[Hilarysmum]

Was reading on another site an interesting debate on clipping piglet teeth.  The outcome appeared to be more commercial breeders were for and more traditional smallholding types against.

Wondered what everyones' views were here (although think I can guess).

[BillyBerridge]

I think it depends on your set up, aswell as the sow.

If sow if the has a history of getting up and down whilst the piglets are suckling hence squasing them its probery worth doing.

Generally speaking most traditional breeders don't have the need - nor the profit driven focus to cut teeth.

It has it's pro's and cons really - cutting teeth to stop squasing - but it can make it harder for the piglets to get milk down the teats.

[dixie]

I started a thread about teeth clipping on River Cottage forum, it generated lots of replies!!
But I decided not to, yes their teeth are sharp and the sow does get a few scratches and a little sore, but she is free to move around as she pleases, commercially if the are kept in farrowing crates maybe they feel its best for the sow to clip piglets teeth?
(As an aside Uddermint cream is great for soothing sore teats in pigs!)

[Higgins11]

I seem to have had lots of experience with clipping needle teeth. I have worked for several LARGE commercial pork producers.

One clipped teeth and one did not.

I found that the one that did clip teeth had more issues relating to sore mouth and infection. Teeth seem to "shatter" alot when cliping them this leaves jagged edges. Not only this but you open up a wound that allows bacteria to enter the body

The one that did NOT clip teeth had no more problems that any one else with laid on pigs or had no issues with damage to sow underlining

I have processed hundreds of thousands  of piglets and managed a 5000 sow farm and feel from first hand experience clipping teeth does more harm than good

[Hilarysmum]

Now thats interesting.  Silly question, but I have to ask - do piglets shed their teeth like puppies and grow new ones or not? 

[Higgins11]

I'm of the understanding they do.

[Hilarysmum]

Ah so  if their teeth were to be clipped as they grew to adulthood the clipped ones would have been replaced.  Thanks for that, was icurious.

[Higgins11]

the main reason the commercial guys state for doing it is to protect the underlining of the sow. Which i saw no evidence to support.

If you clip a boars needle teeth  it will still have tusk when it grows up

[Unicorn]

I always believed that it was only Commercial Piggeries that clipped teeth.

The reason was boredom, and that the pigs bit off each others tails and ears when they were so closely housed.

I don't think that the BPA agree with teeth clipping of rare breeds, but not sure if it was there or the RBST that
were against it - worth looking up before you do it though.

WE have never docked tails or clipped teeth, and never had any problems

[BillyBerridge]

Pig's are born with milk teeth - the clues in the name as to what there for, If you clip them its purley for the sows and piglets welfare. (To stop piglets getting squashed)
Clipping teeth dosent stop teeth from growing it just shortens them and takes the sharpe points of making them less sharpe on the teats

At between 4 and 6 months of age pigs start to grow adult teeth, if you have a look in a young pigs mouth you can quite often notice a pig with no teeth in places where the new ones are coming! Equally sometimes they appear to have to sets where the new ones are growing next to the old.

Most people now days dont actually clip teeth they use a  tooth grinder much similar to what you would have at the dentist.

In terms of commercial farming people dont cut teeth to stop tail biting - they dock tails to curve that! Although less and less people are doing this now days - I think welfare laws are better that in the past as such all indoor pigs have to be provided with toys to alieve bordem some what.

Does nobody on her trim there boars tusks?

[Higgins11]

I'm not putting my hand ANYWHERE near my boars tusk

He is as gentle and sweet as can be and I'll get in the pen with him anyday of the week but I am NOT putting my hands in his mouth

[BillyBerridge]

I'm not sugesting that you should put your hands in a boars mouth! But tusks can inflict nasty injuries and are not always diliberate.

Not only do they need to be trimmed as a matter of saftey but it also ensures the tusks wont grow into the boars cheek bone leaving a nasty mess and a hell of a job to put them right!

[Hilarysmum]

The vet will grind them for you (at a price).

[VSS]

The issue that we have with piglets teeth is not so much protecting the sows udder, rather that as th piglets grow, they push each other about to get to the teats. We have has some litters where the piglets faces have been cut to shreds by their littermates needle teeth, and have even had one or two that have lost their eye.

In this situation I would say there is a definite welfare benefit to teeth clipping BUT these problems don't manifest themselves until after the seven day time limit for tooth clipping. So what do you do?

[Pentre1230]

We trim all of our boars tusks when they get to the point where that could cause injury to humans and/or other pigs, its a relatively straight forward job if done correctly and is over in no more than a minute. The issue of clipping teeth is an emotive one and will always provide a "hot topic" I believe it is down to the individual to decide whether to clip or not and how best it fits into their system. We have always clipped teeth and have had no sow or piglet health issues.