The National Farmed Animal Care Council code process requires a review every five years and updating every 10 years to remain relevant.
Stories by Blaine Tully, DVM
Increased iron dose can help prevent anemia in piglets
Increased iron dose can help prevent anemia in piglets
Veterinarian Blaine Tully looks at the importance of iron in the health of piglets.
Multipronged strategy can prevent gastric ulcers in hogs
Gastric ulcers are commonly found in pigs. Severe cases causing death account for one to two per cent of finisher farm mortality. These ulcers, also known as stomach ulcers, are not a new phenomenon, first being reported in swine literature as early as 1897. However, the recent prevalence of mild to moderate cases showing some […] Read more
Managing influenza in pigs is a frustrating task
Influenza has had a lot of attention over the past several months with a highly pathogenic avian flu strain causing health challenges in dairy herds in the United States. While there have been other cattle influenza infections over the years, this is perhaps one of the more significant birds-to-bovine events. In this article, we will […] Read more
New and emerging swine diseases deserve close watch
Veterinarians are taught that when we hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras. This is sage advice to help maintain a diagnostic process based on probabilities. If I come across a nursery pig that has died suddenly with organs that have tiny hemorrhages and slightly enlarged lymph nodes, I will request tests to confirm a […] Read more
Batch farrowing is a strategy that can improve hog health
Conventional farm health wisdom focuses on vaccines, antibiotics and other medical interventions. In addition to these hallmarks of pig health management, some farms have gone back to basics in designing pig flow through their operations to improve animal health. Pig flow also affects sustainability of the farm’s human resources, marketing of hogs and profitability. In […] Read more
Strep zoo: bacterium affects pigs in Western Canada
Western Canadian swine farms manage many bacterial challenges by controlling what pig sources are mixed together, reducing environmental and other stressors, good nutrition and control of viral diseases that act as cofactors in many bacterial challenges. A lot of farm bacterial challenges become repeatable, following similar patterns to previous outbreaks or challenges. Fortunately, many common […] Read more
Getting to the bottom of pelvic organ prolapses in sows
In a previous article, I discussed sow mortality as a significant welfare concern and economic cost to many modern swine operations. Each sow mortality can have upwards of $1,500 in real or opportunity costs associated with it. A 2019 survey of more than 400 sow farms in the United States found that 0.3 to 10.3 […] Read more
New vaccine technology helps control diarrhea in piglets
It’s frustrating for veterinarians to try and make a definitive diagnosis of an ongoing health challenge if they lack the tools in the toolbox to help the situation. One such disease of young suckling piglets is Rotaviral enteritis (diarrhea). Rotavirus: the organism While there are many devastating viral diarrheas on western Canadian pig farms, Rotavirus […] Read more
Production breakthroughs help farmers improve piglet survival
Our veterinary practice recently celebrated the grand opening of our new training and education centre. We have called it the Sheridan Room. It was named after Dr. Mike Sheridan, who may not be familiar to those outside the swine sector, but during his 35-year veterinary career he played a large part in the growth and […] Read more
