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Protecting health and productivity with heat stress
As temperatures get warmer, heat stress becomes a rising concern for your fattening pigs. Occurring between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, heat stress impacts both the health and productivity of your animals.
Discover how to identify and prevent heat stress in your fattening pigs early to ensure their well-being and performance.
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What are the effects of heat stress?
Heat stress poses a significant challenge in pig fattening, impacting animal welfare and production profitability. Pigs, unable to regulate body temperature through sweating, struggle to release heat with high temperatures. This results in elevated respiratory rates, reduced appetite, and lower feed intake, hindering growth and feed efficiency.
Persistent heat stress also compromises the pigs' immune systems, making them more susceptible to diseases and higher mortality rates. Furthermore, behavioral changes like increased aggression and cannibalism heighten the risk of injury.
What are the symptoms of heat stress?
Identifying heat stress in pigs requires observing multiple different symptoms. Additionally, it's vital to monitor factors like barn and outdoor temperatures. Also pay attention to changes in their behavior. For example, the pigs play more with water or the higher-ranking animals lie down under the drinkers to cool down with dripping water.
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- Feed intake decreases
- Water intake increases
- Increased respiratory rate
- Cannibalism and tail biting increases
- Daily weight gain and performance decreases
- Frequent lying down
The 3 steps to prevent heat stress
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