What you should Know about a hygienic pig house.

Hi friends,
Today I want us to look at the importance of keeping a hygienic pen in our farm house.
You see,  a lot of farmers overtime has cultivated the habit of leaving their farm house and pig sheds a mess, especially here in Nigeria - where there's is this mindset that the animal (pig) is sort of dirty in nature and so farmers chose to rather withdraw from battling with the Lord  since he has created them like that. Surprisingly, this belief is as false as the black Sun of yesterday.
Pigs, omnivorous in nature, as we know have very large appetite for food and the inability of they few sweat glands to cool them off makes them eat almost everything they find and try to wallow in a source of water they come in contact so as to cool their temperature. Now because of the unavailability of food and water in most areas, pigs reared under extensive system of management would survive on the feed materials and water available in most gutters and dump sites - this is their situation.

In pig production, like other livestock production, the primary result is good quality meat ( and of course in good quantity) which would transform into money. In making sure that this is achieved, the health, environment, food and welfare of the animal is considered to be improved to the optimum so that the required desire is achieved. A pig herd reared in conditions lacking the qualities above would therefore suffer the devoid in one way or the other. Truth is this; Pigs are sensitive to good environmental conditions just like we humans - we belong to the same animal kingdom you know and so they produce more in terms of growth, health and reproduction when exposed to good and quality environmental conditions.

A pig farmer, committed to maximum production of his/her pig herd should always ensure that the pig house and environment is always clean and tidy. One very good thing about healthy and clean environment of the pig house is that it helps to check many other factors that would influence the production of the herd. Examples of this are;  a clean and tidy pig house would prevent the occurrence and transfer of disease pathogens, a clean pen would encourage the animals to eat very well thereby removing the speculations of whether a dirty environment is the cause of pigs shying away from feeding, a clean pig house reduces the incidence of diseases, cost of procuring drugs would be limited as the pigs would always be healthy provided there is enough food for them,  clean environment boosts the income of the farmer by providing good quality meat, clean environment also gives the farmer pride, joy and fulfillment as he/she would always be proud of his enterprise, it also attracts investors.

Tips on maintaining a clean environment in the farm.

• Instead of building a concrete water storage facility as the wallow, use water shower system; the stagnant water of the concrete wallow gets dirty easily, houses pathogens and pigs may drink from them. Alternatively, pour water on the pigs manually and severally within the day - especially during the hot hours of the day. 
• Clean the pig house twice daily (morning and evening) or at least once a day depending on the number of pigs in the farm.
• Wash every pig with clean water three times (thrice) in a week. 
• Clean the feeders and drinkers every day especially before pouring in their feed. 
• Always change the chemical in the foot dip at the entrance of the pig house.
• Dispose off the faeces and waste from the pig house properly. Avoid air pollution within the farm and its environs.
• Always clean and disinfect pens that are not in use. 

A healthy environment would always show on the health and productivity of your herd.
Cultivate the habit of keeping the pig house clean.

Peace!