[little blue]

Hello, pig breeders
Am trying to assimilate all the info I've read regarding the best times to give medications
Ie... Parvo virus injection... ? how long before farrowing (14 days?)
Worming/lice/mange... I know it needs doing soon before farrowing... but should I treat before mating?!
Ery... (really not sure!)
Anything I've missed??

My kunes are not mature enough yet, we plan to put the boar on his 'holiday' in November/December so piglets born in spring.  They seem on track size-wise!  They had Ivomec injections in july as Murphy showed signs of mange.
They seem very slightly flaky- skinned but not anything serious (more likely just pig skin and mud!) and I dont want to muck up the treatment programme for good breeding, or over do any medication.

Has anybody used Verm-X for pigs?  I'd rather use that than chemicals


Thanks in advance for your advice
 

[dixie]

I inject with ivomectin twice a year, 2 weeks before farrowing, the boar every 6 months and the piglets at around 4-6 weeks or when I can catch them. Thats all they have though I dont inject for erysipalas as I was advised it not necessary for such small herd (2 sows, 1 boar) and have never considered parvo?
Injectable wormers treat/prevent internal and external parasites so i wouldn't consider anything else.

[ukag0972]

Ditto Dixie

I inject the sows just before they farrow and the boar is dine at the same time. I do the weaners at 8 weeks old just before they go to homes.

I don't do erysipileus either, for the same reason.

[little blue]

Thanks folks
we only have a boar and 2 gilts. The piglets will be sold as 'pets' (or sausages!)
I'm going to check with our vet obviously, but dont want to be talked into unnecessary injections (Im not very good at giving them as the farce of the Ivomec showed-you had to laugh!!)

[Pentre1230]

We treat our whole herd every six months with Virbamec for mange/lice/worms etc.  We vaccinate against Erysipelas and Porcine Parvo Virus, you can get a combined vaccine that does them both its called Porcilis Ery + Parvo,  after the initial dose you then repeat after a fortnight and then we do ours every six months, personally I don't inject my pigs with it if they are heavy in pig, we start the program when they are gilts, and only inject gilts/sows after they have farrowed or dry. We do the boars as well as it can effect there fertility. Erysipelas is always present in pigs, it gets triggered off by certain things, stress, hot muggy weather, how they are kept, birds are a carrier of the disease, so try and keep feed etc bird free, its a nasty little disease which can kill pigs very easily, if you ever get it inject with Pen Strep and you will see the lesions dissapear more or less before your eyes, once a pig had had it they become very immune to it, Erysipelas and Parvo cause abortions, dead stillborn/mummified piglets, fertility problems in your boars and sows, low litter sizes. To be honest with you there is a whole host of vaccines you can inject your pigs with but to me the above are the most important to me. There is nothing more distressing for the sow and owner seeing her give birth to 10 or 12 dead piglets, when routine vaccinations can help prevent it..

 Hope that helps...   
   

[Roxy]

ooh.....I can't wait to see your sows little piglets, Little  Blue ......I am all excited and you have not even mated them yet.

I do not know anything about pig worming etc. ......and did not know you jabbed them for parvo virus.  Just thought that was dogs, who went walkabouts in the park etc.  How are pigs at risk - particularly yours who are not mixing with any other pigs?

I worm my goats, sheep and llama with verm x.  Do the ponies with proper horse wormers though.

[Pentre1230]

As I said in my reply it is called Porcine Parvo Virus or PPV as it effects pigs. Not Parvo Virus which effects dogs. It can be brought in via the purchase of breeding stock, visiting boars, purchase of fattening pigs, cross contamination via humans who have it in there herd or one they have visited then tramp round to look at your pigs and give it to yours. Simple bio-security measures like dipping you boots, checking incoming stock can go a long way in keeping this nasty virus at bay. We run a "closed " herd so we keep the risk to a absolute minimum..   

[MiriMaran]

Little Blue, what vet do you use?

[little blue]

McMurtry and Harding.
they have 2 practices locally, and several vets who seem quite supportive of us... i'm sure they think we've had a midlife crisis.. having gone from 1 dog, 1 cat to all we have now!!
Though actually, the only livestock stuff we've had so far is the ivomec, which the receptionist got all confused over the doses, which caused havoc in my meds book!  But it was soon sorted

[MiriMaran]

Where are they based?

[little blue]

Ashbourne (main surgery and out - of -hours) and Wirksworth.  Im not sure whether they cover as far as you, but they're in the phonebook...

[MiriMaran]

brilliant - will check it out!

[gavo]

Apologies for being different ( ;-) ) but all we do is worm our pigs every six months with panacur pellets. On the very odd occasion that erysipelas occurs we give them penicillin.
We find that pigs that spend the whole year outside require very little attention.


Cheers

Gavin

[MiriMaran]

I wormed mine with flubenol I think - or something with a similar name.  Its a poder you mix in with their food.