Scabies in pigs: what to do and how to treat, pathogen and symptoms

Animal farmers often encounter scabies in pigs. It seems to many that this is a non-serious disease that can even be left untreated. However, treatment of scabies is a must, as it causes a lot of discomfort to piglets.

The causative agent of scabies

Before you start treating a disease, you need to get to know its causative agent in more detail. In young animals, scabies appears due to an intradermal mite. This parasite looks like most ordinary mites, but its body length does not even reach one millimeter. His body has an oval shape, it is slightly flattened.Parasites have chewing mouthparts, thanks to which they gnaw through the skin surface and penetrate inside it.

First, the parasites enter the surface layer of the skin epidermis. Then they create special passages in it that allow them to move around. During the movement, the females begin to lay eggs under the skin. Over the course of her life, each female leaves behind about sixty eggs. Over time, small larvae appear from them. After a week and a half, they grow into adults that are able to fertilize.

Adult mites come to the surface of the skin and fertilize the female. Then they make new moves under the skin and re-lay eggs in it. This is repeated until the piglet dies.

Causes of infection

People who want to breed guinea pigs should be familiar with the causes of scabies. The main source of infection for small and adult pigs are piglets affected by ticks.In some already grown boars, the disease is asymptomatic and therefore it is difficult to determine whether they are sick with something or not. Such animals pose a serious threat to the entire livestock. Therefore, if piglets itch too often, it is necessary to isolate them from the rest of the herd and observe them.

The spread of the disease is carried out after contact of sick animals with he althy ones. Often sows infect small suckling pigs that feed on mother's milk. Sometimes itch mites get into the pigsty through people's clothes or through equipment that is used inside the barn. Also, rodents can be carriers of scabies, which often penetrate pigsties and dig holes in them. If there are many mice and rats in the room, the probability of infection with scabies is 95-100%. Therefore, it is recommended to regularly disinfect the barn and get rid of rodents.

Symptoms of disease in pigs

In order to timely diagnose scabies in piglets, you need to familiarize yourself with the main symptoms of the disease. At first, the disease does not manifest itself in any way, and the animal looks quite he althy. However, over time, redness appears on the surface of the skin in the form of red dots. These are the places where the mites have begun to penetrate the skin. Many farmers do not pay attention to such red marks. In summer, they are mistaken for insect bites. However, the red spots that appear during scabies are different, for example, from mosquito bites. Itchy marks are arranged in pairs on the skin, not individually.

Gradually, red spots spread throughout the body of piglets. Most often they appear near the snout, behind the ears and near the eyes. If you do not treat scabies, scabs appear in places with redness. Then sarcoptic mange appears all over the body and begins to itch intensely. Because of this, some pigs develop neurological disorders, they become more aggressive.Sometimes sick animals attack people.

If the above symptoms are ignored and treated, sick piglets may die.

Diagnostic Methods

You can diagnose the disease by the symptoms that appear in sick piglets. However, to confirm the diagnosis, special laboratory tests will have to be carried out. To confirm the diagnosis, skin scrapings taken from affected areas with scab are sent to the laboratory. Ear scrapings can also be taken as they can be used to make a more accurate diagnosis.

If the first time it was not possible to confirm the presence of parasites, you will have to re-examine. It is done no earlier than three weeks later. In this case, skin scrapings are also sent for analysis. If scabies is suspected, a differential diagnosis should be made. This will help rule out other diseases with similar symptoms.

These include the following:

dermatitis;
lichen;
lice;
demodecosis.

How to treat scabies in pigs

Before you start treating the disease, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic methods for eliminating scabies.

Pharmacy products

To cure the disease, you can use special pharmacy products. Among the most effective drugs are the following:

"Doramectin". Many veterinarians use Doramectin to treat scabies in piglets. It is an injectable that is administered subcutaneously. The recommended dosage should not exceed 0.3 milligrams for every 35 kilograms of body weight. Injections must be given every two weeks. During treatment with Doramectin, it is contraindicated to give piglets other pharmaceuticals.
"Ivermectin". It is a universal feed additive suitable for young gilts and adult piglets. It is added to feed no more than once a week. The dosage is 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of pig body weight.
"Acaricide". This product is used for spraying animals. Before carrying out the procedure, it is necessary to remove all inventory, bedding, leftover food, water and feeders from the pigsty. This is done so that in the future the pigs do not accidentally get poisoned. Spraying is carried out every seven days for a month.
"Tactician". This drug is also used for spraying. However, with its help, not animals are processed, but the floors and walls of the pigsty. This will help kill any mites that may be living inside the barn. Before using Tactics, it is diluted with water. To do this, 10 milliliters of the drug are dissolved in ten liters of liquid.

Folk treatments

Sometimes people do not have the opportunity to use pharmacy drugs. In this case, you can use no less effective folk remedies:

Gunpowder with sour cream. During the preparation of the remedy, the ingredients are mixed in a ratio of three to one. The mixture is then infused for three hours, after which the affected skin with scabs is treated with it.
Garlic tincture. To prepare the tincture, you need to mix 100 grams of chopped garlic with 450 milliliters of mustard oil. The mixture is boiled and boiled for half an hour. When it cools, it is used to treat damaged skin.
Hellebore. The roots of the plant are crushed and mixed with melted lard. Then the liquid is left to cool, after which it is applied to areas of skin with spots. Do not rub the product into the skin strongly, as this will make it itchy even more.
Laundry soap. It is pre-rubbed on a grater and added to boiling water. Then crushed garlic and onions are poured into the solution. Everything is stirred, insisted for half an hour and used to rub the skin.

Scabies Prevention

There are the following preventive measures to help avoid scabies:

do not breed piglets in unsuitable premises;
check animals regularly for parasites;
add more calcium-rich foods to your diet;
examine animals regularly;
periodically wash pigs in warm water;
monitor the air humidity inside the barn;
treat premises with drugs to kill parasites.

Conclusion

Scabies is a common disease that often occurs in pigs. Before curing animals, you need to understand the features of this disease, as well as familiarize yourself with the main remedies for scabies.