SPRING 2017 2524 PRactIcal PIGS

PRACTICAL PIGS SPRING 2017

There really is no excuse nowadays for not keeping your pigs healthy and disease-free. Good biosecurity is an essential requirement, and AHBD Pork is here to help

Please keeP ’em safe!

There really is no excuse nowadays for not keeping your pigs healthy and disease-free. Good biosecurity is an essential requirement, and AHBD

Pork is here to help.The number one issue, once paying for and

providing good accommodation for your pigs is sorted, is biosecurity – or, at least, it should be.

As discussed in Minimising the risk (Practical Pigs, Autumn 2016), effective biosecurity reduces the risk of disease entering your herd by limiting the exposure to pathogenic organisms. Small changes in herd management can bring about a significant reduction in both risk and disease transmission.

AHDB Pork has a plethora of biosecurity guidance targeting the commercial producers that can, by and large, be applied by all pig keepers and, in addition, offers practical advice that’s specific to small-scale producers and the unique position they hold within the UK herd. The advice is published in many different learning formats, so you can pick whichever teaching style you prefer.

The advice is published in many different learning formats, so you can pick whichever teaching style you prefer

Multimedia applicationsFor those of us who like apps, then you can download the ‘Think BioRisk’ app on to your smartphone or tablet, and test your biosecurity knowledge by viewing a series of short, interactive videos and then completing associated, multiple-choice quiz.

You can also use a laptop/PC directly on the website. Once registered via the introduction page, you can complete each video module to identify both good practice and common

Commercial biosecurityUnder the HOME \ PIG PRODUCTION \ BIOSECURITY tab you will find direct hyperlinks to:● AHDB Pork Action for Productivity leaflet 13: Biosecurity● AHDB Pork Action for Productivity leaflet 10: Cleaning & disinfection● Defra advice on national and farm biosecurity● Biosecurity guidelines factsheet● Visitor policy factsheet● Vehicle biosecurity factsheet● Efficacy of some disinfectant compounds against porcine bacterial pathogens● AHDB Pork Disinfectant ChecklistFrom this page you can also order your FREE biosecurity fence and foot dip signs and hand sanitisers, all of which can be positioned as visual reminders around your farm.

� AHDB Pork offers an extensive amount of practical, biosecurity guidance that’s specific to small-scale producers.

� Take great care not to contaminate establishments such as agricultural merchants and abattoirs by wearing unsuitable footwear. It’s all too easy to inadvertently spread disease if clean boots and/or foot baths aren’t used.

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SPRING 2017 2524 PRACTICAL PIGS

AHDB PORK

cause an issue with regards to biosecurity as, if you wait until the boar or visiting sow has completed their time in a biosecure facility before being introduced, then having enough time together to ensure conception starts to become unlikely.

Although not ideal, put both the sow(s) you wish to cover and the boar into your isolation paddock and, at the end of the period of time allocated, isolate the remaining pig on your facility as if it were a new pig being isolated.

� Buying weaners/new stockSourcing your stock from a good supplier, and specifying animals that have been de-wormed before arrival and weaned for at least two

weeks, gives you a head start in helping to ensure you buy robust, healthy animals.

Recently-weaned pigs are the most immunologically susceptible to pathogens, especially when you factor-in the stress associated with moving to a new home. Some pathogens may not cause a problem in the pigs in one herd due to immunity; but they may trigger an issue on another farm without immunity (aka naïve herd), so isolation protocols for recently-purchased pigs is absolutely essential.

� OthersAgricultural merchants and abattoirs may be a great meeting place for pathogenic organisms, both on vehicle tyres and people's footwear. Every farmer in the area seems to walk about with their muddy boots on so, either wear different, non-farm footwear, or disinfect thoroughly after visiting such establishments. The same applies to vehicles and their tyres.

Footpaths can be a potential biosecurity breach point, too, particularly from those folk who, after hiking all over the local area and other farms, don’t stick to the designated path and allow their dogs to go where they like. As vet Bob Stevenson once aptly put it: “We

are one ham sandwich away from another disease outbreak in pigs.” So, ideally, keep your pigs behind gated fences where direct contact is minimised, and place an AHDB Pork biosecurity warning sign on the gate. ❖

mistakes on pig farms, at your leisure – perhaps on the commute to work, assuming you’re not driving, of course!

Additional risk factors There are numerous small-scale producer practices that would bene� t from additional biosecurity management. Key among these are:

� ShowingExhibiting your pigs is a huge risk factor for bringing home a disease or illness to your herd. Commercial pig farmers who also exhibit wouldn’t dream of allowing their show pigs to come into contact with their main herd, either without adhering to a strong protocol of isolation or, in some cases, ever.

Working with the AHDB Pork advice sheets, you can develop a biosecurity plan for your herd for the show season. For example, the following list shows a pre- and post-showing health plan for exhibited pigs:1. Set up an isolation paddock/building well away from your main herd, following the Defra-approved, on-farm isolation guidelines (Defra Form MC24)2. Ensure all vaccinations and de-worming are kept up to date 3. Place pigs to be exhibited in the isolation facility for at least 20 days prior to the date of the show4. Place all returning show pigs into the isolation facility, preferably scrubbing their legs with soap or anti-microbial skin cleanser (eg HiBiSCRUB™) to assist in removing possible, external contaminants such as parasite eggs and bacteria5. Clean and disinfect your trailer, including the wheels, and those of the towing vehicle6. Attend to these pigs last and either have separate clothing and boots, or disinfect your boots thoroughly with an approved disinfectant, and wear different clothes the next time you attend the main herd7. After the last show, keep the pigs in the isolation facility for at least 20 days, but preferably longer, and de-worm again before returning them to the main herd. Also check for the presence of lice and treat if required8. Through the show season, disinfect any buildings the pigs are kept in regularly. If using an outside isolation facility, rest the paddock when

not in speci� c isolation use, and consider using a lime-based outside disinfectant at the end of the season, such as Saniblanc D (refer to Practical Pigs, Winter 2012, p23-23).

These may seem like over-the-top measures to some, but they are an excellent way of reducing the risk to your main herd, including the most susceptible group – newly-weaned pigs.

During 2016 we saw an increase in the incidence of Erysipelas across the UK pig herds including, anecdotally, exhibited pigs. So including twice-yearly vaccination for Erysipelas in your show biosecurity plan is a very good call.

Should any of your show pigs be selected for export, then clinical evidence of numerous

diseases – including Erysipelas – may be prohibitive in some countries for a long time after the disease has been controlled.

If you get the isolation facility approved by a government-approved of� cial veterinarian (Defra Form FIM02), then you can use it formally on your eAML2 to circumvent the standstill regulations on the pigs kept in your main herd.

� Boar hireThis is often a necessity for small-scale producers and, typically the boar or visiting sow only has between three and six weeks in which to achieve the aim of the visit. Clearly this can

More information● thinkbiorisk.pork.ahdb.org.uk● pork.ahdb.org.uk/pig-production/small-scale-producers● pork.ahdb.org.uk/news/photo-stories/small-herd-biosecurity

Small-scale producer-specifi c biosecurityUnder the HOME \ PIG PRODUCTION \ SMALL-SCALE PRODUCER tab you will see:● a downloadable lea� et that covers nine key biosecurity risk factors for small-scale producers to be aware of● a small-herd biosecurity photo story ● a copy of the Practical Pigs (Autumn 2016) article, Risky Business.If you don’t have access to a computer, or you don’t wish to download the lea� ets or articles, then AHDB Pork will send you hard copies of any of their publications.

Rest the paddock when not in speci� c isolation use, and consider using a lime-based outside disinfectant

before arrival and weaned for at least two

ensure you buy robust, healthy animals.

immunologically susceptible to pathogens, especially when you factor-in the stress associated with moving to a new home. Some pathogens may not cause a problem in the pigs in one herd due to immunity; but they may trigger an issue on another farm without immunity (aka naïve herd), so isolation protocols for recently-purchased pigs is absolutely essential.

�Agricultural merchants and abattoirs may be a great meeting place for pathogenic organisms, both on vehicle tyres and people's footwear. Every farmer in the area seems to walk about with their muddy boots on so, either wear different, non-farm footwear, or disinfect thoroughly after visiting such establishments. The same applies to vehicles and their tyres.

breach point, too, particularly from those folk who, after hiking all over the local area and other farms, don’t stick to the designated path and allow their dogs to go where they like.

Exhibiting your pigs is a huge risk factor for

example, the following list shows a pre- and post-showing health plan for exhibited pigs:

Set up an isolation paddock/building well

isolation facility for at least 20 days prior to

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