How to Raise Weaned Pigs without Antibiotics
Hans Stein, professor of Animal Sciences, has released a new brochure titled “Strategies for Managing Weanling Pigs Fed no Antibiotic Growth Promoters.” The brochure is the third in Stein’s “Swine Focus” series.
December 3, 2012
A researcher at the University of Illinois has created a resource to help pork producers identify strategies that they can use to manage weaned pigs without using antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs).
Hans Stein, professor of Animal Sciences, has released a new brochure titled “Strategies for Managing Weanling Pigs Fed no Antibiotic Growth Promoters.” The brochure is the third in Stein’s “Swine Focus” series.
“The goals of the producer should be to promote growth, reduce pigs’ disease exposure and increase their resistance to disease,” Stein says. “There are a number of measures producers can take to help pigs perform well in the absence of antibiotic growth promoters.”
Strategies for managing weaned pigs without the use of AGPs include:
Weaning practices– Segregated early weaning and all-in-all-out production reduce disease pressure;
Environmental controls– Keeping facilities at the proper temperature and avoiding crowding reduce stress on pigs, while pest control reduces pathogen exposure;
Feeding pelleted or liquid diets