Print This Article

Improving respiratory health is a multiple step process. Identify the agents present in a herd that are responsible for losses. Several main factors can impact losses when respiratory health declines.

Location, location, location

As in real estate, location of a swine farm is important. Those farms with two or more mile separation from other farms have less risk of being infected with diseases like PRV or PRRS. As increased health security is desired, such as with boar studs, the more important it is to keep your distance from the closest farms. Take special note of farms up the prevailing wind flow.

Pig Flow Strategies

Pig flow strategies describe the ways in which pigs can flow through a production system. The categories include:

• All out vs. Continuous Production. Are ALL pigs removed from an airspace before a new, younger group starts to enter? That's all out.
• One vs. two vs. three-site. How are pigs raised? Are all ages on one site (farrow to finish at one location)? Are weaned pigs moved to another location? When nursery and finishing pigs are at one location, this is two-site. When nursery and finishing sites are separate, a three-site system is present.
• Single site vs. multi-site. Just as it sounds, single site production is all ages at one location. Multi-site production has pigs at multiple locations, with either two or three-site pig flow.

Limiting the number of age groups on a site can improve respiratory health. The more ages are “segregated”, or raised apart, the less chance for disease to cycle from old to young pigs. See Harris for a complete explanation of pig flow systems.

Seasonal risks

Improving respiratory health means attacking losses where they occur. In modern production systems, this appears to be more common in heavy pigs in the fall. Early mortality, in the first half of production, has stayed stable for several years.

However, when Maes studied records from multiple years, older pigs had a seasonal risk to the pattern to death loss. Mortality in the second half of finishing peaked in the third quarter of the year. This death loss was mainly due to poor respiratory health. To minimize losses, act now while pigs are still in the nursery to prepare them for heavy challenge.

Application

Barn level tools

Simple methods improve sanitation and performance. Several common tools improve performance and reduce the risk of introducing disease into a group of pigs:

• Clean fans frequently — Dust on blades can reduce efficiency and output up to 40%, potentially reducing intake/daily gain, and increasing risk of pneumonia.
• No hold backs — A great way to spread disease into another group! Skip a few pounds on one pig to protect thousands on others!
• Limit injections — Use single dose vaccines and change needles often to reduce needle born diseases and reduce PQA problems.

Pay attention to the little details…so your pigs can make the big weights!

Planning ahead

Plan for changing seasons

Certain disease problems have noticeable seasonal patterns. Don't dread this! Take advance warning to plan ahead and minimize the risk. A few of the more important upcoming seasonal problems are listed below.

Summer — Erysipelas, Ileitis and baby pig scours increase in hot weather. Plan ahead to properly immunize pigs for Ery and ileitis. If time doesn't permit, medicate strategically to prevent disease from fully developing. Farrowing house sanitation and sow care can limit scours in August and September.

Fall — Respiratory disease takes hold when weather starts to change. Heavy pigs are at most risk. Vaccination, strategic medication and proper ventilation will help.

More information

Maes D, et al. The effect of vaccination against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in pig herds with an All-In/All-Out (152) or Continuous (153) Production System. Proc IPVS 1998. Pp 152-3.

Maes D, et al. A retrospective study of mortality in grow-finish pigs in a multi-site production system. J Swine Health Prod. 2001; 9(6):267-73.

Harris DL. Multi-site pig production. Iowa State University Press. 2000.