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Volume 7 No 8 - August 31, 2004
PIG CHAT
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From the office of George R. Charbonneau DVM & Steven D Wolfgram DVM
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
been wearing the metal tag, the farmer may have assumed that
If you think that your biosecurity program is fool the “travelling pig” was one of his own pigs who merely
proof, think again. This is a case that happened in hopped the gate and he could have mixed the pig back in with
his own. This biosecurity breach may result in more
the summer of 2004.
complications for the producer in maintaining his herd health.
Late one summer evening, a group of feeder pigs
Ken Marenger
was loaded onto a tractor trailer for export to the United
States. After loading the pigs, the driver stopped at the truck
depot yard to pick up extra coveralls and boots. While at the
yard, he noticed that one pig on his trailer had prolapsed.
After contacting his supervisor, it was decided that the pig
Incoming Animals: Producers must be aware of any
should be removed from the vehicle and delivered to a local
withdrawal on drugs or vaccines given to any animals
BBQ pig assembly yard.
entering their herd. It is mandatory for herds in the CQA
En route to the border, the trucker decided he would deliver program that a treatment history sheet is supplied with all pigs
the pig to an old cow/calf barn at a friend’s and they would purchased. This treatment sheet should be provided for all
raise the pig for their personal use. The pig was dropped off incoming pigs including gilts, boars, isoweans or feeder pigs.
and for the first day was quite content with it’s living The written treatment history for these incoming animals must
arrangements. On the second day, however, the pig decided capture the same information provided on the CPC On-Farm
to take another trip. Because the barn was designed for cattle, Assessment form example of the Outgoing Pig Treatment
the 25 kg pig escaped and began wandering through the Record. It must include all medications, including topical,
adjacent fields.
injectable, feed and water medications given to a pig prior to
At the same time as all of this was happing the owner of a transfer for which there is still some withdrawal time. The
barn down the road was on holidays and had requested that “not to go before date” is also to be documented.
CQA TIP
OF THE MONTH
his father do some chores for him starting that very day.
Dutifully the father went into the pig barn to do chores. He
discovered a pig running up and down the hallway and a
plastic container of carrots and lettuce. It seemed odd to the
father that his son would leave a pig in the hallway with only
carrots and lettuce. By the next day the pig was in such rough
shape that the father had to euthanise the pig and then
disposed of it by placing it in the composter.
When the son returned, his father was extremely upset with
him for not telling him about the “sick pig” in the hallway.
The son was adamant that he did not leave a pig in the
hallway and by later examining the pig in the composter it
was determined that the “sick pig” had a CFIA Health of
Animal metal tamperproof tag in its ear.
The only explanation as to how the pig got into the barn is
that a good Samaritan noticed the “travelling pig,” caught the
pig, found the closest pig barn and then because the door was
not locked, was able to place the pig in the hallway.
Unfortunately, this producer still has to deal with the potential
health risks that the “travelling pig” might have introduced
into his barn during his visit. What’s more, had the pig not
In order to maintain the CQA status, all incoming pigs must
come from an operation that has enrolled in the CQA
program. When forwarding information for your validation,
please include a copy of your most recent incoming written
treatment history.
A copy of the form (Appendix IX) can be downloaded from
our web site at www.swineservices.ca. The form is posted in
an Adobe pdf file format. Please contact our office if you
have any questions regarding the use of this form.
CUSTOMER SERVICE SURVEY
As a service-based business, it is important
to us to know that we are meeting the needs
and expectations of our clients. We want to
know how we are doing, and how we can
improve our service. We have included a
Customer Service Survey with this month’s
mailing. Please take a moment to complete
the survey and either fax both sides to our office or return
with your payment.
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Vehicles: All vehicles should be parked away from the
barn in order to avoid transferring potentially hazardous
material into the barn. The likely hood of this is also
Biosecurity refers to a set of management decreased when you clean both the interior and
practices implemented on farms in order to exteriors of the vehicle including the tires.
protect livestock from disease causing pathogens.
Biosecurity is the least expensive and most effective Monitoring and Reporting: In running a biosecure
method of disease control available. Lack of up to date farm, it is essential that all personnel are trained to
information tends to lead to weak biosecurity practices recognize various disease symptoms. If a disease can be
which are ineffective in preventing disease introduction. caught in its early stages in isolation facilities, proper
The following are current suggestions for maintaining a action can be taken to prevent the disease from
spreading to the main herd.
biosecure farm:
BIOSECURITY PRINCIPLES &
PRACTICES
Access to Farm: There should be no
unnecessary visitors to the farm. Make
sure you meet visitors away from
production areas if there is no specific
reason for them to enter the barn.
In closing, although there are numerous infectious
pathogens threatening the health of livestock and
maintaining biosecure practices within your farm helps
to significantly decrease these risks. However, it is your
responsibility to continue to up date your understanding
Control the Flow of People: Visitors
of such practices and to strictly enforce them within
can carry infectious pathogens on their shoes, hands and your farm.
clothing. In order to prevent further exposure, it is
Amy Charbonneau
essential that all authorized visitors arrive with clean
clothing and footwear. Onsite showers should be used if
available and hands should be thoroughly cleaned.
GET YOUR ORDERS IN EARLY
Receiving Livestock: Make sure that the source from
Orders received before 12:30 p.m. on a regular
which you purchase your livestock is one that you know
business day will, in most cases, be sent by
and trust and that they are able to provide you with the
courier the same day and are normally delivered
animals health status. Livestock should be inspected prior
to the farm the following day. Due to our
to leaving the source farm and should be inspected once
more as they arrive, hence it is a good idea to have the
courier schedule, orders received after 12:30
animals delivered during daylight. Quarantine new
p.m. will be processed the following day.
livestock for at least 30 days before you place your new
livestock in the facility. This is enough time to spot any We would also like to remind everyone that orders
containing perishable items will not be shipped on Thursday
diseases and effectively prevent them from spreading.
Vermin Control: Vermin do not have the best reputation
for cleanliness so it is no surprise that they are also capable
of carrying infectious pathogens. Vermin are often
attracted to barns by feed spilled on the floor and
unsanitary conditions. As they roam around the barn, they
increase the risk of contaminating the herd. In order to
prevent this, the barn should be routinely cleaned so that
it is less appealing to vermin. The use of screened
openings should be implemented. Cracks in the barn
should be sealed off and all breeding sites for vermin
should be eliminated.
Equipment: It is important that you use your own
equipment whenever possible, as borrowing equipment
increases the risk of introducing diseases into your barn.
However, if the circumstances arise and you must borrow
equipment, make sure that it has been thoroughly cleaned
and disinfected both before and after you use it, especially
on equipment with tires.
or Friday. These shipments will be sent on the first business
day of the following week.
If you wish to pick up your order from the office please
make arrangements ahead of time to ensure that all of the
products you need are available and to allow our pharmacy
staff time to process the order.
PAY YOUR BILLS ON-LINE
Register on line through your bank to pay your
bills. Your account number is the six digit
customer code.
VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT www.swineservices.ca
3
PRODUCT NEWS
ACUTE CARE ORAL PASTE
An easy to administer oral paste for weak or challenged
piglets. To assist in the treatment of acute diarrhea and
We have worked with our clients to develop a kit for cleaning gastro intestinal upset resulting from stress, exposure to
the inside of automatic feeding systems drop feeders and down bacterial pathogens or dietary indiscretions.
spouts.
The paste is offered in a convenient tube format;
DROP TUBE FEEDER CLEANING KIT
Feed build-up and moisture can cause dangerous levels of molds
to grow inside the down spouts and feed storage containers.
The mold can break free and contaminate the feed causing
sickness, reduced feed intake or “spotty” reproductive
performance.
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Provides mannanoligosaccharides that aid in the removal
of pathogenic bacteria and toxins from the GI tract.
Replenishes beneficial bacteria.
Helps re-establish GI tract integrity
Provides B-vitamins and digestive enzymes to help
normalize digestion
Acute Care Oral Paste can be administered up to three times
per day. The product can be stored at room temperature. It
is available in a package of 5 x 80 ml tubes.
HIGH ACCURACY pH STRIPS 4070
F
eed residue build-up inside
feed tube
Feed tube after cleaning.
This cleaning kit has a quick connect fitting, enabling speedy
hook up to your existing power gun. It can handle hot or cold
water at varying pressures and operates with one forward and
three back spraying nozzles. The cleaning kit works extremely
quickly and is very thorough. This unit works well to clean
between batches in
farrowing, nursery
and finishing
facilities or
whenever a buildup
is noticed inside the
drop tubes such as
occurs in gestation
barns.
For improved
general health and
reproductive performance of your herd, consider this Drop
Tube Feeder Cleaning Kit.
This is an improved method
of quickly measuring the pH
of the drinking water for
your pigs. The pH of the
drinking water can greatly
affect the proliferation of
problem causing E coli.
Producers can now add
acidifiers and have their own quick and accurate testing
results, eliminating costly trips to the lab or the process of
repeated calibration of an electronic pH tester. High
accuracy pH indicator strips are available with their own
color comparison chart and are packed with 50 single use
strips per pack. Each package includes a colour chart
mounted on white backed plastic for easy reading. These
strips have a specific narrow 4.0-7.0 range and are in 0.4
increments for very sensitive detection of pH
Please contact our office for additional information
including prices for any of these products.