I thought pigs were impervious to just about everything.
That they could eat anything and just keep on pigging.
That was until I switched my operation to a dual operation .....with both breeding stock and a meat business.
A few months in and I was struggling.
What litters I did get were split with healthy and weak piglets.
I was in trouble.
So, I reached out to my vet for help.
And she helped me modify my program that has led to great success.
Now, our litters have grown from 6-9 to 11-19. That's more like it!
What were the changes?
There were 4 things that I did.
- Implement a Vaccine Program
- Treat the Herd for Mycotoxins
- Change the pairing window of breeding pairs
- Move my feed to Climate Control Storage
For this post, I'm going to talk about my Vaccine Program. Then, I'll cover the other 3 in the next posts.
An anti-vaxxer from my meat operation, adding vaccinations was a significant change!
I use 4 different vaccines..... Let me share with you a little on each of them .
BTW - the links I am sharing are from Valley Vet. I am not an affiliate / paid advertiser. I have found that there website is the most helpful for quick reviews and their shipping times/ product arrival is fantastic. Click on the name of each vaccine for a link.
Farrowsure Gold B
LEPTO/PARVO – Inj 2 ml IM
Boars – semi-annually
Sows and Gilts 4-6 weeks prior to breeding and follow up 3-4 weeks later. Re-vax 4-6 weeks prior to breeding. Safe for pregnant and nursing.
Myco Shield
PNEUMONIA – Inj 1 ml IM re-vax in 2 weeks.
CircoFLEX by Ingelvac
CIRCOVIRUS – Inj 1 ml IM. Starts working 2 weeks after administration. Duration of immunity is 4 months.
Litterguard LTC
E-COLI – Inj 2 ml IM. Sows preg only 2 doses, 3 weeks apart during last ½ of pregnancy. The second dose should be given 2 weeks before farrowing. Pregnant swine should be re-vax w/single dose 2 weeks before each farrowing.
After all this, did it make a difference? YES!!
Out of our last 7 farrowings, there was a significant difference in litter size, health of piglets and ease of farrowing!
WOOT! WOOT!
Do you vaccinate? with what or why not?
I'd love to hear from you!
~laura