Sweetened
Herd Master
Hello everyone!
We purchased a bred sow April of 2016. She had a litter of 12 and I just couldnt trust her. While we never had an actual problem with her, sometimes you just get that feeling. We sold her when the piglets were 6 weeks. She REFUSED to eat anything except grass (literally starved herself and started losing weight), so I fastidiously pulled grass every day, enough to keep a 500lb sow with babes in good condition. All the grass clippings went in with her etc. I always had grain in for the piglets but they ate very little. When she was shipped, her piglets came off feed entirely until i got them out into an overgrown garden and through grain amongst the plants and dirt.
These guys became so overloaded with worms, on top of stunting themselves from coming off feed, and they have been chronic ever since. Our berk boar, who is in with them and was born in july (the gilts i retained were born in may) is 250lbs, fat and healthy. The gilts are 110lbs, 100lbs and 45(!!!!!!) Lbs respectively. I have to worm them CONSTANTLY to see any growth at all. Again, the boar seems uneffected. Our purchased feeder pigs this year also were very wormy, and made weight about 2 months after they should have. We expect longer growth times as we do not feed commercial hog ration.
I went to buy replacements from a neighbour who got into pigs a year and a half ago, and his april 2016 born pigs are 45lbs at MOST!
If pigs CONSTANTLY need to be dewotmed, I really dont want to be raising them, but then I look at my boar and he doesnt have this issue... is there a way to keep the worm load down in pigs without this perpetual deworming cycle that im concerned is making things worse for them? I was reading about supplementing their minerals and read the red coloured Diatomaceous earth is helpful with that from the trace nutrients in the bentonite clay that gives it its red colour. I have had great success worming dogs, cats, poultry/waterfowl and goats with this when offered free choice or mixed into food... has anyone found this to work with pigs?
Also, any input on spurring growth in stunted pigs?
Thanks!
We purchased a bred sow April of 2016. She had a litter of 12 and I just couldnt trust her. While we never had an actual problem with her, sometimes you just get that feeling. We sold her when the piglets were 6 weeks. She REFUSED to eat anything except grass (literally starved herself and started losing weight), so I fastidiously pulled grass every day, enough to keep a 500lb sow with babes in good condition. All the grass clippings went in with her etc. I always had grain in for the piglets but they ate very little. When she was shipped, her piglets came off feed entirely until i got them out into an overgrown garden and through grain amongst the plants and dirt.
These guys became so overloaded with worms, on top of stunting themselves from coming off feed, and they have been chronic ever since. Our berk boar, who is in with them and was born in july (the gilts i retained were born in may) is 250lbs, fat and healthy. The gilts are 110lbs, 100lbs and 45(!!!!!!) Lbs respectively. I have to worm them CONSTANTLY to see any growth at all. Again, the boar seems uneffected. Our purchased feeder pigs this year also were very wormy, and made weight about 2 months after they should have. We expect longer growth times as we do not feed commercial hog ration.
I went to buy replacements from a neighbour who got into pigs a year and a half ago, and his april 2016 born pigs are 45lbs at MOST!
If pigs CONSTANTLY need to be dewotmed, I really dont want to be raising them, but then I look at my boar and he doesnt have this issue... is there a way to keep the worm load down in pigs without this perpetual deworming cycle that im concerned is making things worse for them? I was reading about supplementing their minerals and read the red coloured Diatomaceous earth is helpful with that from the trace nutrients in the bentonite clay that gives it its red colour. I have had great success worming dogs, cats, poultry/waterfowl and goats with this when offered free choice or mixed into food... has anyone found this to work with pigs?
Also, any input on spurring growth in stunted pigs?
Thanks!