Kody Hanner
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Why you should process piglets on your farm or homestead.
Processing is giving shots, castrating, clipping teeth, and clipping the tails of piglets, often within 48 hours of birth. This must be done promptly to avoid issues with the piglet’s health, now and in the future.
Many fairs and livestock shows require some of the things that are done when piglets are processed. Many of these things cannot be accomplished later or would require surgical intervention from a veterinarian. Reduced infections, injuries, disease prevention, and proper growth are all considerations when putting together your piglet protocol.
When should you process piglets?
Piglets must have iron shots within 48 hours of birth, so I try to go ahead and process them all at the same time. Once they are dry, nursing well, and moving around is when we get going. The earlier they have everything done, the less traumatic and easier to handle them. Piglets are stronger than you think!
How to give shots when processing piglets
Make sure they are tightly secured to reduce injury. Give an iron injection under the skin (subcutaneously, SQ) behind the ear. Do not give the shot in the ham as it may cause abscesses and ruin the meat. Iron shots are very important because piglets do not start producing iron right way and sows milk is deficient. We always give an antibiotic shot because our pigs are raised on dirt, so we want to reduce infection. Also, give the piglets as well as the sow antibiotics anytime the sow has a stillborn piglet.
How to clip teeth
Piglets have eight extremely sharp teeth at birth called needle teeth. These teeth need to be clipped so that they do not injure the sow while nursing or each other while playing. Flip the piglet over (still holding securely) Pinch their mouth open back by their jaw or wedge open a stick perpendicular to the jaw. Using snips, snip the needle teeth at the piglet’s jaw line. Make sure to get all 8 teeth!
How to castrate piglets when processing
Any boars that will not be retained for breeding need to be castrated. Flip the piglet over (still holding securely) and pin its legs up so that its testicles are bulging out. Using a scalpel, slit open the scrotum (sac) just large enough to slip the testicle out of the hole. Gripping the testicle with the vas deferens (tube) between two fingers, pull quick. This makes sure that the blood flow is pinched off and reduced the rest of heavy bleeding. Spray wound with iodine or other antiseptic spray.
How to process piglets (tail and ears).
For breeding records, many farms notch ears for identification purposes. We use tags at weaning for piglets that are going for show. If a piglet will be going to a feed lot, raised in highly populated quarters, or going to a livestock show the tail will need to be clipped. This is done so that other pigs do not chew on it causing injuries and infections. Clip the tails using snips about 2-3 inches long. Do not cut too short, otherwise it can cause problems in the rear legs.
After you process piglets
Put piglets back in with the sow immediately after processing to nurse. Watch piglets for any fever or difficulty walking. If you see anything that concerns you, contact a veterinarian. Piglets will scream like they are dying (they aren’t). This is a simple and easy task once you get the hang of it, to the point that my three teenagers not only did this on their own, but they also did all the video!
I handle any required vaccines and worming at weaning.
A great guide that I reference as needed is the Storey’s Guide to Raising Pigs.
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