Why piglets grow poorly and gain weight: reasons and what to do

With proper care and normal development, young pigs reach a weight of 100 kg by the age of six months. However, not everything always goes according to plan. There are deviations from the norm, provoked by various factors and reasons. In this case, the farmer begins to wonder why the young piglets grow poorly and gain weight. It is not so easy to give an answer to it, since there are quite a few reasons for the developmental delay of pigs.

Causes of poor growth of piglets and methods for solving problems

Growth and rapid weight gain in young piglets depend primarily on appetite and diet.An animal's poor appetite is the result of many negative factors, which include not only diseases and metabolic disorders, but also a banal vitamin deficiency, malnutrition or improper care conditions.

Vitamin deficiency

In the case when the growing body of a piglet does not receive the required amount of microelements and the necessary vitamins, the animal begins to lag behind in development, and gains weight weakly. A special place in this is given to vitamin D, which is vital for the piglet in the early stages. Its deficiency is observed mainly in those animals that are rarely allowed to walk or are generally deprived of such an opportunity.

If nothing is done and the problem is left to chance, then a disease such as rickets may develop. It leads to deformation of the bone tissue.

Vitamin D deficiency can be compensated by adding fish oil to piglet feed. You also need to regularly take walks in the fresh air in the sun so that the animals receive ultraviolet radiation. In the cold season, a lamp with ultraviolet radiation is fixed in the pigsty.

Veterinarians solve the problem of beriberi by prescribing injections that promote the establishment of phosphorus-calcium metabolism. Vitamin A deficiency also negatively affects the state of the body. The skin of the pigs becomes dry, digestion is disturbed, there are failures in the respiratory process. In this case, pumpkin, carrots and germinated grain should be added to the animal feed.

The lack of vitamin B is manifested not only in the inhibition of growth, but also in violation of the heart and blood vessels. To get rid of the problem, it is necessary to saturate the diet of piglets with legumes, bran, add yeast. They also need to be fed fish and flax meal.

Helminths

Pigs often suffer from various types of helminths. In the body of an animal, such types of worms can parasitize, such as:

nematodes;
Ascaris;
protozoa.

The result of their activities is exhaustion, intoxication, loss of appetite. Helminths take away a significant part of the nutrients from the young organism, because the piglet cannot grow and develop normally. You can identify parasites after the animal's excrement is handed over to the laboratory for analysis. In case of detection of eggs of worms, the veterinarian prescribes a course of treatment with antiparasitic agents.

Experienced farmers recommend prophylactic deworming once every 6 months. Once the parasites are eradicated, the pigs will regain their appetite and begin to gain weight.

Anemia

If a young piglet at a certain age has not been vaccinated with iron preparations, then his risk of becoming anemic is significantly increased. Wild pigs make up for the deficiency of this element from the soil, but domestic animals are deprived of this opportunity.From the sow, they get only a sixth of the required amount of the substance.

The result of iron deficiency is a decrease in hemoglobin. The blood is poorly saturated with oxygen, because of which all processes in the body slow down. This is fraught with loss of appetite and weight gain. Severe cases lead to the death of piglets. To avoid trouble, starting from the fifth day of life, young animals begin to inject preparations containing iron.

Pellagra

This disease is interconnected with a deficiency of vitamins in the body of a piglet. In particular, these are B vitamins, proteins and acids (these include tryptophan and nicotinamide). A catastrophic lack of these components provokes metabolic disorders in the body. You can recognize the problem by the following symptoms:

appearance of a rash, swelling and peeling on the skin;
skin scabs and cracks over time;
when the rash spreads to the oral cavity, abundant salivation is observed;
loss of appetite;
replacement of constipation with diarrhea with mucus secretion.

Pellagra is a dangerous disease that often leads to the death of piglets. Treatment is reduced to compensation for the deficiency of essential substances. The necessary medicines can be prescribed by the veterinarian in the form of injections, since urgent measures are required. Along with drug therapy, it is recommended to review the diet of pigs.

Unhe althy diet

Often the reason that piglets are slowly gaining weight is malnutrition. Also, a properly composed diet is the fundamental basis for the prevention of beriberi. The feed should contain a set of all the nutrients and trace elements necessary for the body. It is necessary to pay attention not only to the quality of food, but also to its taste characteristics.Piglets may refuse to eat just because they don't like the food. Flavors such as: help stimulate appetite

sugar;
s alt;
mustard;
essential oils;
lactic acid.

In order for the animals to eat the offered food with pleasure, it should be crushed and the cereals boiled. To prevent intestinal disorders, food is given slightly warm, since the intestines of piglets are tender. The quality of feed also plays an important role. In no case should you feed sour porridge or moldy grain to pigs. Such a diet leads not only to intestinal disorders, but also to poisoning, more serious diseases.

Poor living conditions and care

The weight gain and growth of piglets depend not only on the diet, but also on the conditions of detention.If the pigsty is cool and damp, then you should not expect rapid development and good growth from animals. Minimum temperature readings should not fall below +18 С.

If this happens, then most of the energy of animals will be spent on heating their bodies, and not on growth.

The normal humidity in a pigsty is 50-70%. If it is exceeded, then the piglets begin to get sick, and there is no talk of a good set of mass. In this case, due attention must be paid to ventilation. Dangerous gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide accumulate in a poorly ventilated area. They provoke the development of diseases in piglets, a deterioration in appetite. Due to inadequate housing conditions, young animals are constantly in a stressful state. Also, negative factors that provoke a deterioration in appetite include:

cramped space;
insufficient lighting;
regrouping piglets;
shipping.

Pathologies and methods of their treatment

Congenital pathologies are often the causes of poor weight gain in piglets. In particular, they may have a malocclusion, or the offspring was born as a result of related mating. Due to malocclusion, pigs are unable to chew their food properly. They prefer liquid food, as a result of which full growth becomes impossible. The location of the teeth should be checked immediately after childbirth or when buying young animals. The top and bottom teeth should be in line.

The offspring reproduced in the process of related mating have various he alth problems and are not able to develop normally. Young animals should be purchased only from a nursery or from reliable sellers.

Features of Vietnamese piglets

Vietnamese piglets have a smaller stomach than traditional white breeds. In addition, they have a different structure of the gastrointestinal tract. For rapid weight gain, they should not be fed coarse hog food. The key to rapid weight gain with Vietnamese pigs is:

correctly selected diet and diet;
proper care and living conditions;
outdoor walking.

Experienced experts advise castrating young animals so that they gain weight faster. As a result, hormonal changes begin in the body, the piglet becomes calmer.