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Author Topic: Post-farrowing antibiotic  (Read 10830 times)

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #15 on: September 18, 2011, 09:40:45 am »
i am sorry rosemary i will have to side with stevie on this one
if they are wanting to calm there pigs they could feed them hash cakes/tablet or is that sarcasm
i do agree with you on the good verses bad practitioners  i could name and shame a good number on here both smallholders and commercial   however i get the distinct impression from posters that the commercial pig breeders are the lowest of the low  just because they  do not have an open door policy you should not criticise in fact if anything needs to change in the commercial pig industry it should me a more open aspect to there system of production :farmer:

I'm not aware of any reference to calming pigs, therefore your reference to hash cakes is lost on me. Perhaps I missed something.

I don't have a problem with commercial pig producers in any way insofar as commercial means producing to make a profit. I DO have a problem with any pig keepers' failure to have due regard for animal welfare and I DO NOT believe that it is possible to do that in intensive indoor units.

I also don't believe that all outdoor systems provide proper regard for the animals' welfare just because they are "outdoor". If over stocked, so that the animals are constantly up to their bellies in mud, I don't think being outdoors is such a great thing.

My issue was more with the tone of Stevie's post than the content  :)

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #16 on: September 18, 2011, 11:11:03 am »
rosemary when pigs are farrowing they can get stressed this is why some people give there pigs jabs to calm them down hence the referance to hash cakes

at farrowing some pigs actually eat the piglets
we will need to try and get you to visit a commercial piggery to alay your ideas
with both indoor and outdoor pigs if they are well feed all a pig does is eat sleep and s**t they are like us and do not want to get cold or undully wet       pigs that are constantly rooting are HUNGRY[
 :farmer:

Fowgill Farm

  • Joined Feb 2009
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #17 on: September 18, 2011, 11:43:20 am »
Robert for  a kick off none of us talked about giving our pigs drugs to calm them down, personally i prefer the guiness method myself for both pig & keeper.
Secondly having seen my pig die the most horrific death due to my inherent hatred of drugs(antibiotics) i now find myself on the opposite fence where i see their benefits as my sows only farrow every 9 mths or so, the use of the LA antibiotic as a precaution is hardly likely to make them resistant.
Steveie G i take offence at your post as regards the cleanliness of my farrowing accommodation, we have specifically concreted floors and plastered walls so they can be blasted with a pressure washer and a DEFRA approved cleansing/disinfecting agent. This is done after every farrowing and prior to any new farrowing pig going in. My pigs also have bowl automatic drinkers which are also regularly cleaned out and disninfected too.
Thankfully as Twinkle's season has declined so has the scouring.
If you had read our posts carefully you would understand what we were getting at so stick that in your pipe instead of hash and smoke it!
Mandy  :pig:

lill

  • Joined May 2011
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #18 on: September 18, 2011, 12:23:39 pm »
oh, i love reading a good debate, but will keep out of it for the moment  :pig: :pig:

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #19 on: September 18, 2011, 12:39:28 pm »
barsteward i had a post and it went west  ah well here we go again        there may or may not have been a direct reference to administering drugs to calm pigs down on this thread but there has been in the past  alcohol is a drug as well       intensive systems require more vigilance and a greater reliance on drugs and vet intervention    on the other hand extensive systems requires even more vigilance without the reliance on drugs and vets
like Mandy we farrow on concrete and after every time the buildings are used they are steam cleaned we do not use straw for farrowing we use shavings you can see when they are wet and little trotters do not get caught in the straw(some times the opposite works especially with calving cows less disease outside) it is really up to the individual and what they want
it is a true saying where you have livestock you also have deadstock and the dead bit follows the live bit you just have to try and reduce it  :farmer:

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #20 on: September 18, 2011, 02:05:00 pm »
we will need to try and get you to visit a commercial piggery to alay your ideas
with both indoor and outdoor pigs if they are well feed all a pig does is eat sleep and s**t they are like us and do not want to get cold or undully wet       pigs that are constantly rooting are HUNGRY[
 :farmer:

Thanks for the offer, Robert, but I used to work on a commercial pig farm years ago (and also have a degree in agriculture), so I do have some idea o what a commercial pig farm is like, although I'm sure, as with all things, there are commercial pig farms and commercial pig farms. Labels are always dangerous.

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #21 on: September 18, 2011, 05:35:17 pm »
times change as well as practises when i was at college the lecturer showed us how to castrate with your teeth
i count myself lucky i have seen the transformation in agriculture from cutting harvest with a binder to the massive combines of today  :farmer:

Tiva Diva

  • Joined Mar 2011
  • Scottish Borders
    • Thornielee Cottage
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #22 on: September 18, 2011, 06:15:40 pm »
Just adding my two penn'orth to the antibiotic debate.
I give antibiotics in the following circumstances:
Intervention needed, prolonged/difficult labour, signs of birth canal damage, or if she goes off her feed, gets a temperature or otherwise seems unwell. Following our vet's advice I use Ultrapen LA, usually one dose but a second after 3 days if she's still ill. If you have to give antibiotics make sure you give an adequate dose as under-dosing is a major cause of antibiotic resistance. Even if you give a dose that's a bit to big you won't cause any problems. I also spray all the piglets' umbilical cords with iodine.
Keep a close eye on them all for the first few days after farrowing (as if you wouldn't!) and if there's any sign of a problem give a good dose of antibiotic.

HappyHippy

  • Guest
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #23 on: September 18, 2011, 09:53:38 pm »
we will need to try and get you to visit a commercial piggery to alay your ideas
with both indoor and outdoor pigs if they are well feed all a pig does is eat sleep and s**t they are like us and do not want to get cold or undully wet       pigs that are constantly rooting are HUNGRY[
 :farmer:

Thanks for the offer, Robert, but I used to work on a commercial pig farm years ago (and also have a degree in agriculture), so I do have some idea o what a commercial pig farm is like, although I'm sure, as with all things, there are commercial pig farms and commercial pig farms. Labels are always dangerous.
Now I'm back I've just got to add a bit here  ;D
I think you get 'good' pig keepers and 'bad' pig keepers - it doesn't really matter whether the pigs in question are indoor, outdoor or 'pets'. There can be 'good' commercial enterprises, there can be 'bad' smallholding practices - I've spoken to folks both sides of the fence and each thinks the other is the one who's doing it wrong  ::) I know I'm doign it right though, so all's good  :D ;D :thumbsup:

Antibiotics & medications in general - I would have considered myself a fairly 'alternative' person in my lifestyle  ;) Looking for natural cures and holistic approaches wherever possible, not wanting to be a person who pumps their stock full of drugs. But..... I don't think there's any harm in giving an anti-biotic post farrowing,(although it's not something I do routinely - only if there has been an 'intervention' or problem) in the same way I don't think there's any harm in giving oxytocin during farrowing. These aren't needless drugs used to bulk the pigs up and promote faster growth or boost profits, they are drugs which are there to prevent problems, hopefully before they arise. And when it comes to a newborn litter not getting milk, or facing the risk of losing their mum (and having to be bottle fed) there's no question of giving the shot(s). But everybody has their own ideas of what they want to do, and how they want to do it  ;)

Rosemary

  • Joined Oct 2007
  • Barry, Angus, Scotland
    • The Accidental Smallholder
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #24 on: September 18, 2011, 11:06:17 pm »
times change as well as practises when i was at college the lecturer showed us how to castrate with your teeth
i count myself lucky i have seen the transformation in agriculture from cutting harvest with a binder to the massive combines of today  :farmer:

I think I said elsewhere that I bow to your superior knowledge, expressed in your own inimitable style. If you remember binders, you are clearly much older than I.

robert waddell

  • Guest
Re: Post-farrowing antibiotic
« Reply #25 on: September 19, 2011, 09:36:35 am »
remember them i had to sit on the bloody things             now watch these flights and lower them when i go in next the trees  watch the bloody flights alright and get a branch smack you right in the coupon that is why i like my trees to look like nests on poles :farmer:

 

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