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34 THE RURAL VOICE
Set water nipples about two inches
higher than the pig's back and adjust
them as the pigs grow. This saves
water. Fix leaking nipples: three days
of a dripping nipple will cost enough
in added manure -spreading costs to
pay for a new nipple. He also advised
having water tested regularly to make
sure of the quality of water the pigs
are getting.
Set thermostats at 69 degrees F for
an incoming Toad of pigs and reduce
the temperature half a degree per
week until it reaches 63 degrees for
pigs that are 180-200 pounds, a
temperature at which they're more
comfortable. Keep a clip board by the
thermostats and record the high and
low temperature every day, Elliott
advised. "This can tip you off to
potential problems. You pay for the
technology. You might as well use
it."
Watch the pigs and let them
tell you what they want in
ventilation, he said. If pigs
are lying flat out they're hot. If
they're crowding and piling, they're
definitely cold.
"Every finishing barn should be
all -in, all-out," Elliott said, "and
people should shower -in and shower -
out." Barns should be washed,
disinfected and dried between
batches.
This system "gives you a finite set
of health problems to deal with", he
said. "It makes finishing pigs
predictable and gives you a way to
treat the whole barn as a unit."
For the first month, get in every
pen every day and look at every pig,
Elliott advised. "You cannot spot a
sick pig from the alley." After a
month, check half the pens one day,
the other half the next. It's a small
investment in time to look after the
S150,000 investment you've got in
the barn.
Have a two-stage sick pen. Pigs
are first put in a low density pen
where they're fed medicated feed,
best served in a chop consistency
which .allows pigs to respond better.
After the pigs have recovered, move
them to the next stage, a higher
density pen where they can be held.
Expect to remove about 25-40 pigs in
each batch of 1000. Looking after
those pigs can snake your profit or
limit your losses, he said.
Pigs are social animals, he said.