Print This Article

Producers administering oral vaccines through the water may wonder how long it really takes for every pig in the nursery to take a drink.

Researchers from Iowa State University and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. have provided us with the answer.

An earlier pilot study showed that six hours is required for 100 percent of the pigs to visit the drinker at least once.¹ A larger study confi rmed these findings.

Eight pens housing 23 to 26 seven-week-old PIC pigs per pen were used in the study. Pigs had access to one metal nipple-cup bowl drinker per pen. Plywood sheets were placed between pens to avoid social interactions between pens and drinking behaviors were recorded over two days in late March.

Lights were turned on at 7 a.m. and off at 4 p.m. One day prior to visual recording, all pigs were identifi ed with a number placed between their shoulder blades.

The results were consistent with the previous study indicating a six-hour vaccine period is needed to ensure every pig spends at least fi ve seconds at the drinker. Ninety-five percent to 100 percent of pigs drank at least once within four hours, but only 80 percent to 98 percent of pigs drank within two hours (see table above).

Th e study was conducted by Roy Edler, J. Tyler Holck, DVM, and Brad Lawrence, PhD., of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., and Robert Baker, DVM, MS, and Anna Johnson, Ph.D. of Iowa State University, who concluded that oral vaccines should be administered over a minimum period of four hours with a preference for six hours. Results were reported at the 2006 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference.

Reference: 1. Johnson, A.K., et al. 2006. Drinking behavior of pigs housed in a conventional nursery environment. Abstr. No. 250 IPVS Congress, Copenhagen, Denmark.