Excellent hygiene, a diet that fits the needs of the DanBred sows, correct consultation policy, and supplementary feeding tailored to the piglets. With this foundation, the Van Dijck family ensures that the piglets get off to a good start. And now, they share their insights on how their results have improved.
Good, continued growth of the piglets after weaning is essential to ensure that they can perform well as finisher pigs. To ensure that the piglets continue the growth after weaning, Van Dijck and Van Dijck-Paepen – together with the managers, Koen van Mechelen and Jos Roelen, and the other employees – are constantly working on ways to improve. This is one of the reasons, why the Van Dijck family chose the DanBred sow and Duroc terminal sire; high growth is achievable with this combination, which is necessary because the sows are able to wean many piglets.
In-house breeding as well as feeding the sows correctly have already helped to better prepare the piglets for weaning. The birth weights of the piglets have increased by almost 150 g to an average of 1,350 g. The number of liveborn piglets has risen to 18.3. Due to the higher birth weights, the piglets drink their colostrum better, which is necessary for a good start.
It is also important that the sows farrow smoothly. Therefore, they receive food three times a day in the farrowing unit, so they continue to eat well:
“As a result, I can quickly increase the feed dose after farrowing,” says Van Mechelen, and continues: “I don't have a fixed schedule for that. I pay close attention to how the sows are doing and whether they take their food and water well. If there is something left in the tank, I do not increase the feed amount. If they eat well, then I gradually increase the feed amount until they take in 7.5 to 8 kg of feed at the end of the lactation period.”
In addition to the feed, a good climate is also necessary for the weaned piglets. To this end, the ventilation and heating have been adapted.
And the adjustments are not without effect: “Health and performance have really improved. I no longer need to treat piglets for E. coli. The piglets start growing much better than before,” says Jos Roelen.
This is a deducted version of an article originally written in Dutch and published on Varkens.nl. Download the full translated article here.
