1 Milestone 4: Identification of suitable high priority project interventions and selected smallholders for training and demonstration units and estimation of potential physical and financial impacts 1) High priority project interventions include (and corresponding figures demonstrate): • Modification and introduction of improvements to housing to improve ventilation, temperature control and hygiene in pig sheds; o Many buildings have insufficient ventilation with no cross ventilation possible. Although some of these buildings could be renovated to reach a satisfactory level, the best alternative would be for the farmer to build a new building for pigs with input into the design by Vietnamese Scientists. Figure 1. Improved shed design. This new building has improved ventilation and hygiene and has been elevated, to account for seasonal flooding in the area. o While a number of buildings were well designed with good cross ventilation, the side openings were covered with plastic blinds or covers. In many of the farms, it appeared to be very labour intensive to open and close them all the time. Simple systems to quickly raise or lower blinds 2 can be introduced. In many farms with low lying rooves a ceiling fan may also improve air quality and heat index. o A number of buildings had ridge vents which appear to work well and give the farmer more options in controlling inside temperatures. o Roofing material-tiles appear to be the best with thatched material the next best and iron the worst option. One shed had an iron roof covered with thatch and this seemed to work well. Whether this will reduce the life span of the iron is unknown. Figure 2. Ridge vents and a fibro roof. Fibro roofing material provides very good insulation against heat and is readily available so was used on many of the new sheds. Ridge vents were also installed on some farms and provide very good ventilation. o Many buildings have poor standard of hygiene associated with poor ventilation and wet floors. Daily cleaning on many farms appears to have a negative effect on overall hygiene and alternatives such as scraping should be trialled. o Improvement to hygiene levels could be made by creating outside dunging areas, especially for sows, weaners and fatteners. This would create a drier environment within the shed and give pigs the option of sitting on wet cool floors under cover outside the shed or on dry warmer floors inside the 3 shed. Slats in these small piggeries would be costly to install and not economically sustainable. Figure 3. A pen with an outdoor dunging area. The hygiene on this farm is excellent. Sows can use the outdoor dunging area and rest inside. Effluent drains away from the pen, into fish ponds. o Hygiene and temperature in many sheds is affected by dung drainage slots at floor level in the outside wall. Some pens have 3 dung slots and some have a long dung slot covered the width of the pen. These openings allow cold draughts to enter the shed from outside, and this creates poor dunging patterns and reduces hygiene and air quality levels. Figure 4. Open gutter system. The new shed designs include open gutter systems to drain effluent away from the shed. Many older sheds have a system where effluent drains 4 directly onto compost pits; as air travels over the pits and into the shed, its quality is reduced. • Modification and adoption of improved farrowing crates, farrowing pen designs and creep boxes with increased temperature control for piglets. o Farrowing crate design need to be modified and a final design or designs decided upon. o Farrowing crates are only needed for F1 and Exotic sows as Mon Cai seem to manage quite well without a farrowing crate. Figure 5. Farrowing crate for an exotic sow. Very few of the selected farms have exotic sows, choosing instead to use exotic semen and Mong Cai sows and this was the only farm where a farrowing crate was used. In line with previous reporting of the superior mothering ability of Mong Cai sows, no death of F1 suckling piglets due to crushing was reported. o A creep box piglet sleeping area needs to be designed and the positioning of lamps was discussed. It seems that it is cheaper and easier in this environment to put a light inside the box rather than rest it on the cover as in Australia. A solid front wall to the front of the creep box and two openings (one at each corner) for the piglets was preferred. 5 Figure 6. Creep boxes. Every farm in TTHue province has been supplied with a creep box and further boxes made by the farmers will use this model. The same process is occurring in Quang Tri. All sides of the creep box are enclosed, the flooring is removable for cleaning and there are two openings and a light bulb, which provides warmth. Straw is commonly added as bedding. • Group housing in pens for dry sows with feeding stalls or half stalls is a priority. However, the width is a problem because of the different breeds so it would seem that best solution would be to develop adjustable dry sow feeding stalls. Figure 7. Feeding stalls. Two types of stalls were used on farms, full (left) and half (right). These help to ensure a more evenly fed herd and less variation in growth rates. 6 o Group housing in pens for dry sows with feeding stalls or half stalls is a priority. However, the width is a problem because of the different breeds so it would seem that best solution would be to develop adjustable dry sow feeding stalls. • Written, complete audible records in regular use on farm Figure 8. Rigorous application of the herd auditing system will ensure that farmers keep adequate production records essential for profitability. • Pass a diet audit and have an ad lib feeding and water regime in place Figure 9. Supplementation of home mixed foods with vitamin and mineral premixes is a common practice in rural Vietnam. 7 Figure 10. Installation of automatic water nipples (in a new Quang Tri smallholder piggery) at different heights provides ad lib water to sows and piglets. • Acceptable heat detection methods and optimal AI Figure 11. Exotic boar semen is added to the inseminator. Lack of boar stimulation and poor technique result in inconsistent conception rates. 8 • Vaccination and treatment schedules in place and NIVR E. coli vaccine in use Figure 12. The NIVR E. coli vaccine (Developed in CARD project 001/04VIE) currently in use in the project. Two injections are given to gilts, 10 weeks and 3 weeks prior to parturition. This provides protective antibodies in colostrum which protects piglets during the critical first week of life when they are most susceptible to enterotoxigenic E. coli infection. • Mange eradicated o Mange has been evident to some extent on all farms we visited. Based on figures from many pig-producing countries around the world, mange causes a 10% decrease in average daily gain and a decrease in food conversion efficiency of 0.1. Based on these figures alone the cost of mange is $350 Aus/sow/year (4,200,000 Dong). The cost of eradication is $5Aus/ breeder (60,000 Dong). This is a one off cost. The program should be designed for each farm to minimise labour and cost of medication. This assumes that treated animals do not come into contact with infected weaners and growers until all infected animals have been sold off. This can be easily achieved by having a buffer pen between animals of treated breeders and infected animals. We can provide specific details based on a diagram of the farm layout 9 Figure 13. Pig with severe sarcoptic mange (http://www.icb.usp.br/~marcelcp/Imagens/carr30.jpg). • Introduction of new improved Mong Cai breeding stock accomplished. Figure 12. High performance pure Mong Cai gilts being raised at Thuy Phuong Pig Research Center (currently managed by Dr Coi, former Vietnam Project Leader) for delivery to selected farmers in Quang Tri province for the project. High performance gilts were introduced into Thua Thien Hue province in April 2007, but outbreaks of FMD and PRRS disease has prevented introduction of gilts to Quang Tri until April 2008. 10 • Pass a farm audit (electronic version) at each visit (including corrective actions) o The shortened form of the electronic questionnaire and audit was previously submitted as part of MS 3. • Diagnostic surveillance for preweaning diarrhoea initiated. Figure 13. Neonatal piglet with E. coli scours (A). To obtain a sample for diagnosis, a dry swab is inserted into the rectum, placed into transport media (B) and mailed to the NIVR diagnostic microbiology laboratory. B A [...]...• Sow/ Litter cards kept detailing: o Date of last weaning o Date of service o Number born, and date o Number scouring, (duration of treatment, and a record of any samples collected for NIVR) o Age and speculative cause of death o Number weaned and date o Date of next service (an example of a sow card is shown below [Word version on the next page]) 11 FARM Identification …………………… Sow/farrowing details... calculate their total input costs and profit margins The cost to production of not achieving each of these milestone goals can also be calculated as a means of continually encouraging farmers to improve their production and therefore their bottom line Our aim is for our selected farmers to become community leaders and produce breeding stock for neighbouring farmers (highly lucrative) Farmers that do... rising sharply as a consequence of FMD and PRRS outbreaks throughout China and South East Asia Given a herd size of approximately 10 sows, a farmer’s target maximum gross income (based on 220 pigs per year) would therefore be close to 100 million Dong ($6,600 AUD) Once demonstration farms are completely set up and farmers have achieved all of the high priority project interventions set out above, it... ventilation and the ridge vent allowing hot air to rise and escape The piggery is made from cheap, cost effective materials 13 2) Estimation of potential physical and financial impacts Given that ideal production parameters are maintained, the target reproduction rate should be 2.2 litters/mated/sow/year with an average litter size of 12 and a weaning target of 10 Vietnamese farmers sell their pigs at various... knowhow is developed and production improved) to the specification designed by Vietnamese trainees (previously reported in MS 3) Figure 14 The first pure Mong Cai piggery in Quang Tri purpose-built to the specification developed by Vietnamese trainee scientists Note the open sides with blinds that can be easily raised or lowered, the high ceiling allowing for adequate cross ventilation and the ridge vent... born dead Foetus/mummy Sow ID Parity Date weaned Nos weaned Fostered in Fostered out Litter mortality details Date Nos dead Death code Code for piglet death Overlay Scours Splay legs Runts Pale/Bleeder Unthrifty Arthritis/Meningitis Savaged Cold/exposed Accident Deformed Hernia 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Unknown 13 Treatment records Piglet/litter treatment Date Nos treated Treatment code Sow treatment... their bottom line Our aim is for our selected farmers to become community leaders and produce breeding stock for neighbouring farmers (highly lucrative) Farmers that do not have the skill level, resources and facilities required to keep sows may choose to fatten grower pigs as a less risky Agribusiness venture 14 . 1 Milestone 4: Identification of suitable high priority project interventions and selected smallholders for training and demonstration units and estimation of potential physical and financial. Date of last weaning o Date of service o Number born, and date o Number scouring, (duration of treatment, and a record of any samples collected for NIVR) o Age and speculative cause of death. Vietnam Project Leader) for delivery to selected farmers in Quang Tri province for the project. High performance gilts were introduced into Thua Thien Hue province in April 2007, but outbreaks of