Farmscape for December 1, 2016

An Assistant Professor in Swine Behavior and Welfare with the University of Saskatchewan says its important for pork producers to be sure the compounds used to control pain during painful procedures comply with the pork industry's on farm pork quality assurance program.
Under Canada's revised Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Pigs farmers must provide pain control during painful procedures such as castration and tail docking.
Producers must provide an analgesic to control the post procedure pain to any pigs that are tail docked and to male pigs that are castrated prior to 10 days of age and those castrated after 10 days of age must be given both an analgesic and an anesthetic.
Dr. Yolande Seddon, an Assistant Professor in Swine Behavior and Welfare with the University of Saskatchewan, says it's important to be sure products being used are approved for use in livestock to adhere to the Canadian Quality Assurance policy on drug use.

Clip-Dr. Yolande Seddon-University of Saskatchewan:
We have products such as Metacam, Anafen, Ketoprofen B, Banamine.
You do have the option to work with your vet and potentially use a cattle product, so for that we have an oral Meloxicam suspension.
A know your products, make sure they're approved for use in livestock and ideally approved for use in pigs.
Secondly look at the dosage.
For the Metacam we have it in 20 milligrams per mill and also five milligrams per mill so it's important to take this into consideration because, with any drugs, you have the ability to inject too much and create problems so make sure that you get your doses correct.
For instance the Canadian Pork Council has produced guidelines on how to administer this and what does you need.
For the Metacam 20 milligrams per mill, you actually need to dilute that solution because, when you're giving it to a three day old piglet,  you need such as small amount.

Dr. Seddon notes says the Pig Code of Practice represents our commitment to animal care.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork