Separated from the sow, mingled with new friends, transported in unfamiliar temperatures, and told to eat a solid diet. I mean, that is quite a bit of change for a young piglet. A myriad of stressors are being placed on these pigs, and yet, this is a critical time for them to set up a solid growth trajectory for themselves. While these piglets may be tough, solid management plans and well-developed health protocols only solidify their ability to thrive into finishing.

So, how can we help them?

Know their roots
A good portion of the health battle is knowing what you are up against. What were they exposed to at the sow farm? What were they not exposed to? What is prevalent in the area of the nursery site? What will they be exposed to from commingling herds? Were they creep fed?

Working closely with your veterinarian, a key portion of developing your transition plan involves understanding what happened in the first couple weeks of these piglet’s lives — and their
mom’s life.

Make sure they drink up
One of the early signs your pigs aren’t feeling well is their water intake. Monitoring for a drop in 24 hour water consumption will often indicate that there is something wrong, before they even start to show signs of clinical symptoms.

The basics of survivability, air, water and feed, should be your primary targets when you get these piglets moved. Issues in those areas add additional stressors that can make them more susceptible to pathogens that may move through your barn.

Snout to nose protection
Even if you do everything you can to minimize stress, some level of disease challenge is still likely to occur. Often, this shows up from the swine respiratory disease (SRD) family, but other pathogens, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), are starting to emerge more frequently when young pigs are susceptible. Your health plan should include both your prevention plan, as well as your treatment plan if, or more likely when, a challenge presents itself.

Your prevention strategy should be centered on minimizing the risk and impact of a disease challenge that could adversely affect pig production. Your plan should protect at two levels: what you know they will experience, and what they might experience. This circles back to knowing what you are up against. 

Don’t get stagnant. Herd health plans should be living documents that evolve with experience, as well as new developments and updates in technology.

Get to the bottom of any surprises
No prevention plan is perfect, or works 100% of the time. With this in mind, closely monitoring your herd down to the individual pig could protect your downstream profit. Once you have clinical signs in one pig, you may already have damage spreading through the barn. Early response is critical at every stage, but especially with young pigs.

Early response matters, however the correct response matters as well. Utilize your veterinarian and technical consultants to examine clinical signs and historical data to make a decision while you run any additional tests or diagnostics that are recommended.

The clinical signs, incidence rates and overall sense of urgency will help inform your next steps as well. Starting with your infected pig, often the first look will be to individual pig treatment, followed by a water soluble or feed additive for the whole herd.

Think of it as a today, tomorrow, two days and two weeks approach. If you need to treat today, you will likely choose an injectable. If the issue isn’t high mortality, you can pick a longer acting injectable or look for a water solution to get ahead of an outbreak. If there is more time, you can look at a feed solution. Then further down the line, a vaccine as a preventative if the diagnostics and herd health warrant it.

Research conducted by a nutrition company in an 18-month trial of more than 1,770 pigs found that piglets adapting well to weaning continued to perform well into the finishing stage. The study measured feed intake, how it translated into weight gain, and then how weaning weight trends carried into finishing. The research showed that:

• Weaning weight affected performance 32 days post-weaning. Every extra pound of
  weight a piglet put on at weaning equated to an increase of 1.8 pounds after weaning
• Weight gains 32 days post-weaning impacted finishing. Each additional pound of weight
  gain 32 days after weaning resulted in a 2.1 pound increase at day 110

Furthermore, when the weaning and post-weaning weight trends were taken together, producers could expect a 3.9 pound weight premium at finishing for each extra pound piglets gained during weaning. Conversely, researchers concluded that if a pig experiences performance disruptions from stage to stage it can take several days for them to make up the weight they failed to put on,
if they do at all.

This is a challenging, yet critically important time for young pigs to be set up for success or to be impacted through the rest of their productive days. Take a few minutes to review your management and health protocols, visit with your veterinarian and evaluate medication and technology options available in the industry — periodically hit the refresh button to make sure your protocols haven’t become stagnant or outdated.

Leverage your Elanco team to ensure you are getting the Full Value out of every pig. 

• For the control of swine respiratory disease associated with Pasteurella multocida and Haemophilus parasuis.
• For the control of swine respiratory disease associated with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in the presence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv) in groups of swine in buildings where a respiratory disease outbreak is diagnosed.

• Must be diluted before administration to animals. 
• Include in the drinking water to provide a concentration of 200 mg tilmicosin per liter
  (200 ppm). 
• One 960 ml bottle is sufficient to medicate 1200 liters (320 gallons) of drinking water
  for pigs. 
• The medicated water should be administered for (5) five consecutive days. 
• Use within 24 hours of mixing with water. 
• Do not use rusty containers for medicated water as they may affect product integrity. 
• When using a water medicating pump with a 1:128 inclusion rate, add 1 bottle (960 ml) of Pulmotil AC per 2.5 gallons of stock solution.

• Wear overalls, impervious gloves and eye protection when mixing and handling the product. Wash hands after handling the product. Wash affected parts if skin contact occurs. If accidental eye contact occurs, immediately rinse thoroughly with water.

• For use only in swine. Not for injection. Injection of tilmicosin has been shown to be fatal in swine and non-human primates, and may be fatal in horses and goats.
• Swine intended for human consumption must not be slaughtered within 7 days of treatment.
• Always treat the fewest number of animals necessary to control a respiratory disease outbreak. Prescriptions shall not be refilled.
• Concurrent use of Pulmotil AC and another macrolide by any route, or use of another macrolide immediately following this use of Pulmotil AC is not advised.
• Ensure that pigs have continuous access to medicated water during the treatment period. Monitor pigs for signs of water refusal and dehydration while being treated.

• For the treatment and control of swine respiratory disease (SRD) associated with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida, Haemophilus parasuis, Streptococcus suis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.
• For the control of colibacillosis in groups or pens of weaned pigs where colibacillosis associated with Escherichia coli has been diagnosed.

• Administer, either by intramuscular or subcutaneous (behind the ear) injection, a single dose of 7.5 mg/kg of body weight (3.4 mL/100lb). Administered dose volume should not exceed 5 mL per injection site.
• For the control of colibacillosis, administration should be initiated within the first 60 days post-weaning when clinical signs are present in at least 2% of the animals in the group. If no improvement is noted within 48 hours, the diagnosis should be reevaluated.

• Not for use in humans. Keep out of reach of children. 
• Avoid contact with eyes. In case of contact, immediately flush eyes with copious amounts of water for 15 minutes. 
• In case of dermal contact, wash skin with soap and water. Consult a physician if irritation persists following ocular or dermal exposures. 
• Individuals with a history of hypersensitivity to quinolones should avoid this product. In humans, there is a risk of user photosensitization within a few hours after excessive exposure to quinolones. If excessive accidental exposure occurs, avoid direct sunlight. 

• Increxxa Injectable Solution is indicated for the treatment of swine respiratory disease (SRD) associated with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Haemophilus parasuis, and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae; and for the control of SRD associated with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Pasteurella multocida, and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae in groups of pigs where SRD has been diagnosed.

• CAUTION: Federal (USA) law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.
• WARNINGS: FOR USE IN ANIMALS ONLY. NOT FOR HUMAN USE. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. NOT FOR USE IN CHICKENS OR TURKEYS.
• Swine intended for human consumption must not be slaughtered within 5 days from the last treatment.
• The effects of Increxxa on porcine reproductive performance, pregnancy, and lactation have not been determined. 
• Intramuscular injection can cause a transient local tissue reaction that may result in trim loss of edible tissue at slaughter.
• Store below 25°C (77°F), with excursions up to 40°C (104°F).
• 100 mL: Use within 2 months of first puncture and puncture a maximum of 67 times.
  If more than 67 punctures are anticipated, the use of multi-dosing equipment is recommended. When using a draw-off spike or needle with bore diameter larger than 16 gauge, discard any product remaining in the vial immediately after use.
• 250 mL and 500 mL: Use within 2 months of first puncture and puncture a maximum of 100 times. If more than 100 punctures are anticipated, the use of multi-dosing equipment is recommended. When using a draw-off spike or needle with bore diameter larger than 16 gauge, discard any product remaining in the vial immediately after use.