Why do pigs bite their tails? How do you stop biting?

Pig tail biting disease is also known as "anti-discomfort syndrome". It is a clinical manifestation of porcine stress syndrome and a non-specific stress response. Why does that pig bite its tail? How do you stop biting?

Why do pigs bite their tails?

The causes of tail biting disease in pigs are very complicated, which are mainly summarized as follows.

1. Abnormal animal behavior: many researchers believe that the normal behavior of pigs are sucking, coaxing, etc., when the environment changes, these behaviors can not be satisfied, there is a tail bite. After weaning, the sucking behavior of weaned piglets and the breast massage behavior of sows are still strong. When sucking and massage can not be carried out, they will look for other sucking objects such as nipples, head, vulva, tail, etc., especially the tail. Gradually the act of sucking becomes the act of biting the tail. It has been observed that naturally weaned piglets are about 17 weeks old, when the sucking stimulation impulse of pigs is particularly strong, which is easy to induce tail biting disease. Pig coasting behavior is also very strong, put pigs in a smooth cement pigsty can not coax the ground, and there is no straw, sundries, this kind of behavior can induce tail biting. Some people put straw, cinder and so on in the pigsty or hang iron rings for them to explore food guidance and play, so as to avoid biting their tails.

two。 Internal factors: the genetic factors of breeds are related to tail biting. It is observed that large white pigs and Landrace are prone to tail biting, and soft-eared pigs are more likely to bite tails than Jian-eared pigs. Sex is related to tail biting, with an incidence of 11.8% in boars and 2.6% in sows. Age and weight are related to tail biting. It is found that the average age of tail bite is 40.7 days, the maximum age is 90-120 days, and the weight is about 40-50 kg.

3. External factors: the appearance of abnormal behavior has an important relationship with the change of external forage environment. Too low or too high indoor temperature can increase the possibility of tail biting, especially at 25 ℃ and 35 ℃, and keeping it between 17 ℃ and 20-22 ℃ can prevent tail bite.

Feeding density and pig herd size are related to tail biting, and high density and crowded pigs are prone to tail bite. Some people think that 0.47 square meters per head is more dangerous than 0.6 square meters per pig.

How to stop a pig from biting its tail?

In our breeding production, pig tail biting occurs from time to time, and once it happens, it is difficult to stop it. The following is to deal with the tips for the majority of breeders for reference.

1. The nutritional needs of pigs must be met. One of the causes of pig tail biting disease is the nutritional imbalance and improper matching in the diet, so the full price formula feed should be supplied according to the nutritional demand of pigs at different stages. When you find that there is a tail bite, you should add some minerals and vitamins to the feed and ensure adequate drinking water at the same time.

two。 The group of pigs should be reasonable. When buying a large number of pigs from other places, the pigs with little difference in source, weight, physique, coat color and temperament should be raised in one circle. If there are injured pigs such as broken skin in transportation, they should be raised separately in time to prevent each other from biting their tails due to the smell of blood.

3. The feeding density should be suitable. The feeding density of pigs should generally be determined according to the size of the enclosure, and the principle is that it is not crowded, does not affect growth and can eat and drink normally. Generally speaking, it is appropriate to raise about 10 heads per lap. It is denser in winter and thinner in summer. Strictly speaking, each pig of 2-3 months old covers an area of 0.5-0.6 square meters, and that of 4-6 months old covers an area of 0.6-0.8 square meters.

4. Fattening pigs should be castrated early. Early castration of fattening piglets can not only improve fattening performance and carcass quality, but also avoid tail biting caused by male and female climbing together.

5. The sanitary environment should be good. Pigs are very sensitive to the sanitary environment, especially large-scale and intensive pig farms, there must be good ventilation and a complete set of equipment such as temperature control and manure treatment, so that the pig house can meet the standards of heat prevention and cooling in summer and cold protection in winter.

6. Deworming should be done regularly. In the pig's life, parasites should be expelled 2-3 times regularly, that is, at the age of 30-40 days, 70-80 days and 100-110 days, respectively, and at the same time, attention should be paid to the elimination of body surface lice, scabies and other parasites. Otherwise, the occurrence of tail biting disease will be caused by the influence of parasites.

7. Raise pigs with addiction on their own. The occurrence of pig tail biting is often caused by individual belligerent pigs, so if pigs with tail biting addiction are found in the pen, they should be picked out and raised separately from the herd in time; for pigs that are particularly aggressive and bitten without a circle, each pig can be intramuscularly injected with 80-100 mg of chlorpromazine, 20% magnesium sulfate or 3-4 sleeping pills to keep quiet.

8. Prevention and control methods. For pigs with slight tail biting, the pigs can be sprayed 1-2 times after dilution with liquor or gasoline, which can be effectively controlled; for bitten pigs, the wound should be cleaned with potassium permanganate solution and coated with iodine tincture to prevent wound infection. serious bites can be treated with antibiotics.