[piggly wiggly]

Currently I just fatten a few weaners a year, I have 2 tamworth gilts on order and are very keen to farrow.

Could anyone advise me on iron injections, vaccinating and worming weaners?? Im trying to work out the cost of rearing weaners up to 8weeks.

What are the best and easiest products to use? How much would I need for say 10 weaners? And what costs am I looking at?

Thanks 

[HappyHippy]

We iron jab piglets at 3 days old with Gleptosil, think it's 1ml per piglet but it says on the bottle (there's only one size of bottle - it's around £18)
We vaccinate for erysipelas - 2 jags, 4 weeks apart. The medicine can't be stored & re-used so it's 2 bottles at around £20 each. Not everyone does this, if you're planning on purely selling fatteners and not breeding stock it's possibly not too essential (depending on your area & incidences of ery - talk to your vet  ) but since we sell breeding stock and have visiting pigs on site from time to time, as well as attending shows we don't want to take any chances 
Worming, normally done at 6 - 8 weeks, we use noromectin (again, around £18-£20 for a bottle, you'll only need 1ml per piglet)
That's about it medicine wise, but cost wise remember to add in the extra feeding for the sow (she'll need an extra pound of food per day for each piglet she's feeding) so if she's feeding 10, you'll need to be giving her around 16lbs of feed per day for the 8 weeks post farrowing, before returning her to her normal rations 
HTH
Karen

[piggly wiggly]

Thank you very much, very helpful and speedy too 

[Berkshire Boy]

If you look at the top of the pig section there is a pig calculator that you can download. It adds all your costs and tells you how much each piglet will cost you.

[Clive]

That's about it medicine wise, but cost wise remember to add in the extra feeding for the sow (she'll need an extra pound of food per day for each piglet she's feeding) so if she's feeding 10, you'll need to be giving her around 16lbs of feed per day for the 8 weeks post farrowing, before returning her to her normal rations 
HTH
Karen

Some useful info there Karen, which has also given me some stuff to think about. I'd be interested to hear if you always feed 1lb per piglet following farrowing. We were advised between half and one pound per piglet. Our gilt wont eat that much. She began to lose a bit of weight on half pound per piglet so we are just trying to judge on what she will eat and how she looks. Piglets are doing well and already nicking some of her food!

[Fowgill Farm]

Some useful info there Karen, which has also given me some stuff to think about. I'd be interested to hear if you always feed 1lb per piglet following farrowing. We were advised between half and one pound per piglet. Our gilt wont eat that much. She began to lose a bit of weight on half pound per piglet so we are just trying to judge on what she will eat and how she looks. Piglets are doing well and already nicking some of her food!

Clive we play it by demand of the sow/gilt and split the food between 4 feeds so she doesn't have to face large amounts of grub, piglets normally start pinching mum's feed at about 10 - 12 days old so just make sure she's not overly dropping weight and judge amounts accordingly
Worming wise we jab mum a week before farrowing and piglets at 8wks and if they're for fattening this is generally all they need. You can buy single jabs from your vet to adminsiter yourself and they'll advise on amounts too.
hth
 
mandy

[HappyHippy]

Yup, same as Mandy said 
We normally split it into 3 feeds and you've got to build it up gradually (we do it over the course of a fortnight) and mixing some fruit through it will encourage her to eat it 
Our 'big' pigs have always gotten 1lb per piglet, but the Kunekunes get half a pound per piglet when they're nursing. Just build it up slowly and see how she gets on.

[Clive]

Aha!!
We didn't think of 3 feeds as we are both full time atm. Didn't really build up gradually either. No wonder she struggled!

[Beewyched]

Hi Clive,
We had the same problem a couple of years back, as we were both working full-time too.  We used to give nursing mums & babies a quick feed when one of us first got home then feed them again before we went to bed.  It can be a bit of a bind (especially in the bad weather) but you'll soon got used to wearing waterproofs & wellies over your pyjamas for a few months 
 

[thenovice]

Never wormed my last piglets, never gave them iron injections, fed the sow twice a day as usual, and fed the piglets at the same time. The mum had lost a bit of condition by the time weaners left, but soon got back to normal. and the piggies were smashing chunky healthy little things

[HappyHippy]

Granted, you don't need iron injections for piglets - if you provide a turve of soil they'll nibble away at it and get some iron from that. What swung it for me was a report in the Pig World publication that showed a faster weight gain post weaning and a quicker finishing time overall for pigs that had had iron jabs when compared with those that didn't. It just seems to get them off to a flying start and for less than £20 a bottle, it's a cost I feel is worth it 

I don't want to start an arguement here  But I think if you're selling weaners it's your responsibility as a breeder, to ensure they're wormed before they leave your holding. Even a small worm burden can have quite a major impact on how well they grow and develop. Each to their own obviously, but I always worm piglets at weaning.

[thenovice]

Granted, its best to worm before leaving, but im not a breeder, and so I didn't. How did we ever manage before before all these medicines, injections, and wormers? 

[Beewyched]

Granted, its best to worm before leaving, but im not a breeder, and so I didn't. How did we ever manage before before all these medicines, injections, and wormers? 

But very few humans lived to reach 40 years-old back then too ...
 

[Pel]

Granted, its best to worm before leaving, but im not a breeder, and so I didn't. How did we ever manage before before all these medicines, injections, and wormers? 

I'm assuming from this comment then, that you don't intend to have another litter. Personally, whether your a breeder/have an accidental mating/buy a sow who is already pregnant, then you should have had the litter wormed.
I've had far too many people buy weaners who havent been wormed, and then they wonder why their pigs are coughing and not thriving, most are first time pig keepers and if we want pigs to last especially any rare breeds/bloodlines then we need to let first time pig keepers enjoy their pigs, as without them where would breeders sell their weaners too, and where would new breeders come from.
You have to think about the end product, not just till 8 weeks, or whatever age you choose to wean/let them go at.

Well worming, keep less stock, rotate your land, or leave fallow for the appropriate number of years.. most "backyard" allotment keepers dont have that option, and pig feed isnt getting cheaper.

Iron injections, well as HappyHippy said isnt a must, it really does seem to improve growth rates, i imagine if your free range and your soil isnt lacking, then your probably fine, but they are so quick and easy to do (assuming you know how to hold your piglets... I found arm under tummy, and hand around snout tucked up close against me, was the easier way and the sow was far less grumpy.. happyHippy, how do you hold them?).

Never done vaccination, but looking back I think the farm should have done one for Erp.

[HappyHippy]

Pel, if I'm doing a sub-cut injection in the neck I hold them the way you describe (or, if they're getting bigger OH holds them while I jab) If it's an intra-muscular jab in the rump I usually tuck their nose into my armpit and hold their back legs with the hand on the same side (leaving the other one free to jab)
Does that make sense ?