Signs of excessive intra-uterine pressure during birth:
Slow start of breathing in newborn piglets
Ruptured, profusely bleeding umbilical cords at birth
Strangulation of the piglets by the umbilical cord
Uterine spasm, retarded birth
A typical situation: farrowing was planned for the Thursday but many sows have already farrowed by Tuesday. Weak piglets lead to low milk-release of the sow.
Sow herd vaccination, i.e. against influenza and other viruses that can be transferred from the sow’s blood stream through the uterine blood supply thereby breaking through the uterine barrier: PRRS-virus, Circovirus, Parvovirus
Good body condition and fitness of the sow
Which risk-factors are responsible for hypogalactia in the sow and what are the early signs?
“We know that vaccinating can decrease the amount of viruses in the air, so vaccination is a good mechanism to prevent airborne transmission” Swine veterinary consultant Dr. Carmen Alonso in Spain picks out lessons from her detailed studies of air samples inside and outside farms suffering an outbreak of PRRS, influenza A or porcine epidemic diarrhoea --- as well as poultry sites with highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The protective agents released during the entire lactation remain active in the piglets’ intestines.
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