Piglet health
The early life stage of a pig is a stressful period, during which young piglets are highly vulnerable to disease. This can lead to serious consequences for the animal’s lifelong health and ultimately its productivity.
Preventing disease
Piglets are weaned before their immune system is fully matured, making them very susceptible to various types of pathogens. Infection pressure, shedding patterns, vertical and horizontal transmission should be considered as critical parts of the infection chain of pathogens throughout the complete swine herd. This leads to the question most producers ask: how can I responsibly prevent major piglet diseases from occurring?
Taming diarrhoea
Piglets are weaned between 3 and 4 weeks of age, when they face stressors including diet, social and environmental changes. The multiple stressors associated with the weaning process pose a threat to the piglet’s gastrointestinal tract by worsening the overgrowth of bacteria directly involved in the occurrence of post-weaning diarrhoea. Stress also increases a piglet’s susceptibility to other viral and bacterial infections.
Fostering vitality
The survival and vitality of piglets has always been key to the sow reproductive performance. Piglet losses consist of perinatal, pre-weaning and post-weaning mortality. Most pre-weaning mortality occurs in the first few days of life, and sometimes perinatal and postnatal mortality have common underlying causes. Being born alive and vital is one of the most critical factors influencing the potential of the sow’s litter.