Any persons interested in learning how to shear sheep or improving their shearing skills should consider attending this school. Sign-up deadline is April 17. The sale will include registered rams, registered ewes, crossbred ewes, and project club lambs. Preweaning Mortality Deserves Attention Most of the factors that contribute to preweaning mortality result from mistakes in everyday duties, according to Tom Fangman, veterinarian, University of Missouri. The first three days of a pig's life are the most critical.
Producers have to make sure pigs have an adequate intake of colostrum and a warm, dry environment.
Trauma accounts for about 40 percent of preweaning mortality causes. Eighty-five percent of trauma related deaths occur in the pigs' first three days of life. The key to prevention is to encourage piglets to move away from the sow when they are not nursing. This can be accomplished by positioning two or three heat lamps at one or both sides of the creep area during farrowing to encourage the piglets to move away from the sow and to avoid getting chilled. Regular observation of the sow during farrowing still is the best and only way to reduce mortality in this situation.