Plea for comparative study to weaning at 5 weeks
There should be proper research to the benefits of weaning piglets at 5 weeks of age. To that end, a comparative study ought to be organised to investigate the differences between weaning at 4 as well as 5 weeks.
That was the key message delivered by pig veterinarian Valentijn Thuring at a event revolving around weaning, held earlier in April and organised by C.A.V. Den Ham, in the east of the Netherlands. Thuring works for Varkensartsen, a Dutch cooperative in which 4 veterinary practices work together.
Beneficial for piglet gut health
Weaning at 35 days, he said, benefits the piglets’ gut health, which also promotes a calm pig house environment. In addition, a later weaning age makes it easier to raise healthy finishing pigs, Thuring said.
He admitted that, in his perspective, a scientific back-up of the benefits of weaning at 5 weeks of age would still be lacking. He said, “Countus (an advisory group, ed.) has made a model calculation, but there is no scientific research. I am very curious about the results. I assume that my feeling is correct. As a sector there are advantages of weaning at 5 weeks of age, the benefits are for us to pick up.”
Thuring acknowledged that choosing to wean at 5 weeks of age is easier said than done – and cannot be implemented on every farm. Housing is an important factor in whether or not to adjust the weaning age. If there is a lack of space for weaned piglets, extending the weaning age could be interesting. He said, “However, the dimensions of the farrowing pen can be a limiting factor. Sufficient size is needed to keep heavier piglets.”
For closed farms, the choice to wean at a later age is easier to make. Thuring said: “Some pig farmers want to work with older and heavier piglets, but wonder how they can have that organised this.”
Management key for weaning at 5 weeks
Thuring said that management around weaning must be in order to make a success of the extension of the weaning age. “The preconditions must be right. Good supplementary feeding of piglets is and remains important. Producers will have an extra week to let the animals’ gut get used to solid feed. The animals will be better prepared when going into the weaner house and will be less susceptible to E. coli and S. suis.”
Thuring does not believe that a later weaning age directly contributes to the prevention of infectious diseases. However, he does suspect that weaning at 5 weeks can make a positive contribution to reducing outbreaks of tail biting.
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