Best practice farrowing house
management – the first 24 hrs
Lisbeth Shooter,
Head of department
Patriotisk Selskab
Nesting pre-farrowing
Sows still want to nest-build
 Domestication has not
changed this innate
behaviour (Jensen 2002) =
functional behaviour
=> Promotes good maternal
behaviour
Decrease sow stress during
farrowing
 Give substrate to allow
nesting behaviour Improved
farrowing behaviour
Pre-farrowing
TIME PRIOR TO
FARROWING
SIGNS
10 - 14 days
Development of mammary glands and
swelling of vulva; teat enlargement and
veins on udder stand out.
24 - 12 hrs
Nesting and rooting; mammary glands
begin to secrete milk
6 hrs
Abundant milk secretion; visible abdominal
contractions
4 hrs – 30mins
Increased respiration
60 mins – 15mins
Sow quiets and lies on side
90 mins – 30mins
Straining, passage of blood tinged, oily fluid
and meconium (foetal faeces)
Farrowing begins




Initiated approx. after 116 days
The piglets start it all off
Cortisol due to limited space
Uterus response – prostaglandins
 Birth initiation
 Progesterone starts to drop
 Oestrogen prepares the path
 Uterine muscles starts to move
And then….
 Some milk may appear
 Restlessness
 Nesting
 Cervix and vagina opens
 Muscle contractions and the sow starts pushing…
The farrowing process
 Usually takes 3 - 8hrs
 Piglets every 10-20mins (except first 4 piglets – up to
2 hrs.)
 Twitching of tail just before piglet is born, laying on
side, shivering and lifting back leg
 Placenta delivered after 1 - 4hrs (check if leg still
shaking)
Signs of difficulty farrowing







Strain unproductively
Panting
Restless
Changing position
Time since last pig
High rectal temp
Shivering and movement top hind leg
Stillbirths (Born Dead)
The
problem…
The Problem
 Prolonged farrowings
 Affects piglet viability
- Lack of Oxygen and damage to
the foetal central nervous system
can lead to “slow” piglets.
 Suckling
 Thermoregulation
 Locomotion
 Piglet survival reduces <50%
Signs of Still birth
- ‘Break’ in farrowing
- monitor on sow card, when last
piglet was born
- Smeared piglets
- Sluggish piglets
Which sows are likely to have
still born piglets ?
 Sows which have had a health
challenge
 Sows that are older than 5
parities
 Sows with large litters
 Longer than 30 mins. intervals
between piglet deliveries
 ( Dis )-Stressed sows
The newborn piglet
The New Born Piglet
 Lack of Brown fat
 Little adipose tissue
= Poor Thermoregulation
 Glycogen in Liver
 Wet at Birth
 Drying reduces temperature further
Colostrum facts
What does colostrum provide?
1. warmth
2. energy
3. immunity (immunoglobulins)
Colostrum facts
 When the sow is farrowing she will be letting down
colostrum continuously for approximately 12hrs
from the birth of the first piglet.
 After about 12hrs she will start to switch to letting
down colostrum every 20 minutes
Colostrum facts when is it produced ?
Ig’s % 1/3 less
after 6 hours
25
% content
20
15
10
5
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Time ( hrs ) from first piglet
Proteins ( Ig's) %
Fat %
Lactose %
10
20
30
Colostrum facts
 The piglet has only 24 hours to ingest the
necessary volume of colostrum, before the
“gut completely closes”.
How do we ensure each piglet drinks
enough colostrum?
 Supervise farrowing
 Assist smaller / viable
piglets to suckle
How do we ensure each piglet drinks
enough colostrum?
 Collected sow colostrum
(sterile)
 Give each ‘at risk’ piglet
15ml-30ml per feed (x3),
depending on size.
 Cross fostering
 Split suckling
 12 hrs before moving
Temperature profiles and outcome
Survived
Survived
40.00
Rectal temperature ( oC)
39.00
38.00
37.00
36.00
Died
35.00
34.00
33.00
32.00
0
1
2
3
24
Measurement occasion (h)
Source: Emma Baxter SAC
Change in rectal temperatures according
to birth weight , at a room temperature of
22 0c
40
reactal temperature
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
0
10
20
30
40
50
70
90
2
3
4
Time post birth
over 1500 gms
1000 to 1500 gms
under 1000 gms
5
Thermoregulation
Newborn piglet born into a farrowing environment with no
substrate on a concrete floor
29
Thermoregulation
34°C
Thermal neutral temperature = 34°C (Mount, 1968)
Piglets lose heat as soon as the ambient temperature drops below 34°C
30
Thermoregulation
20ºC
Farrowing house at 20-22ºC so the piglet loses heat.
31
Thermoregulation
20ºC
Evapouration
7%
Convection
&
Radiation
78%
Conduction
15%
32
Thermoregulation
Heat loss is rapid
Newborn = 0 minutes
Newborn = +1 minutes
Source: Emma Baxter, SAC
33
Thermoregulation
Extremities (ears, feet) cool very quickly
Newborn +30 minutes
Newborn +45 minutes
Source: Emma Baxter, SAC
34
Temperature profile of newborn
o
Temperature ( C)
Piglet A temperature profile
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
19:33:36
19:40:48
19:48:00
Time (24h clock)
Source: Emma Baxter, SAC
35
19:55:12
Thermoregulation
2.5cm of straw decreases heat loss by 40% (Mount, 1968)
Demonstrates the importance of a micro-climate
Thermoregulation
Slat temperature
Source: Emma Baxter, SAC
Slat with straw
temperature
37
Improving the microclimate
 Balance sow heat stress with piglet needs –
room temperature
 Improve microclimate for piglets
 Stop drafts from slats
 Provide paper etc. at least for farrowing, 24h post
farrowing and nesting
 Back lamps at farrowing
38
Key points the first 24 hrs
 Assist at farrowing
 Colostrum
 Heat