Young pigs are characterized by increased sensitivity to negative environmental influences. As a result, even minor health problems can cause a sharp slowdown in growth and even death of the animal. At the same time, a special place among such problems is occupied by disorders that cause digestive disorders, evidence of which is diarrhea in piglets. When it occurs, action must be taken immediately.
Diarrhea in pigs
Causes of diarrhea
Diarrhea in pigs can have extremely negative consequences for animals. In addition, the disorder of the digestive function in most cases occurs against the background of more serious problems of the body. The causes of its occurrence in piglets can be:
- Infectious diseases. According to their diet, pigs are not very picky animals. In addition to the main feeding, they can also pick up the remains of carrion, various foreign objects, missing food waste during walking. All this can become a source of infection in the intestines.
- Poisoning with toxic compounds. If within the free movement of animals there is access to toxic substances (paint, varnishes, solvents, various disinfectants) or plants, they may well feast on them. As a result – severe poisoning with indigestion.
- An unbalanced diet, a sudden change in diet, or excessive portions leading to overeating. All of these points can also cause diarrhea in piglets. If they are not eliminated in time, this will greatly affect the growth and development of young animals in the future.
- Non-compliance with sanitary standards when keeping animals.
Diarrhea in piglets
During the diagnosis of the main cause of the development of indigestion in young animals, it is also important to pay attention not to their age. Each age group of piglets is more or less resistant to various negative factors. Therefore, this moment should be taken into account.
newborns
For newborn piglets, diarrhea is a particularly dangerous disorder. Most often, its cause is an infection that has developed in the body of the sow at the time of pregnancy. At the same time, the disease could be transmitted to young animals both during pregnancy and when breastfeeding.
The disease is transmitted through breastfeeding
In a newborn offspring, immunity is still at the stage of formation, which means that the animal cannot yet resist the infection on its own. That is why the greatest mortality of young animals occurs in the period immediately after birth. Appearing diarrhea can kill a piglet within half a day. Because of this, action must be taken immediately upon discovery. Moreover, in parallel with the offspring, the mother of the family should also be treated.
If the sow has been cured, antibodies begin to develop in her body that allow her to fight the infection on her own. They are passed along with milk to piglets, which significantly speeds up the process of their recovery.
Sosunov
In sucklings, indigestion can also be caused by an infected sow. But, in addition to this, other negative factors can also cause diarrhea. The main ones are:
- Failure to comply with the norms of nutrition of the uterus. Too much food or an imbalance in it will cause her to produce too much milk. At the same time, diarrhea occurs in young animals due to overeating.
- Non-observance of the optimal temperature regime. If it is cold in the part of the pigsty where the sucklings are kept with their mother, they can develop various diseases and disorders, including diarrhea.
Attention! It is possible to prevent such a development of events by feeding animals immediately after birth with boiled water with a small amount of potassium permanganate. It will help normalize the condition of the intestines.
In grown-ups
In older young animals, diarrhea most often develops due to an unbalanced diet. Pigs tend to eat more than they need. In case of a lack of certain elements or vitamins in the feed, animals try to make up for it by increasing the total amount of food eaten. As a result, the stomach and intestines cannot digest all the incoming food and disturbances develop in their work.
In grown-ups, the intestines do not cope well with fresh grass
This problem also arises with a sharp transition to a new food for the piglet. Especially bad at this stage of development of the animal, his intestines cope with fresh grass. It is not digested in the stomach of grown piglets in a freshly slanted form. Therefore, it is worth giving it to animals only after the greens lie down a bit and wither. At the time of treatment of young animals, it is better to exclude grass from the diet.
Treatment of diarrhea
Early detection of diarrhea in piglets is the key to the effectiveness of any treatment procedures. This is especially true for a newborn offspring. Therefore, constant supervision of the developing young is necessary.
The first thing to do when identifying loose stools in animals is to change the feeding pattern. Further, the piglet is provided with a thick warm bedding. It can be reheated from time to time. Heat will have a beneficial effect on the restoration of normal bowel function.
Feeding on the first day is completely excluded. Fasting will give the digestive system a chance to recover. Instead of food, the piglet must be given plenty of water, since diarrhea is accompanied by severe dehydration, which in most cases is the cause of death of the young. Water can be replaced with various decoctions, as well as alternate its supply with feeding the animal with a solution of salt and sugar, one spoonful of which is diluted in a glass of warm boiled water. Such a tool will help restore the water and salt balance in the body.
On the second day, the animal is already given half the usual feed rate. But it is divided into at least 6 small portions, which are given throughout the day. So, it will be easier for the stomach to cope with food. Such feeding continues until the complete recovery of the young. The diet at this time is dominated by liquid corn porridge, wheat bran-based talkers, high-quality compound feed, carrots in large quantities.
Medicated
After the basic points of feeding and maintenance are observed, one should proceed to drug treatment. The main component of such treatment are fastening preparations. These include:
- Biovit. The composition contains all the vitamins and minerals necessary to restore the function of the digestive system. The dosage calculation is based on the age and weight of the animal. Newborn individuals are prescribed no more than 1,5 g per 1 kg of weight. For 4-month-old piglets, the rate rises to 15 g per kilogram of weight. The drug is given once a day for 7 days.
- Brovaseptol. It has a firming effect. Presented in powder form. It is given to animals together with feed with a volume of 30 g per 10 kg of food. The course of treatment is at least 3 days.
- “Brovaform”. The drug is also available in powder form. It can be given to animals with water in a proportion of 1 kg per 1000 kg of liquid or with food (2 kg per 1000 kg of compound feed). Treatment lasts for 5 days.
Brovaseptol
In addition to the main therapeutic agents, you can also give the animal the drug “Smecta” or activated charcoal. Their adsorbing effect will help to remove toxins from the body that have accumulated due to improper digestion of food. A good therapeutic effect is given by Amoxicillin and Akolan.
Treatment within the first three days should give positive results. If this does not happen, the violation is most likely associated with a developing disease. In this case, sulfonamides and probiotics can act as an alternative to the agents listed above.
Folk remedies
The most effective treatment for diarrhea is with the right combination of medications with traditional medicine. Among the latter, various decoctions and infusions are especially popular. They can be based on:
- Oak root. Differs in the high fastening effect. Prepare a decoction in the proportion of 100 g of dry product per 1 liter of water. The resulting composition is given to the animal three times before meals, 5 ml not 1 kg of body weight.
- Rice. A decoction of rice is prepared in the same ratio of water and dry matter. The mixture is thoroughly boiled, after which the liquid is poured into a separate container and cooled. Give 3 times a day before meals. The liquid well envelops the intestines, relieving irritation and normalizing digestion.
- Hay. Vitamin infusions are prepared from dried herbs. To do this, crushed hay is poured with hot, but not boiling, water (5-6 liters of liquid for each kilogram of hay). Then the container is tightly closed and infused for 24 hours. Then the resulting liquid is slightly heated and the piglets are fed with it.
- Chamomile. An infusion based on it relieves inflammation, kills pathogenic bacteria. Prepare the product in the ratio of 100 g of a mixture of flowers per 1 liter of liquid. It is given to young animals 4 times a day.
- Sea buckthorn. The broth is prepared in the proportion of 20 g per 0,5 l of boiling water.
Sea buckthorn
Raw eggs are also effective. A certain amount of them is broken into a container convenient for mixing, after which everything is thoroughly beaten. The resulting product is given to animals. Piglets eat such food with pleasure. At the same time, it has a positive effect on the treatment of diarrhea and envelops the intestines.
Prevention
Preventive measures to prevent diarrhea are to normalize nutrition and living conditions. The main points in this regard are the following:
- A balanced diet containing all the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Can be supplemented with various additives.
- Strict adherence to the established meal schedule.
- Smooth transition to a new diet. The longer the transition period lasts, the less likely it is that indigestion will occur.
- If food prepared for animals shows signs of mold or rot, such food is immediately discarded, and fresh supplies are poured into the pigs.
- Compliance with the correct processing of feed before serving. Food waste must undergo long-term heat treatment, cereals must be moistened with a sufficient amount of liquid, the entire composition of the diet should be thoroughly crushed.
- Compliance with established sanitary standards in the pigsty. This includes warmth, dryness, cleanliness, absence of drafts.
- Permanent access to abundant quantity of clean and warm water.
Conclusion
The development of diarrhea in young animals can cause serious losses in the livestock. Such an undesirable outcome can be prevented by effective preventive measures or timely and correct treatment. Therefore, every breeder must know exactly what causes sudden diarrhea in young animals, how to avoid them, and how to deal with them.
