When do piglets wean?

At present, the weaning days used in pig farms around the world are 2 1, 24, 28 and 35 days.

It is suggested that pig farms should be weaned at the age of 24 days, which can ensure the production utilization rate of sows, benefit the growth of piglets in the later period and reduce the incidence rate. However, rural free-range households with poor hardware facilities still recommend weaning at the age of 28 days or 35 days, especially in winter, to ensure the survival rate of newborn piglets first.

Details are as follows:

First, 2 1 day weaning

2 1 year weaning is the time adopted by some large-scale pig farms at present. Weaning at this age can maximize the utilization rate of sows, shorten the lactation period of sows, and improve the annual parity of sows. However, the endometrial recovery of 2 1 year-old weaned sows is not complete, which is not conducive to estrus, pregnancy and farrowing of the next fetus. Then when piglets were weaned at 2 1 day, all organs of the body were underdeveloped and the body resistance was extremely low. After the maternal antibody of piglets disappears, there will be a large area of disease.

Weaning at 2.24 days old

Some large-scale pig farms also adopt 24-day-old weaning, because the endometrium of 24-day-old weaned sows has basically recovered, and piglets can be more robust after breastfeeding for 3 days. Moreover, it has little effect on the utilization rate of sows, so many large-scale pig farms are weaned from 2 1 year to 24 years old.

Weaning at 3.28 days and 35 days.

Some rural free-range households mostly adopt this weaning age, because the hardware facilities of pig houses of free-range households are relatively poor, which can not meet the requirements of temperature and other hardware for early weaning of piglets. At this time, the requirements of weaned piglets are not so high. However, weaning at the age of 28 days will reduce the production utilization rate of sows.

Extended data:

Physiological characteristics of piglets

Be intolerant of low temperature

Newborn piglets are very sensitive to the decrease of environmental temperature because of their low energy reserves and incomplete hormonal regulation of energy metabolism. Newborn piglets are small in size, relatively large in body surface area per unit weight, lacking dense coat and underdeveloped in subcutaneous fat, so their body temperature loses quickly and recovers slowly in low temperature environment. The optimum temperature of piglets is about 35℃ within 6 hours after birth, 32 ~ 34℃ within 2 days, and it can be gradually reduced from 30℃ to 25℃ after 7 days.

Incomplete digestive function

Although the digestive organs of Miao pigs have been formed in the embryonic period, their structure and function are not perfect. With the growth and development of Miao pig, the development and digestive function of its digestive organs have a series of obvious age characteristics. The digestive system of piglets grows fastest during lactation, and the stomach weight at 60 days old is about 150g, which is about 50 times that at birth. The digestive organs of Miao pigs not only develop with age, but also are influenced by feeding and feed.

Rapid growth and development

Piglets grow fast because of their vigorous metabolism, especially protein metabolism and calcium and phosphorus metabolism, which are much higher than those of adult pigs. At the age of 20 days after birth, the protein per kilogram of body weight is 30 ~ 35 times that of adult pigs, and the net metabolic energy per kilogram of body weight is 3 times that of adult pigs. Therefore, the demand of piglets for nutrients is high in quantity and quality, and they are particularly sensitive to malnourished feed. So it is necessary to ensure the supply of various nutrients for piglets. Piglets generally weigh 1 ~ 1.5 kg at birth. After two months' rearing, the weight can reach15 ~ 20kg, which is more than times of 10.

Congenital immune deficiency

Eating enough colostrum after birth is one of the key measures to prevent the disease and improve the survival rate of piglets. Piglets prone to illness have no innate immunity at birth, because immune antibody is a macromolecular γ-globulin. In the embryonic stage, the maternal blood vessels and fetal umbilical arteries are separated by 6 ~ 7 layers of tissues, which limits the transmission of maternal antibodies to the fetus through blood. Therefore, piglets have no innate immunity at birth and cannot produce antibodies themselves. Only after eating colostrum, the mother's antibody is transmitted to piglets through colostrum, and then immunity is obtained by producing antibodies by itself.

References:

Piggy-Baidu Encyclopedia