Pigs/Swine

General Recommendations

• Maintain a closed herd. Remember that bringing in new animals is the easiest way that disease is introduced to your animals. A "closed herd" means that you do not mix new animals into your resident animals and you do not reintroduce any resident animals who have been off your farm without a suitable isolation period.
• Whether you raise pigs outdoors or in confinement, maintain a low-stress environment by providing good nutrition and health care, adequate space, shade, and care in handling. Less disease occurs in animals raised in stress-free conditions.
• Use an "an all-in/all out" (AIAO) animal flow system. With AIAO, pigs are "sized" or separated into units of the same age and production stage and are always moved as a group, with no animals held over. This helps to prevent disease between groups of animals.
• Complete animal care duties in the order of least immune (e.g., younger pigs) before most immune (older animals). This will help to prevent spread of diseases. Keep excellent records for all animals and animal movements in and out of your farm. These records can assist you during an animal disease outbreak. Information should include the following:

• •  Individual identification
  • Origin (natural addition or purchased)
  • Vaccinations, parasite treatments
  • Test history
  • Clinical disease signs, treatments, cause of death or cull, etc.
  • Treatment dates and detailed records of antibiotic and other drug use - this will help you to observe mandatory withdrawal times.

• Monitor animals daily for signs of disease. When animals become ill, isolate them (see Facilities section) and notify your veterinarian. If disease develops, submit biological specimens, such as blood samples to test for certain viruses, to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory if the cause of disease is not obvious.
• Have a veterinarian/client/patient relationship that includes your veterinarian in all herd health decisions and not just when animals are sick. Work together to develop nutritional guidelines and vaccination, deworming, and other Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for different herd health tasks.
• Provide a separation between your herd and unrelated swine operations and away from a public road to avoid contact with passing animals. In addition, separate from other animal species on your farm.

• • Separate by as large a distance as is feasible as this will reduce airborne spread of pathogens. Many specific distances are recommended, such as a 300-yard minimum.
  • It is more important that the separation is functional. That is, the traffic of people and vehicles, equipment, etc., for one area should be as far apart as practical from the next area. You will likely be rewarded by this self-imposed inconvenience with less sickness in your animals. Place animals and buildings far enough apart to make it inconvenient for traffic of people and equipment.
  • Ensure enough separation to prevent nose-to-nose contact.

Resident Animals

Sows

• When possible select your breeding gilts from those gilts who were born to sows. Sows transmit more disease resistance to their piglets than gilts do so a gilt from a sow's litter should possess more disease resistance to pass along.
• Do not overfeed. Reduce feed intake just prior to farrowing and/or feed a laxative ration to prevent constipation.
• Monitor for diseased litters as this could be a sign that sow is a sub-clinical disease carrier.

Boars

• In general, do not overfeed. Increase feed only at breeding time.
• Provide adequate space and exercise between breeding periods Segregate boars. Boars must be lifetime companions to be housed together safely.
• Consistently use good stockmanship when handling boars. Stress-free handling can prevent young boars from becoming too timid to mate and can prevent dangerous behavior in older boars.
• Keep tusks clipped.
• Do not place the boar's sleeping area next to females. This "constant companionship" can reduce his libido and can make the females too accustomed to his hormones, making them less likely to show heat signs at breeding time. Perform a fertility check before breeding. This can include test mating, exam of reproductive organs and semen evaluation.
• Wait at least two months to breed if boar has had an illness with fever, as semen may have been affected temporarily.

Breeding

• Use artificial insemination (AI) when possible. This reduces risk of venereal diseases and can be more economical. Purchase semen from reliable sources with disease-free boars.
• Select stress-resistant boars from known sources if natural service is to be used.
• Assist as needed with natural service.
• Breed during cooler temperatures of the day. The boar's libido may be higher, animals will be more active, and females show more signs of heat in cooler temperatures.

Farrowing

• Prepare farrowing quarters ahead of time.
• If indoors, farrowing house should be clean, dry, and well ventilated without being drafty. This will help to reduce stress and will aid in disease prevention.
• Be present at farrowing if possible or monitor as closely as possible. This practice can save piglets. Monitor for stillborns and for crushing. Piglets with light birth weights may require supplemental care.
• Check the sow(s) for signs of illness daily (temperature 104 or greater, firm udder) for a few days.

Young Animals: Newborns, Weaning, Nursing

• Provide dry, warm and clean surroundings throughout the early days and weeks to keep these young animals healthy. Piglets are especially susceptible to development of diseases such as baby pig diarrhea (scours) during the first few days of age, at about three weeks, and at weaning.
• Ensure piglets receive colostrum soon after birth to absorb antibodies from their mothers (the only disease protection they have until approximately 4 to 5 weeks old).
• Perform piglet processing duties at the appropriate times in a clean environment (disinfecting navels, [careful clipping of needle teeth and ear-notching, if done], tail-docking, providing source of iron, cross-fostering if done). Change needles and other medical supplies between litters.
• Isolate nursery pigs from all older animals. Keep nursery piglets in groups within one to two weeks apart in age so they are not exposed to diseases from older animals.
• Begin feeding small amounts of a high-quality supplement ("creep feed") at one week and gradually increase supplementation.
• Perform castration before two weeks of age.
• Wean at a time that works best with your production schedule, or at a 10 to 15-pound weight. Avoid unnecessary stressful procedures at weaning since disease resistance is still low at this age.

Growing/Finishing

• Raise pigs in groups sorted by size in AIAO system.
• Provide dry, draft-free, well-ventilated area.
• Provide adequate space. Keep animals in groups of no more than 25 per pen.
• Monitor as needed by running blood samples for diseases of interest and those needed for disease control and eradication programs.
• Get information from periodic slaughter checks to evaluate your herd health programs (e.g., carcass condition, evidence of parasites and respiratory diseases).

New Animals

• Designate isolation/quarantine facilities for all new animals (refer to Facilities section).
• Purchase animals from individual sources with known and trusted health programs:
• Obtain written herd health information from source herd.
• Purchasing animals from sale yards presents a higher risk of disease introduction. You may not be able to acquire health histories from these animals.
• Keep animals in isolation no less than 30 days. Two months (60 days) is better.
• Test new animals for diseases of concern (at beginning and end of isolation).
• Observe for signs of disease while in isolation unit. If sentinel animals (from your resident population) are used, monitor them very closely.
• Conduct any planned acclimation procedures (including vaccination) during the latter half of the isolation period. Allow enough time for vaccine immunity to develop before moving animals out of isolation.
• Care for animals in isolation at end of work day.

• Install farm perimeter fencing.
• Limit access to your farm through gated entry sites. Consider placing an office or dwelling near main entry. Besides helping with security, an inhabited building can help to monitor for power failures on the site.
• Park all vehicles in designated areas, preferably on hard surfaces such as concrete or asphalt and away from animal facilities, feed storage and manure handling routes.
• Limit access to restricted areas within the farm.
• Direct vehicle routes on premises with signs and/or barriers. Barriers can be constructed with objects such as concrete blocks and poles.
• Post large signs with clear instructions about which areas are open to traffic, directions for delivery and service personnel, and special warnings including that this is a biosecure area.
• Lock all buildings, gates, and vehicles when not in use.
• Maintain repair of fences. Fences should keep animals away from roads and other farms, and should restrict access to feral swine.

Employees

• Check references and do background checks for all prospective employees.
• Train all employees to recognize signs of disease, alert supervisor of suspicious activities, and to understand and follow procedures within the biosecurity plan.
• Provide supervision to all new employees.
• Use an employee identification system.
• Whenever possible, restrict employee access to their respective work areas.
• Implement shower-in, shower-out protocols. If not shower-in, shower-out, ensure employees use regular procedures for hand washing and clothing/footwear changes, along with "downtime" between animal units. Dress code should include the following: long hair tied back, clean headcovers, no jewelry, snug-fitting eyeglasses.
• Maintain clean and "dirty'" areas for employees. Restrict personal items to employee storage units (such as lockers) in the "dirty" area. Do not allow employees to bring food items into animal areas, especially those processed in other countries where Transboundary Animal Diseases (TAD) are present, since some swine diseases remain in meat products.
• Require employees to work through groups of animals in a certain order, from clean to dirty, young to old, and healthy to sick, to reduce spreading disease to the more susceptible animals Require "downtime" (at least 24 hours) for employees before reentering the farm following contact with swine at other farms, livestock markets, or livestock fairs and shows. This downtime is increased (at least five days) if employees have just returned from other countries that have TADs to which swine are susceptible.
• Train employees in good animal handling techniques. Good stocksmanship adds to a positive environment that assists in maintaining animals' immunity against disease.

Visitors

• Visitors include routinely scheduled persons (veterinarians, haulers, fuel/feed deliveries, inseminators, vaccinators, utility readers, maintenance personnel, etc.) and non-routine, non-service persons (tours, salespeople, other cattle owners, and regulatory personnel) who visit your farm.
• Use only suppliers/haulers that follow biosecurity protocols. Insist that all off-farm service personnel complete training on basic biosecurity principles.
• Locate service areas for delivery and load-out away from animal areas, as close to farm perimeter as possible.
• Ideally, have a 'no visitor' policy for non-service visitors. If you allow visitors, follow these guidelines:

• • No person should enter your farm without your prior approval.
  • Provide visitor parking area at farm perimeter, separate from employee parking. Have visitors place a "Visitor" placard inside windshield while at the farm.
  • Require completion of a sign-in log (with name, address, phone numbers, purpose of visit, last contact with swine, which units entered). This information may be an important tool for you if a disease outbreak occurs.
  • Evaluate the level of risk associated with your visitors: Do they own animals? Do they move between farms? Will they have close contact with your animals? Have they recently returned from another country? Restrict entry to visitors until they have observed "downtime" (at least 24 hours) since visiting other swine operation
  • Restrict entry to visitors who have been in a foreign country (where a FAD may be common) until they have observed recommended "downtime" (often at least five days) since returning to US.

• Provide visitors with shower-in facility or clean outer clothing and footwear.
• Provide color-coded coveralls and/or badges that clearly identify visitors.
• Restrict visitors to specific areas and escort them at all times.
• Do not allow visitors to bring food or personal items into the animal areas as they may harbor disease-causing agents.
• Require hand washing before and after accessing animal areas.
• Require sign-out and return of badges and parking placards when visitors leave.

• Provide adequate lighting inside and outside of buildings.
• Construct buildings with materials that are durable and easy to clean and maintain. Use slatted floors, curbs, and sloped areas where appropriate to allow run-off of water and manure.
• Install and maintain ventilation and airflow systems in animal confinement buildings to reduce humidity, reduce stress and prevent disease spread. Poor airflow can lead to ammonia and carbon dioxide build-up which can contribute to respiratory problems.
• Restrict the use of each high-risk area to its intended purpose (e.g., don't use farrowing barn to house older animals in between farrowing uses).
• Designate an isolation/quarantine site that is used for all new animals. The isolation site must be separate from resident animals. Different distances are recommended (e.g. greater than 300 yards).

• • The isolation site must be separate from resident animals. Different distances are recommended, for example, greater than 300 yards.
  • Design the site to ensure there is no possibility for animal-to- animal contact, no shared ventilation air (indoors) and no shared feeding equipment between new and resident animals.
  • Manage isolation area as an AIAO facility with cleaning, disinfection, and downtime between animals Cleaning & Disinfecting (C&D).

• Store hazardous materials used on the farm (e.g., chemicals, fuels, pesticides, fertilizers) away from animal areas and feed areas and in secure locations with limited access. Maintain inventories and usage logs of these materials.
• Clean and disinfect buildings including ceiling and walls regularly and always between groups of pigs. The disinfection step reduces the chance for disease agent survival. Application of a disinfectant is a waste of time unless surfaces are first cleaned of manure and mud, etc., since they will not work in the presence of organic matter.
• Complete all steps in this order (this procedure for C&D applies to equipment, also):

• • Remove and dispose of all visible organic matter.
  • Wash with approved cleaning agent. Steam clean appropriate surfaces.
  • Rinse
  • Apply approved disinfectant, allow surfaces to dry before animals allowed in.

• On the farm, use designated vehicles and equipment for specific tasks.
• Maintain records of vehicle travel, with dates and times and destinations.
• Don't leave vehicles hauling animals unattended while traveling.
• Do not share vehicles, trailers or equipment with other farms without cleaning and disinfecting between uses.
• Be prepared to disinfect vehicle tires and wheel wells during a disease outbreak if a vehicle must drive onto your property.
• Clean out trailers that were used off the farm in a separate location from the main farm. This will prevent outside contaminants from getting into the lagoon or water source.

• Do not feed garbage. This usually prohibited.
• Buy feed from known mills and vendors that follow biosecurity and quality control practices.
• Maintain records (source, amount, date) of all transactions.
• Store feed off the ground in covered bins or feed tanks. Protect from moisture to prevent spoilage and mold.
• Keep feed storage areas separate from traffic and waste materials.
• Dispose of contaminated feed as well as refused feed.
• Keep manure handling and feed handling equipment separate.
• Completely clean out bins between batches.

• Prevent contamination of water sources from manure and other contaminants.
• Limit access at well site.
• Provide clean, fresh water source. Don't allow animals to drink from ponds or run-off sources.
• Prevent animals from standing in the source of drinking water.
• Clean and inspect the water delivery system regularly.
• Identify alternate sources of water for use in emergencies.
• Check water temperature periodically since swine may refuse to drink very warm or hot water.
• Test water for chemicals, mineral levels, heavy metals and microorganisms periodically.

• Be aware of current laws and regulations concerning Confined Animal Facility Operation (CAFO). Remove waste as needed and transport it with designated vehicles and equipment to a designated storage or disposal area.
• Locate manure storage areas away from animal and feed areas.
• If a barn pit is on premises, flush it frequently and keep a recently flushed pit well-flooded with water.
• If lagoons are permissible, provide a high capacity lagoon and maintain it to keep out solids.

• Develop a written pest control program and follow it. If you hire a professional pest control company, ensure that their staff is trained in biosecurity procedures.
• Eliminate piles of wood, debris and tall grass in areas around buildings to discourage rodent harborage. Screen buildings, where possible, to keep pests out.
• Restrict contact with wild animals (birds, raccoons, opossums, skunks, deer, feral swine) using fencing, pens, and screens in enclosed housing.
• Do not allow cats and dogs or other pets in animal housing areas as they can spread some diseases.
• Clean up feed spills from under troughs and feed bins.
• Focus insect control measures on breeding areas (manure, waste feed, ponds). Follow directions on baiting chemicals and place where resident animals and farm pets do not have access.

• Submit dead animals for postmortem examination to determine cause of death if not obvious by exam (can sometimes be done on farm).
• Immediately dispose of dead animals.
• Train employees who handle dead animals to shower and change clothes before returning to animal areas.
• If dead stock hauler is used, provide a secure pick-up site away from public observation and near farm perimeter. Place carcasses temporarily in a secure enclosure to prevent access from wildlife or other animals.
• If yours is a commercial confined facility, dispose of dead animals using an approved method or site, as specified in the producer's permitted Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan or Animal Facilities Management Plan. This management plan must provide both a normal and a catastrophic mortality disposal / treatment method. A catastrophic plan must be in place for a disease or natural event in which the mortality rate is higher than normal or more than the normal mortality plan options can handle.

• Avoid livestock exhibitions, other than terminal shows, if possible.
• If you do exhibit your animals:

• • Don't share feed or watering supplies.
  • Thoroughly clean or change your outer clothing or boots and wash your hands before entering your trailer or returning to your animals after you visit other animals at the exhibit.
  • Transport only your animals.
  • Isolate all animals returning from exhibitions as if they were new animals being introduced into your herd.