Nutrition has long been documented to have an impact on how an animal responds to disease. At times, certain conditions can become present that are associated with nutrients within the feed or feed itself. Below are five health conditions in pigs that have been shown to be influenced by the nutritional status of the pig. If you experience any of these issues within your barns, work closely with your veterinarian and nutritionist to find a suitable solution.

1. Mulberry Heart 

The sudden death of a newly weaned pig can sometimes be attributed to a nutritional challenge. Low levels of either vitamin E or selenium can trigger inflammation of the heart which results in cardiac arrest. The reasons for these low levels are not fully understood. Both vitamin E and selenium are antioxidants and events such as disease, stress, or even select levels of high minerals in water can attribute to a depletion in these two nutrients in the animal’s body. If this is condition is diagnosed within your herd, work with your nutritionist to find a potential solution.

2. Twisted Gut 

Twisted gut, sometimes also known as hemorrhagic bowel syndrome, occurs when pigs have had a reduced feed intake followed by high levels of feed intake. The most common time of year that this type event occurs is in the early fall. Daytime temperatures reduced feed intake, but the cooler evenings allow for pigs to consumer larger quantities of feed in short timeframes. The larger bolus of food through the intestine can cause the intestine to twist upon itself. Clinical signs within the barn are typically that the largest pig within a pen is found dead with abdominal swelling. To minimize this from occurring, encourage pigs to eat on regular intervals either by getting pigs up in the pen or changing feeding run times and by ensuring that feeders always have feed present.

3. Scours 

Transitioning a pig to diets of differing ingredient composition can trigger transitory looseness. The looseness is typically seen in nursery diet adjustments as the pig is physiologically transition for liquid to solid food and diets are changing from milk based to grain based. If scours are noticed within the barn, producers should work with their veterinarian and nutritionist to verify that it is not pathogenic and determine if dietary adjustments need to be made.

4. Mycotoxins

Cereal grains have a tendency to have mold growth on the kernels during the growing season. When the mold is stressed during either the growing phase of the grain or in storage, toxins are produced. Clinical signs of mycotoxin presence would include piglets being born with missing skin, spraddle legged pigs, females expression false heat and feed refusal with or without vomiting. Proper testing of grains at the time of harvest and throughout the year should be conducted to make appropriate decisions for reducing mycotoxin levels in the feed.

5. Water deprivation

Animals can experience unexpected episodes of water deprivation such as an overnight broken pipe or well pump. When animals are without water access for a period of time and then consume large volumes of water, they are at risk of sodium toxicosis. Clinical signs of toxicosis would be head pressing, aimless wandering, and seizures. Restoring water to a group of animals needs to be done in a controlled manner with short periods of water on and then water off over the course of a few hours or using misters as a drinking source for a period of time. 

Read more:

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