By Makeli PhiriOVERSTOCKING of pregnant sow accommodation is a common source of trouble. Too many sows in a pen or paddock leads to parasite building-up and various psychological upsets in the groups which may result in dirty habits, loss of weight and bullying.A common mistake on outdoor systems is to have a communal feeding paddock for sows from all the different paddocks.The feeding paddock is under considerable danger from parasites and pathogen build-up. It also invariably becomes very muddy and may lead to damaged feet and udders.What are these psychological factors? Sows are usually moved into their maternity quarters some time before farrowing to allow them to become used to their new surroundings and adapt, to a small extent, to the potentially dangerous agents in their new environment.This should be at least a week before farrowing as three or four days is not enough. It would equally be better to wash the udder immediately before […]
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN PREGNANT SOWS
