Some requirements for rearing backyard or hobby farm pigs

Introduction

With the movement of city people into rural areas, backyard pig raising has increased in popularity. To successfully keep and raise pigs you need to be aware of the following requirements.

Local Government approvals

Before bringing pigs onto your property contact you should all of the relevant organisations i.e. county council, defra, as licences may be necessary for movement of these animals.

Accommodation

For good pig welfare, an all-weather shed, which includes dry bedding for the pigs, is required. The shed should be able to be easily and effectively cleaned out by having a concrete or impervious floor. If an outside run is provided in addition to the shed, the run should not be grossly infested with poisonous plants. Thought should also be given to reducing the numbers of disease-causing organisms and to minimising erosion and possible pollution by pasture rotation or spelling.

Source of pigs

Pigs are best purchased from reputable piggeries. Avoid obtaining pigs from dubious sources.

Nutrition

The level of nutrition is dependent on age. Pigs should be fed at least once a day, with lactating sows, piglets and weaners more often. Creep feed is designed for piglets and other commercial feeds can be obtained for older pigs, for example specific sow and grower diets. Clean fresh water must be supplied at all times. This can be supplied with nipple or bowl drinkers. Larger and free-standing water containers are not suitable for pigs as they often get soiled and the water is easily spilled and so requires constant replacing.

Husbandry considerations

Farrowing

Sows should be provided with a suitable, separate farrowing area with straw bedding. Veterinary assistance should be sought if a sow encounters farrowing problems, or any of the post-farrowing problems such as a fever, shutdown of milk production or letdown, and constipation. Guard rails must be provided to avoid the crushing and overlaying of piglets by the sow.

Piglet rearing

Piglets require the following:

A heat source such as an infra red lamp hung above their enclosure by a chain (so that it won’t fall and start a fire). A kennel may be sufficient in mid-summer days, and the heat source can be directed into it and turned on when needed. They also need sufficient space to enable them to get away from the heat source when they wish. Watch how the pigs are lying - if huddled then they are cold, if spread far apart they are too hot.

Teeth clipping of ‘needle teeth’ should be done within two days of birth to prevent damage to the sow’s udder and to protect their littermates. Where pigs are reared entirely on concrete, an iron injection or an oral iron supplement should also be given.

Where indicated for the later management of pigs, castration should occur before six weeks of age. After this age, the welfare Code of Practice requires that a veterinarian using either a local or general anaesthetic conduct the operation.

Welfare

The quiet handling of pigs as well as being good animal welfare helps produce quieter pigs and higher productivity. Stressed pigs don’t perform well and are more susceptible to diseases.

Diseases and vaccinations

Erysipelas, parvovirus, and leptospirosis vaccinations should be given. Other common diseases of young pigs are coliform scours (colibacillosis), enzootic pneumonia and swine dysentery.  Good hygiene, appropriate housing and preventing contact with other potentially infected pigs can minimise the chances of these diseases occurring.

Exotic disease avoidance — the swill feeding ban

Swill feeding is the feeding of food or food scraps containing, or contaminated by, animal matter to pigs, poultry or ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats. Swill feeding is illegal because of the serious risk of introducing exotic diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease or Swine Vesicular Disease.

Running a few animals (or poultry) and using swill as a cheap source of stock feed is a dangerous practice that puts our national agricultural industries at risk. Even a tiny amount of left-over meat  could contain such a dangerous virus. This virus may find its way into swill that is fed to pigs, poultry or to other animals and establish an exotic disease in our livestock. Once a disease agent is introduced in this way, it could rapidly spread to susceptible local livestock.

Swill feeding has been implicated in overseas outbreaks of disease. Many viruses are highly resistant to chilling, freezing and curing. Experience has shown that even boiling swill may not destroy all disease organisms.

Diseases that can be introduced to pigs by feeding animal matter in swill include Foot and Mouth Disease, African Swine Fever, Classical Swine Fever, Aujeszky’s Disease, Swine Vesicular Disease, Vesicular Stomatitis and Transmissible Gastroenteritis (as well as Newcastle Disease in poultry).

If you see any pigs with foot or mouth lesions, contact your local veterinarian.

Conclusion

Pig rearing can be a rewarding and absorbing activity, but care is required as explained above.

Pig diseases guide

Introduction

The pig diseases guide is intended as a reference list of pig diseases. It is not intended as an aid for the diagnosis of pig diseases but to provide some basic information on diseases of which pork producers should be aware. It is recommended that a veterinarian be consulted for the diagnosis, treatment and control of disease in the pig herd. The recognition of disease is of prime importance, so that the adverse effect on production and the economic loss are kept to a minimum.

When an antibiotic is used for the treatment and control of a disease it is important to understand the reasons for its use, the correct dose rate and the withholding period (WHP) for the antibiotic. The WHP is the minimum period which must elapse between the last use of the antibiotic and the slaughter of the treated animal. Where antibiotics have been listed in the guide, the abbreviations following the word antibiotic stand for:

I - is injectable; O - is oral; W - is in-water medication; F - is in-feed medication

Other chemicals, eg. miticides, wormers and others also have a WHP which must be heeded to prevent the detection of chemical residues in pork.

Where vaccines have been listed for the prevention of disease, it is imperative that they be used to the manufacturers' recommendations. Otherwise, optimum vaccine antibody protection will not be produced and disease breakdowns may occur.

Table 1. Diseases of the preweaning period

Table 2. Diseases of the post weaning period

Table 3. Diseases of breeder pigs

Books of interest on pigs