SWINE HUSBANDRY WILL PREVENT THESE DISEASES IN PIGS

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 62, Issue 2, 15 February 1941, Page 77

SWINE HUSBANDRY WILL PREVENT THESE DISEASES IN PIGS

□L, M It is gratifying to be able to record a decrease in the rejections of pigs killed for export. This decrease is due to better pig husbandry, but further improvement may still he made. The price of achievement is eternal vigilance.

WHEN a pig carcass is disfigured by blemish or affected VV with disease it cannot be exported in the carcass form. Blemishes which cause rejection do not make the carcass unfit for human consumption, but they represent a loss in that the carcass may have to be cut and sold in pieces, whether for export or local consumption, usually at a lower price than a whole carcass. It is gratifying to be able to report a very considerable reduction in reject pigs during the last six or seven years. No other class of animal responds to good management to the same degree as the pig. Good management entails the provision of adequate feed supply; it means the provision of hygienic surroundings; it means regular attention and planning in advance; it means the spending of capital in pigs. On the many farms where better facilities have already been provided for pigs, where overcrowding and insanitary conditions are eliminated,

where extremes of heat and cold are avoided, rejections at the works have been considerably reduced. Usually, good accommodation is associated 'with keen owner interest and attention to detail. Improved facilities for storing milk and better ways of feeding it, and the carrying out of such necessary operations as castration, ringing and detusking at the proper time and in a clean and proper manner are th© consequences of this, and a further reduction .in disease and rejects, the final result. All this may be properly described as being within the sphere of good management. Improvement Shown The following table is a very creditable indication of the improvement' which has taken place in recent years in the health of pigs as reflected in the amount of blemishes and disease seen at the various works and abattoirs throughout the country. The works and abattoirs from which these returns were obtained varied from year to year; hence, although all the percentages are comparable, the actual totals are not. The table covers the incidence

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LIVESTOCK DIVISION

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The list below does not refer to pigs wholly condemned at the various works and abattoirs because of disease It may. however, be taken as some indication of the incidence of disease in general in the pigs sent forward for slaughter from the farms. The decrease in the incidence of disease throughout the years is very pleasing, and the

pig producers of the Dominion deserve due credit for the improvement they have effected. It will be noted that there was a considerable decrease over the period in the total number of pigs inspected. The decrease in disease may be due to the elimination of the careless pig raiser, and to some extent possibly to the desire at the present time to export as great a quantity of baconers as possible. , Whatever argument is put forward, however, it is apparent that the pig farmers who produced the 685,000 pigs last season deserve credit for sending in pigs in which the incidence of disease was much lower than that seen a few years ago. Pleurisy Dealing - with the various diseases tabulated above, the reduction in pleurisy from 5.55 per cent, to under 2 per cent, is very satisfactory, as this was the major cause ‘of pigs failing to pass for export. This reduction is a reflection of the improved housing and drainage which has lessened the incidence of pleurisy on the farm. The avoidance of extremes of temperature,

the prevention of overcrowding by the greater subdivision of fattening pens, and the better general management of the sow and litter all tend to reduce pleurisy in the pig. It is generally accepted that the non-fatal types of pleurisy which are the cause of the adhesions seen at the killing works are contracted in the early life of the young pig at or about weaning time, so that a system of young pig management which takes care of the health of the pigs at this age is of the utmost importance. The improvement in housing and drainage, the use of the creep system of feeding, and the extension of the use of supplementary feeds to the dairy by-products in the rearing of litters are the major factors which have contributed to the very satisfactory advance made. This may be summed up in a higher standard of pig management or pig husbandry. There is a tendency for non-fatal pleurisy to improve with the age of the pig, so that the fact that more baconers than porkers have been sent forward in the last year or two may

have contributed also to the better position. Peritonitis There is also a very pleasing reduction of peritonitis from .94 per cent, to .13 per cent, in the period covered. Like pleurisy, peritonitis is a reflection on the general incidence of infection in. and around piggeries. Peritonitis may be set up from an extension of infection from the stomach or bowel in cases of inflammation in the digestive tract. Inflamlnation in the digestive tract may be traced back to irregular or wrongful feeding, to insanitary feeding conditions and surroundings, to infective organisms of the suipestifer or pasteurella group, or to worms or any digestive upset. A sudden change of feed will bring on digestive trouble Young weaner pigs or purchased pigs should be allowed some time to become accustomed to a . new system of feeding, and all changes in feeding should be brought about gradually. In grain feeding districts it may be necessary to provide molasses in water to ensure a laxative diet. In the dairying districts, if green feed is not available

during the summer or autumn, some molasses may again prove necessary. Here, again, one comes back to the question of pig management and attention to . detail in the feeding 'of the pigs, the sanitation and drainage of the pig section, and the isolation of newly-purchased pigs to prevent the introduction of disease. Peritonitis may be due to an extension of infection from an abscess formed after castration or from such accidents as rupture. Cleanliness at the time of castration of the young pigs is therefore of considerable importance. Abscesses The incidence of abscess in pigs in various, parts .of the body may not be seen until the animal, is opened up after slaughter. It is frequently difficult to account for many of the abscesses seen in the abdominal cavity. Abscesses of a non-specific type are also frequently seen about the head and neck during inspection of the carcass. Abscesses are also seen in the scrotal region, and apparently resuit from infection being locked up at the time of castration. A reduction of these abscesses over the period indicates that greater attention has been paid to castrating in a clean and careful manner. Further improvement in the reduction of abscesses as a cause of trouble in inspection should result from handling pigs in cleaner, betterdrained sections and houses. The incidence of arthritis has remained about the same over the period of review. As it is very difficult to determine the exact cause of arthritis in many cases in pigs, it is equally difficult to suggest remedial measures. There is no doubt that several factors influence the incidence of diseases of the joints, such as infection, injury, and nutritional or deficiency causes. Skin Diseases . Under the heading of skin disease must be included all forms of dermatitis, such as rashes, acute sunburn, urticaria, the after-effects of an attack of mange, sores and abscesses due to injury or barbed-wire cuts, and the . so-called necrotic or spirochaetal ulcers. It must be remembered ■ that the pig is not skinned in the process of dressing, and that whether used as a porker or a baconer the value of a carcass is much improved when the skin is clean and white and free from all blemishes. Any blemishes, how-

ever small, tend to detract from the appearance of the carcass either for local consumption or for export. Pigs running on clover pasture during the finishing-off stage of fattening are liable to be affected with urticaria at the time of slaughter. All wounds should be kept clean, and a dressing of Stockholm tar applied until healing takes place. All necrotic or spirochaetal ulcers should be scrubbed and dressed with powdered antimony tartrate and properly healed before the pigs are sent forward for slaughter. The provision of. sun shelters is necessary where pigs are subject to sun--burn. The periodic oiling of pigs will eradicate lice and prevent much skin irritation and rubbing on posts and wires. Weals and Bruises The prevalence of superficial weals and bruises in pigs has not been reduced during the period— fact, the position, is now worse than it was in 1935-36. This heading mainly refers to the more recent type of injury to

the animal caused through rough and careless handling immediately before slaughter. A certain amount of fighting among pigs takes place in the trucks, especially if pigs of different sizes are loaded in the same truck. A stag included with other prime pigs may do considerable damage in the truck. There is also the question of careless handling on the farm, at the loading banks, or at the works, as a result of which too many weals and whip marks are later apparent. The marks may appear harmless to the carrier, but it is surprising how the weals show up when the carcass has been scalded and dressed. There is room for a very material improvement in the general handling of the pig on the way to slaughter. It is gratifying to be able to record a decrease in the rejections of pigs killed for export. This decrease is due to better pig husbandry. Further improvement may still be made. The price of achievement is eternal vigilance.

Cause of Rejection. 1935-36; 1936-37. 1937-38. 1938-39. 1939-40. Pleurisy 50,963 5.55% 55,836 5.73% 39,899 4.22% 28,863 3.56% 13,591 1.98% Peritonitis .. 8,619 .94% 9,711 1.0% 5,343 .56% 2,343 .29% 886 .13% Abscess 10.372 1.-3% 10,859 1.11% 9,822 1.04% 8,391 11.04% 6,473 .94% Faulty Castration 2,988 4,168 3,943 - 2,354 1,200 .32% 4,168 .43% 3,943 .42% 2,354 .29% 1,200 .18% Arthritis 3.972 .43% 5,058 .52% 4,332 .46% 4,311 .53% 3,105 ,45% Skin Disease 2,397 . 1,737 1,689 1.406 679 .26% 1,737 .18% 1,689 .18% 1.406 .17% 679 .10% Wounds and Bruises 5,022 ' .55% 6,971 .71% 7,771 .82% 6,289 .78% 4,760 .70% Other Causes 7,481 6,575 4,754 3,334 2,088 .81% 6,575 .68% 4,754 .50% 3,334 .41% 2,088 .3% Total Pigs found 127.201 112,341 85.641 61,420 33,306 diseased .. or 13.85% or 11.53% or 9.06% . - or 7.58% or 4.86% Total Pigs inspected 918,697 i ■ 974,027 945,691 809.5598 685,036

Slaughtering Seasons, ending September 30.