Pig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    • July 2025
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Buildings supplement
    • February 2025
    • 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Pig Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • 2024 Buildings Supplement
    • March 2024
    • 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    • October 2023
    • September 2023
    • Health Supplement
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
Podcast
Pig WorldPig World
  • News
      • Animal Health
      • Breeding
      • Business
      • Environment
      • EU
      • Food Safety
      • Housing
      • Marketing
      • NPA
      • National Pig Awards
      • New Products
      • Nutrition
      • People
      • Pig Fair
      • Politics
      • Training & Education
      • Welfare
  • Features
    • Animal Health
    • Breeding
    • Environment
    • Farm Visits
    • Herd Recording
    • Housing
    • Marketing
    • Nutrition
    • Products
    • Training
  • Comment
    • AHDB Pork
    • Chris Fogden
    • Dennis Bridgeford
    • Peter Crichton
    • Red Robin
    • Veterinary View
    • Zoe Davies, NPA
  • Numbers
  • Pig Prices
  • Magazines
    1. July 2025
    2. June 2025
    3. 2025 Innovation supplement
    4. May 2025
    5. April 2025
    6. March 2025
    7. 2025 Buildings supplement
    8. February 2025
    9. 2025 Nutrition Supplement
    10. January 2025
    11. December 2024
    12. November 2024
    13. 2025 National Pig Awards supplement
    14. October 2024
    15. September 2024
    16. August 2024
    17. 2024 Pig Health supplement
    18. July 2024
    19. June 2024
    20. 2024 Innovation supplement
    21. 2024 Pig & Poultry Fair Guide
    22. May 2024
    23. April 2024
    24. 2024 Buildings Supplement
    25. March 2024
    26. 2024 Pig Nutrition supplement
    27. February 2024
    28. January 2024
    29. December 2023
    30. November 2023
    31. 2023 National Pig Awards supplement
    32. October 2023
    33. September 2023
    34. Health Supplement
    Featured

    July 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    July 6, 2025
    Recent

    July 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    July 6, 2025

    June 2025 issue of Pig World now available

    June 4, 2025

    2025 Innovation supplement now available

    June 4, 2025
  • Suppliers
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Classified
  • Events
    • Pigs Tomorrow
    • National Pig Awards
LinkedIn X (Twitter)
Pig World
Chris Fogden

Piglet health is on the up, but not because of my cunning plan!

PW ReportersBy PW ReportersNovember 10, 20183 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

A first-generation farmer and Nuffield Scholar, Chris Fogden owns and manages 950 outdoor sows on 40ha of rented land within the rotation of a large Norfolk arable estate.

My latest stupid idea has come to haunt me. Or more accurately, the plan made during last autumn’s site move that we would move the farrowing paddocks twice a year to improve farrowing paddock hygiene. The plan means we now have five weeks, twice a year, of squeezing fencing, plumbing and moving huts, fenders and water troughs in among all the other routine tasks.

Over the course of our time on the previous site, weaning weights became more of a struggle to maintain and mortality levels rose so I decided to try and stop that happening on the new site by pinching someone else’s idea of having two lots of farrowing paddocks and moving between them each spring and autumn.

Meanwhile, part of our problem was diagnosed as Leptospirosis and this was dealt with by a change of vaccination – and pre-weaning mortality improved a lot. More recently, keen to know if coccidiosis was a problem for us, my vet advised that the best way would be to start using toltrazuril and see what happened.

To cut a long story short, dosing each piglet is very worthwhile and I would be very loath to move away from it. This summer we managed to keep weaning weights above 7kg, so I have high expectations through the winter, as well as expectations of an aching left arm after picking each one up at weaning for vaccination. So things have improved, but not through six- monthly farrowing paddock moves.

There are some pluses for doing it, though. It means that the farrowing paddocks are much smaller than they were, at about 12 metres by 12 metres. This means that there are no intermediate electric fence posts, saving on build time and on potential fence problems. The smaller paddocks mean there is a much shorter walk involved when checking at feeding, a huge time saving. Regular moving gives the opportunity to clean and re-site the water troughs as a necessary part of the routine.

One disadvantage of a smaller paddock is that there is not sufficient flight distance for a timid gilt if someone walks into it, which can mean, if we are not careful, gilts breaking fences. Also the tighter space in the paddock makes manoeuvring the huts and mucking out used beds with a loader very tight. The number of damaged fenders is proof of this.

Nevertheless, it is pleasant to have new farrowing accommodation every six months but not so good to have the extra workload. So I’m still very undecided as to how worthwhile it is.

 

Share. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Previous ArticleWater’s key role and the need for new tank design
Next Article Extracting big value from big data
PW Reporters

Read Similar Stories

Comment: Market recovery, export growth and on-farm innovation

July 7, 2025

Comment: Encouraging signs as big pig issues discussed in parliament

July 4, 2025

Vet View: Importance of iron and vitamin D for pigs and for me

June 9, 2025
Latest News

UK poorly protected from animal diseases that could cost taxpayer billions – NPA tells MPs

July 8, 2025

What the pig sector can learn from poultry’s avian flu response

July 8, 2025

Tributes paid, after respected pig farmer, Rob Beckett, passes away

July 7, 2025
Sponsored Content

THE GATEKEEPER OF RESPIRATORY HEALTH – MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE (M.HYO)

April 30, 2024

Tackle the root cause of PWD with free diagnostic tests

March 1, 2024
Current Pig Industry jobs
  • Pig Stockperson – Ref 1758 Norfolk

    • Norfolk
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Experienced Pig Stockperson – Ref 1757 South East England

    • South East England
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
  • Pig Stockperson Farm Worker – Ref 1756 UK

    • United Kingdom
    • Roadhogs Recruitment Ltd.
    • Full Time
GETTING IN TOUCH
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Meet The Editors
  • About Us
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
  • Reuse permissions
OUR SOCIAL CHANNELS
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
PARTNER EVENTS
RELATED SITES
  • Farmers Weekly
  • Agronomist & Arable Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • National Pig Awards
  • Pigs Tomorrow
  • Poultry News
  • Weekly Tribune
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.