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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-04-03, Page 37Experts on sow management address farmers at swine forum A new method of testing back fat on. sows gives farrtlers a better idea of the best weight for the sow, said an OMAF swine specialist. Daphne Peer, an expert in the field of sow and gilt nutrition and management says the ease at which you can feel the H bone at the back of the sow is an indicator of the back fat on the sow. In this method called "graduated scoring", a scale of 1-5 is used with the lowest number meaning the animal is emaciated and the higher number meaning the animal is overweight. The sow, before farrowing, should score between three to four she says. After weaning, the sow should be in the two to three range. Farmers in Canada, usually just "eyeball" the sow to determine the amount of back fat. By comparing a number of sows in the barn the farmer can become accustomed to using this system. The new method comes from Britain. "A lot of people just go by eye. Some people don't. pay the attention they should (to the back fat on the sow)," says Ms. Peer, one of four guest speakers at the swine. forum sponsored by Hodges Milling Ltd. in Dungannon on March 26. Other speakers included Dave Bates, Shur -Gain nutrition manager, Dr. Janet Nelson, a swine nutritionist with Elanco Ltd. and Doug Day, an animal health inspector for Shur -Gain. Organizer of the event was Gary Dauphin, sales representative for Hodges. Ms. Peer dealt with three major areas of management of gilts and sows: gilt selection, breeding sows and gilts and feeding during gestation and breeding. The gilt should be selected at a weight of approximately 160 pounds. It should have at FEATURE REPORT least six good evenly -spaced teats, on each side for good milk production. She said it was important for the gilt's nipples to be ",properly formed, avoiding such things as gilts with inturned nipples or ones possessing too many or an uneven number of teats on each side. The feet and legs are important as the gilt should have a good stance to support its weight. She says watch out for gilts taat stand too straight or stand over on their knees. The back of the pig should be taken into account when selecting a gilt. Its back shouldn't be long or strung out as it will have problems fitting into a farrowing crate and, more often than not, the gilt will have too many teats with no mammary glands for milk production. For breeding purposes, the gilts should be grouped five or six to a pen with a boar in betweenthe pens. Periodically, the boar should be allowed to run in the. pen with the gilts and sows to further stimulate the sows into their heat cycle. The heat cycle for gilts lasts from 19-23 days while older sows have a heat cycle that lasts 12 to 18 days longer. Ms. Peer says it is important to give the sows 16 to 18 hours of light every day which also helps to induce the heat cycle. The first heat cycle in gilts usually occurs at 18Q pognds. Ip the. initial cycle, says Ms. Peer, the gilt should not be bred because the piglets in the litter will be too small. When the sows and gilts are in their cycle, they should be tested every two days by pressing on their backs to see if they will stand for breeding. If the sow will stand, it should be bred 12 hours after the test and again 12 hours later. The same or different boars can be used. Feeding the sow and gilt requires increased management because they require different levels of food at various stages of their reproductive cycle, says Ms. Peer. The peak period when a sow requires more food is after weaning. The sow needs ,this extra feed in order to come into heat seven days after weaning. A lower energy intake will mean it will take longer. A few days after the sow has been re -bred, the feed ration should be cut down to normal levels as over -feeding will cause embryo mortality. The ideal volume of feed depends on factors such as barn temperature, the size of the sow and the energy content in the diet. Overfeeding the sow through the early stages of pregnancy also causes problems such as mastitis and still -births. The crucial time for extra feeding during pregnancy, says Ms. Peer, is the last two weeks of pregnancy. Since 50 per cent of the piglet's weight is gained in the last two weeks, it is important for the sow to receive more food. The sow also requires this extra feed in the last two weeks of pregnancy in order that she doesn't lose an excessive amount of weight through the lactation period. If the • sow is too thin after lactation it could affect the size of the next litter, she said. Federation recommends that. child-care program be developed The Rural Child Care Committee (RCCC) of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) will be recommending to several government ministries that a Rural Child Care Giver Program be developed. . At the monthly meeting of the OFA's board of directors, RCCC chairman Brenda Ward referred to a provincial government study, "The Changing 'Scene". From the submission of 129 groups on 19 subjects, 76 percent dealt with the lack of adequate child care in rural Ontario, Ward said. "The scene has definitely changed. Due to changes . in our economy and education structure, more and • more women are becoming working partners in their opera- tions for financial reasons," she said. "We now have people who Nave no family ties in the area settling on the "Smith farm". They have no brother to work with, they have no SPRING OPENING '85 From April 1st Daily Wednesday -Sunday _ indudiny.------------ EASTER WEEKEND ' Monday -Tuesday :�y diainee filUMay Main Street eayfleld 565-2943 McKILLOP MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY 91 Main St. South, Seaforth FULL COVERAGE Farm & Urban Properties DIRECTORS Ken Carnochan Lavern Godkin John McEwing Stanley Mcllwain Donald McKercher Kenneth Moore I Trewartha Stuart Wilson Paul Rock AGENTS E.%T. "Bill" Durst Bob McNaughton, Graeme Craig Banter & MacEwan Insurance Brokers Ltd. 482-3354 527-1877 523-9390 524-7051 527-1837 527-0508 482 7593 527-0687 345-2397 527-1455 527-1571 887-9381 524-8376 CALL AN AGENT OR THE OFFICE Moan or Aunt living across the road to come in and babysit while the husband and wife work together." These pressures, coupled with the safety hazards of farm life and the time con- straints on both partners have led to what Ward calls "the dramatic increase of spousal and child abuse—both emotional and physical." They make the need for affor- dable, suitable child care in rural Ontario more pronoupced, she said. Although there are rural day care centres in some parts of rural Ontario, Ward said, they don't meet the needs of the farm. fami- ly. "Farmers don't work from 9 to 5, especially during planting and harvesting. A day care centre 30 miles away that only takes pre-schoolers at set times isn't any good." She said children up to 14 years of • age need supervision when they come home from school and their parents arein the barns or out in the fields. The proposal the RCCC will be discussing with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Community and Social Services, and the Minister responsible for Women's Issues includes the establishment of a network of co-ordinators who would set up a registry of care givers and of people who will take up to five children into their homes. They will act as training and resource people and will administer the pro- gram. The other members of the committee in- clude Judith Girty of Blenheim; Clare and Ian Hawkins, Shelburne; Mac and Sandra Parker, Watford; Earl Saar, Pembroke; and is chaired by Brenda Ward, Morikton, who is on the OFA executive committee. GODERICH SIGNAL STAR, WED irSDAY, AI'lW 3,1985 --PAGE 17A INTRODUCING "Trish Deighton" Trish iuias the staff at the Hairpprt with 17 year.' experience as a Malydresser. She was trained in England and we wish to welcome her to our staff. 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