphyxiated
It begins dying
All piglets develop degree of anoxia during farrowing
INCREASED ASPHYXIA = DECREASED VIABILITY
Stillborns are just the extreme case where viability fell to “0”
Oxygen more likely to run out if
farrowing delayed/slow
more common if farrowing problem/dystocia
piglet breach
piglet has further to travel, longer to wait in line
Viability is not an all or nothing thing
Most stillborns actually born alive (have heartbeat) - just to weak/anoxic to get
going. As many as 70% of stillborns are thought to be dying (not dead) when
delivered = some could be saved?
Depends on getting first breath, getting warm (dry), getting fed
Semantics?
Shown categorically that can dramatically reduce stillborns by
1.
Managing farrowing properly
2.
Have younger sows
3.
Drying as soon as born
4.
Putting in creep
5.
Giving drink of colostrum
6.
Putting in oxygen rich air
3. and 4. reduced stillborns by 65% in one study
5. Putting piglets in 40% O2 reduced mortality in first 12 hours by 75%
Will also dramatically reduce by YOU being there
To assist/manage slow farrowings
To assist neonatal piglet in first few minutes
Having heat lamp behind sow
Having good creep, draft free environment
Putting piglet on teat
Giving supplementary colostrum if required (cow’s not bad)
Hard when 60+% of sows will naturally farrow at night
–
–
–
Have adequate staff dedicated to the farrowing room on
farrowing days
Late nights, early mornings
INDUCE!
Induction enables you to control farrowing time better
–
During working hours - not 100%
(might get 90% farrowing while staff on hand)
–
On week days
INDUCTION OF ABSOLUTELY NO VALUE UNLESS YOU USE IT TO
YOUR ADVANTAGE – PROBABLY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE
–
fewer stillborns
–
less MMA
–
better neonatal survival
–
fewer sows deaths
(40-45% of all sow deaths occur over farrowing)
Can only be used to pull farrowings forward
•
Want to advance as little as possible while still
achieving control (ideally only 1 day)
•
Inject sows day before you want them to farrow
with prostaglandin (Pg)
•
Two shots of Pg way better than 1 e.g. 50%  85%
farrow within target time
•
Give 0.7 ml Pg (2 ml Lutylase) in vulval lip
•
Pgs are dangerous drugs
–
pig farmers lucky can use them (no one else gets them),
don’t abuse them
–
take care, consult and follow your vets advice
DO NOT ROUTINELY GIVE OXYTOCIN THE NEXT DAY
ONLY GIVE OXYTOCIN IF YOU KNOW CERVIX IS DILATED
Know the causes
•
Old sows
•
Season/room temperature (?0C)
•
Nutrient deficiencies and excesses – Ca, Vit E, Se, Zn
•
Poor feeding in late, late gestation
•
Stress/welfare/housing/nest building/exercise
Dystocia
–
Constipation
–
Fat sows
–
Large piglet, two piglets at once etc
–
Uterine inertia (primary and secondary)
Mismanagement of farrowings e.g. inappropriate use of induction
and oxytocin
–
Uterine inertia (primary and secondary)
Inevitably
• some sows are old
• some piglets will get stuck
Question is - What is normal?
Normally:
• 10-15% of farrowings are delayed (>5 hours all up)
• about 5-7% of piglets are expected to be stillborn
• about 5% should require assistance (some studies <1%)
But what if
• 30+% of farrowings are delayed
• 14% of piglets are stillborn
• 80% are due to dystocia?
Need to address causes
• are sows constipated? fat? “lazy”?
• how is farrowing managed?
Other
Large piglet
Uterine inertia
Kink in uterus
Two piglets
Obstruction
Breach piglets
If piglets are getting stuck, need to ask things like
Yes
Feed more bran/use Mg
Are sows constipated?
No
Yes
Are sows too fat?
Feed less during
pregnancy
No
Yes
Are piglets too big?
No
Increase supervision
If sows are not pushing, need to ask
Are piglets getting stuck?
Secondary inertia
sow exhausted
Are sows lazy?
Primary inertia
Yes
Is supervision adequate
and manual
intervention timely
enough
What are the causes?
Yes
Are sows getting too hot?
Are sows ill?
Is nutrition adequate e.g. Ca/Mg?
Is the problem man-made?
“panic in the farrowing room”
Hormonal, nutritional,
environmental?
You are there, need to get piglets out
1. Assess the sow
–
–
–
2.
Pushing or not
Had a piglet or not (do you need to check cervix)
Sow exhausted? Eyes red? History?
Manually check/assist sow
•
•
3.
Must be clean
Must cause as little damage as possible
However
–
–
–
–
–
–
Manual intervention always introduces bacteria into the
vagina/uterus – only question is how many
Manual intervention often causes damage to vagina/cervix,
which may
result in oedema and difficulty delivering rest of litter
cause scarring that causes dystocia next time round
Release of inflammatory mediators and causing MMA
In one study, 35% of gilts and 13% of mature sows that were
assisted were injured, 3% so severely they had to be destroyed.
16% got so freaked out they either were destroyed or died before
farrowing was complete
Checking or assisting sows
1. Clear away any pile of manure from back of sow
Be clean
2. Wash hands thoroughly – soap, disinfectant,
remove rings etc
3. Wash sows vulva
4. Wash hands again or use sterile glove
5. Use lots of lube – work out how much you think is
enough and x 5
Be gentle
6. If you are huge, get someone else to do it
7. Make cone with fingers
8. Push steadily but gently
9. Re-lube every time you go in
You decide there is primary inertia
1. You’ve been watching her
2. You’ve checked her – nothing stuck, had three piglets
etc
For this sow, oxytocin may be appropriate
“May be” as inappropriate/over zealous use of oxytocin
could be the root of the problem
Oxytocin is naturally produced in the sow and has important
functions in the healthy animal. It is released in very
small amounts and so to stimulate normal “functional”
responses, we should only give a little bit
Important functions include
uterine contractions (small dose < 1 ml)
milk let-down (larger dose 2-3 ml)
1. numb the uterus (make it refractory)
to the effects of further oxytocin,
including sows own oxytocin for
several hours
2. Result in more intervention, more trauma,
MMA etc
3. cause strong asynchronous uterine
contractions which can be both painful and
unproductive
4. cause the uterus to spasm for up to 15
minutes
5. inhibit the let down of milk once farrowing is
complete
First must decide if giving
oxytocin is appropriate
Has the sow been pushing?
Check
sows eyes?
(check
hertheeyes,
history)
NO
Not appropriate if sow is
pushing without success or
has stopped because she is
exhausted from trying
Yes
Administer
½-1 ml oxytocin
Do a manual
examination
Wait 30
minutes
In either case, it is likely
that something is wrong e.g
a piglet is stuck.
You should check the sow
Farrowing
progresses
Give more
oxytocin
(½-1 ml)
Wait 30
minutes
Deliver piglets
Something else
must be wrong –
check sow, give
calcium etc
Calcium and farrowing
Oxytocin gives the signal
Calcium essential for the physical contraction
All sows undergo some hypocalcaemia at farrowing (milk fever in cows)
Have active and passive calcium absorption mechanisms
Mg helps with homeostasis at this critical time, as does physiological
reduction in blood pH
Mg – important for active Ca absorption, mobilisation of Ca from bone,
release of PTH
Calcium and farrowing
Dry sow gets all the Ca it needs by passive absorption – so none of the
active absorption mechanism switched on. High Ca dry sow diet
ensures this
Demand for Ca increases dramatically over 24 hours pre-farrowing
Can sow get enough Ca or do blood Ca levels fall?
If they fall – you can get classic lazy sow
To reduce fall, either lower Ca pre-farrowing – probably not practical
Up Ca at farrowing (maximise passive absorption)
Prime the active mechanisms e.g. Mg, anionic salts
Fat sows are often lazy! Is this due to greater anorexia, less Ca intake,
tendency to be more hypocalcaemic?
If lazy sow fails to contract in response to oxytocin, and the
oxytocin is applied appropriately, then I recommend
injection of Calcitad (calcium in a bottle)
Some farmers have reported a great response, others not.
MMA
Avoid over-fatness amongst dry sows
Get sows and gilts locked up at least 4 days before they farrow
Make sure farrowing crate is clean and keep clean
Wash sows on way to farrowing rooms
Be tight with feed until third day after farrowing
Include mycotoxin binder/deactivator in feed over this time
Include bran and Mg in diet to keep energy down, bowel moving
Include Deodorase or Farrow-rite in feed
Encourage water intake
Induce sows – only if!
Give anti-inflammatory when farrowing imminent
Be careful, clean and gentle if you have to intervene at farrowing
Don’t go crazy with the oxytocin
Clean up after farrowing
40% of sows have 100% of the stillborns
–
So, always check sows records from previous litters
Oxytocin does its job best when used properly
–
More oxytocin is more bad than more good
Never give oxytocin routinely day after induction
–
It can be given, but only if you know cervix is dilated
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories are under used
–
Every farrowing is traumatic and causes inflammation,
addressing this gets sows up and running sooner
Consider making a dedicated feed to use from
lock-up to day three after farrowing
–
This can include Deodarase/Farrow-rite, Mycofix, Mg, broll,
sweeteners, urine acidifiers