Better Pork - August 2016

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20 August 2016
Pork News & Views
It is important to be able to isolate, treat, and
flush your water system especially if you are
in continuous production. An investment in
manifolds, ball valves, and faucets can help
accomplish this. You will need a bypass for
chemical injectors and medicators, valves to
isolate lines for treatment, and faucets at the
end of lines to flush “descalers”, acidifiers, etc.
If you are using a hydrogen peroxide treat-
ment as a “descaler” (such as Proxi-Clean) you
will need to add a length of hose at the end of
a flush line to prevent the lines from bursting
(Figure 2).
Water is considered the last nutritional
frontier. Ontario has a lot of water but not all
of it is suitable for livestock. If you would not
drink the water why would you let your pigs
drink it? Poor quality water has impacts on
herd health, productivity, gestation, weaned
pig average, weight gain, etc. You have high
quality genetics, with high quality feed and
high quality management; do not sabotage
your herd with low quality water or lack of
water line maintenance.
With special thanks to Dr. Susan Watkins for
the introduction and information used in
this article based on her article, ‘Water Line
Sanitation’.
References
Watkins, S. (2007, August). Water Line Sanita-
tion. Retrieved June 30, 2016, from Avigen:
Broiler_Breeder_Tech_Articles/English/AviaT-
ech_WaterLineSanitation_Aug07.pdf
Al Dam, Poultry Specialist, Amanda Bordin
and Sabrina McDonald 519-824-4120 ext.
54326
Group Sow Housing Seminar in
September
A seminar is planned for September in
Stratford. Speakers will include producers,
researchers, and others.
Tuesday September 6th , 4:30-9:00pm. For
producers who are already using group
housing for gestating sows:
Wednesday September 7th , 9:00am-
3:30pm followed by social time. For
producers who are planning the move to
group housing:
For details visit
and other information on group housing and
the National Sow Housing Conversion Project.
Pain Control for Castration and Tail
Docking Required as of July 1, 2016
Castration and tail-docking are common
procedures occurring in the Canadian swine
industry. Castration prevents boar taint,
reduces aggressive behaviour and minimizes
handling challenges often encountered with
intact males. Tail-docking helps to prevent
tail-biting, which is a significant welfare and
economic problem within the swine industry.
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association
(CVMA) states that castration is a painful pro-
cedure for swine at any age. Pain is defined as
an unpleasant sensory and emotional experi-
ence associated with tissue damage. The
CVMA recommends that, “when castration of
piglets is required, it should be performed
between the ages of three to seven days with
the use of appropriate analgesia.” The use of
an effective and approved analgesic is an im-
portant part of our commitment as caretakers
to eliminate or reduce unnecessary suffering
whenever possible. Furthermore, research
has shown that pigs recover more quickly
following painful procedures when analgesics
are provided.
As of July 1, 2016 the Code of Prac-
tice for the Care and Handling of Pigs
(NFACC, 2014) requires the use of anal-
gesics during castration and tail-docking
to help control post-procedure pain.
According to the Canadian Pork Council,
all producers registered on the CQA®
program must adhere to the existing
CQA® policy and all CQA® validators
will assess and verify their compliance
to the program.
Analgesic Versus Anesthetic
An analgesic is a type of drug that causes
pain relief. Analgesia can be given prior to a
procedure in order to provide pain control
throughout and after the procedure. Two
main analgesic classes are non-steroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs and corticosteroids. An
example of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
is Meloxicam.
An anesthetic is a drug used to depress
neurological function eliminating the sensa-
tion of pain. Lidocaine is an example of a
local anesthetic that could be used during
piglet castration. Anesthetics require time in
order to provide effective pain control. The
use of an anesthetic (in conjunction with an
analgesic) is required for pigs castrated after
10 days of age.
Products For Pain Control
Recently, a product has been approved for the
relief of post-operative pain associated with
minor surgery such as castration of piglets in
Canada. Consult with your veterinarian about
product availability, treatment options and
meeting CQA® requirements.
References
Code of Practice for the Care and Handling
of Pigs. 2014. National Farm Animal Care
Council.
Canadian Hog Producer Manual. 2007.
Canadian Quality Assurance Program.
Laura Eastwood, Swine Specialist
519-271-6280
Figure 2: Schematic of waterline with hydrogen peroxide products and hose at end to release gases produced
from product.