[otto]

Last year my piggies got worms around the time we had to send them off. As a result, after treatment they were "withdrawn" for 4 weeks, just as the cold weather set in. It meant they got a lot fatter than planned.

What preventative treatments can anyone recommend for the new lot I hope to have in the next few days? (GOS or Tamworths)

[Fowgill Farm]

Make sure they're already wormed with a jab when you buy them (a good breeder will do this for you) and this will/should see them right thro to slaughter, also try not to put them on the same land as the last lot if possible, we rotate our paddocks they need a good 6 months rest over the winter a year is even better.
Worms can live for a long time and it might be you need to get a worm count from your soil. SFS on here sells kits i think.
HTH
mandy 

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

Just to clarify...

The worm counts are not from the soil, they are from a sample of droppings sent to the lab, who then count the number of eggs per gramme (epg) of sample material - this will give you an indication of requirements to worm or not and is far cheaper and much better practice than "Blanket worming" if you dont actually have a worm burdon.

The test (for pigs) identifies the presence (or otherwise) of the following worms:

• Trichuris suis
  Stronyloides
  Metastrongylus elongatus
  physocephalus sexalatus
  Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus
  Ascaris suum
  Globocephalus urosubulatus
  Hyostrongylus rubidus
  Hyostrongylus rubidus
  Oesophagostomum dentatum
  Oesophagostomum dentatum
  Stephanurus dentatus
  Trichinella spiralis

To date, the most common worm results we are seeing in pigs are high counts of Threadworm and Tapeworm

[Tudful Tamworths]

As Mandy says, a good breeder should. worm them for you before you get them. Personally, I worm weaners with Panacur pellets, mixed in with the feed, and I also give the buyer another dose for each piglet to take home with them, just in case. This is because the downside with pelleted wormer is that you can't know for sure that each piglet has had the right amount.
However, as all my sows are vaccinated for internal and external parasites before farrowing, their piglets get some immunity, too.
If your weaners are wormed before you get them, you shouldn't have to do them again if you are only raising them for meat. If, later on, you decide to get into breeding, you should consider vaccinating your breeding stock with something like Dectomax (which I use) or Ivomec or something similar.
Hope this helps. Glad to see you've enjoyed keeping pigs so much that you're taking on a second batch!

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

as all my sows are vaccinated for internal and external parasites before farrowing, their piglets get some immunity, too.

Im sorry but there is no such thing as "immunity" from worms, the wormer is effective for the time it is active in the animals system and only that time.

If for example you worm one week, then move the animals to an area infected by Threadworms (which can live in the soil for upto five years) a week or two later then the worm burdon starts to build up again - this is especially common in outdoor pigs.

The only way to be sure is to schedule in regular worm counts (via your vet or another source) and have a robust rotation policy.

I dont think it is safe to assume that if they are wormed at weaning that they will remain clear until slaughter time.

When we started doing worm counts we gave away a couple of free tests to forum members - and I think it fair to say the owners were very surprised with the results!

Thanks

[Tudful Tamworths]

What I meant to say was that, as the sows are vaccinated and are therefore not carrying worms, the piglets are born without them. Sorry for not being clearer. I worm at weaning in case they have picked up anything from the ground.
I agree that regular worm counts are a good idea. I also rotate my stock on a regular basis. All good practice.

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi TT,

Thanks for the clarification of what you meant.

Whilst worm counts are a good idea (and mandatory for several commercial schemes) I have this suspicion that the vast majority of smallholders dont bother or are not aware that they exist.

Surely it makes good sense to spend £10 or so on a worm count rather than £20 - £ on wormers that may not be necessary.

The results we see vary dramatically - from several with no worms at all to some with more worms than a fishermans convention!

Thanks

Thanks

[HappyHippy]

Having just run through my herd health plan with the vet I would echo the point about worm counts - no point treating for something that's not there (that's how immunity starts to build up)
But check with the breeder you buy them from, as Mandy, good breeders will have wormed them at weaning  and that should see them through til slaughter @ around 6 months.
HTH
Karen 

[Eastling]

One of mine was rubbing her bum so have used panacur granules, (they are five months old) which have cleared out the worms, yuck didn't realise how large they could be. (The breeder had been using the herbal wormers)  I have the vet coming today to show me how and where to inject, should be fun!

[robert waddell]

it can be alarming the first viewing of worms(it was some others pig)
a general question here if the worms are in the dung and then the soil  wild birds eating the worms or poultry for that matter would they not pass on the worms in there droppings and also be infected?

[supplies for smallholders]

Quite possible if the particular species of worm can survive inside the other animal type.

[Eastling]

It would depend on the species of the worm, what intermediate or paratenic host it needed to complete it's life cycle etc or if it is direct from one host to another.

[otto]

Thanks for all that good advice. I am hoping that the very cold snap we had this winter might have finished off any of the buggers hanging out in the soil.

Have fun injecting!!!  I was glad no one was around with a video camera when I did my lot!!!

[Eastling]

The vet couldn't find us yesterday!! satnav not working, so we have rearranged for Friday. Spent 18years as a veterinary nurse so not unfamiliar with injecting animals but have no experience with farm/large animals. Just need to know where. I hear that pigs are not the easiest! up for a challenge.

[Fowgill Farm]

With most wormers its a subcutaneous injection just under the skin done in the neck behind the ear as opposed to intra muscular in the backside!
HTh
Mandy