Agalactia, or Sows with No Milk at Farrowing

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 94, Issue 3, 15 March 1957, Page 221

Agalactia, or Sows with No Milk at Farrowing

“THOUGH agalactia, or the failure of a sow to produce milk at farrowing, is not common, < it is a serious problem for the pig producer when it occurs. This article by the Animal Industry Division discusses some causes of this complaint and gives advice on its prevention and cure.

CASES of agalactia, or of sows at farrowing having no milk, occur from time to time and most pig farmers have experienced this trouble. It occurs in all pig producing countries and can be caused by a variety of conditions, some of which can be effectively dealt with and are fairly easy to diagnose, whereas others present considerable difficulty. The known causes of agalactia can be conveniently divided into three groups. First, where faulty management is the cause; secondly, where disease is the main factor; and thirdly, where failure of the sow’s glands to function and hereditary factors are involved. In all cases it is advisable to obtain veterinary assistance as soon as possible, as no time must be lost

if heavy losses in piglets are to be avoided. Faulty Management In the faulty management group causes of the trouble can be attributed to the following:— 1. Constipation: This is often seen in the heavily in-pig sow, and when a sow is really constipated just before farrowing she will not give much milk. Exercise right up to farrowing and' grazing on good clover pasture will prevent constipation. Food should be limited in quantity for the last week before farrowing and for 3 days after, and plenty of clean drinking water should be available at all times. 2. Cold: If the sow is severely chilled and farrows under very cold and wet conditions, her milk supply is likely to be seriously affected. A warm house and warm, dry bedding will generally effect a cure.

3. Sore teats and sharp eye teeth: A sow, though appearing to have plenty of milk, will sometimes refuse to allow her piglets to suckle. This may be caused by the sharp eye teeth of the piglets hurting the sow when the piglets suckle, by the sow having sore teats, or by a combination of both. The eye teeth of the piglets can be cut off easily at gum level with a small pair of side-cut pliers, and any good teat salve used in the cowshed, or petroleum jelly, will assist in healing sore teats on the sow. 4. Poor feeding of the in-pig sow: A starvation diet while the sow is carrying the litter is the hall-mark of thoroughly bad management. It will greatly reduce the milk supply at farrowing and also generally greatly reduce the number of live pigs in the litter. These four cases of failure of the sow’s milk supply can be avoided easily by correct management. Diseases Causing Agalactia Diseases that bring about agalactia comprise the next group. This article

deals with cases of sows that have no milk at farrowing only and not with failure of the milk supply at later stages in suckling. Disease as a cause of agalactia is fortunately not very common and the diseases listed are given alphabetically, as it would be difficult to place them in order of importance. Mastitis ' The commonest form of mastitis is that which causes hardening of one or more of the milk glands, generally without a great deal of inflammation. Treatment of this is possible with antibiotics and sulpha drugs, but a veterinarian should be consulted. Another cause of chronic mastitis, though rare, is actinomycosis. This is caused by a fungus closely allied to that which causes woody tongue in cattle. Cases of acute mastitis are occasionally met with and these can be very serious. It can occur up to 48 hours after farrowing and is characterised by high fever, loss of appetite, and hot, painful swelling of the udder. The sow quickly becomes toxic and has great difficulty in standing at all. If' veterinary attention is not obtained quickly, the sow will undoubtedly be lost. Milk Fever Milk fever is not common in sows. The symptoms are the same as those of milk fever in dairy cattle: grinding of the teeth, frothing or dribbling at the mouth, drowsiness, staggery gait, paralysis and semi-consciousness, and eventually complete coma. Milk fever responds almost immediately to injection of calcium-borogluconate and the same outfit as is used for cattle is suitable. The dose is about J pint for a medium-sized sow. Farmers must distinguish between milk fever and other conditions, as the treatment is quite different.

Retained Afterbirth When afterbirth is retained the sow will lose appetite, run a high temperature, and .there is generally a discharge of pus from the vagina. Veterinary assistance should be obtained as soon as possible, because if dealt with early, this condition is fairly easily treated, but if it is neglected, the loss of the sow is extremely likely. This, in effect, is a septic infection of the uterus and can lead to general septicaemia. Other Causes Finally, there is the group of causes of agalactia that come under the heading of improper functioning of glands and hereditary defects. In these cases the sow appears to have nothing wrong with her and to be normal except that there is no milk for the piglets. When the udder appears to be normal, but the behaviour and empty appearance of the piglets shows that no let-down of milk is occurring, injections of glandular extracts, under veterinary advice, will generally result in an immediate letdown of milk and no further trouble will be experienced. Occasionally a second and even a third injection may be necessary. In some cases, particularly with maiden sows, ' the sow will make no udder at all. This is due to glandular disfunction and little can be done except to rear the litter by hand. When this occurs in a maiden sow it is generally worth while to get the sow in-pig again, as she will frequently be normal at her next farrowing. A second failure means that the sow must be culled. The principal hereditary defect that prevents a sow from suckling her litter is inverted teats. When breeding

sows are selected the closest attention should be paid to the teats and any signs of inversion should mean the rejection of the sow for breeding. Inverted teats are a serious fault and no breeding stock should be selected from any strain known to have this defect. There are, of course, poor milking strains among pigs, and good milking qualities are of the greatest importance in the selection of breeding stock. Good management of the in-pig sow can help considerably in preventing agalactia. Particular attention should be paid to young sows in-pig with their first litter, and care should be taken to see that they do not get too fat and get plenty of exercise and good grazing. They should be fed as balanced a ration as is possible, consisting of skimmed milk, the quantity depending on the condition of the sow, and at least jib. to lib. of a good meal mixture. A suitable meal mixture would be 1 part of meat meal, 1 part of buttermilk powder, and 8 parts of barley meal. The addition of 1 part of bran, if obtainable, would be very useful. Clean drinking water should be available at all times to in-pig sows. Sows should be put in their farrowing quarters, which must be warm and dry, a week or 10 days before they are due to farrow, and the amount of food they are given should be reduced during the week before farrowing. No food but clean drinking water only should be given for 24 hours before farrowing and 24 hours after. Sows must be handled very quietly and care should be taken to see that they do not suffer any upsets at this time.