When you hear the term “productivity,” it's natural to mentally jump to the grow-finish phase of production, and while that is included here, it’s not where we start. Productivity means different things at different stages, and they all influence your bottom line.
Start at the Sow
Your sows are the champions of the whole operation. Without them, there is no herd, so it benefits them and pays you in the long run to plan for their health and wellness. A productive sow is measured not only by the size of her litter and her parity, but also by her piglets’ disease resistance and livability. If you are striving for larger, healthier litters, your sows need to be in good condition prior to breeding.
Focus on Inputs
Focus on Foundation
Focus on the Unseen
Feed and water matter. Keep pipes and vessels clean and free of pathogens and make sure there is plenty of fresh water available to your sows at all times. Consider reevaluating your feeding program to determine what trace minerals and other nutritional additives could improve gut health to help your sows during stressful transitions such as gestation, farrowing, nursing, and weaning.
Changes, Changes, and More Changes
Throughout a piglet's life, there are stressors that you just can’t avoid: processing, weaning, vaccinations, and diet transitions, to name a few. When you pair those stresses with a health challenge… well, you know the rest. Some pathogens seem almost inevitable to cause illness and inflammation in your sows and nursery pigs, so your prevention strategy should center on minimizing the risk and impact of disease challenges. Solid management plans and well-developed health protocols will solidify their ability to gain a foothold and thrive once they get to the grow-finish stage.
Big and Strong
Once they’ve graduated from the nursery to the grow-finish barn, your pigs have to be fed effectively and efficiently so you can realize the full value of every animal and maximiaze your return on investment. When it comes to planning pigs’ grow-finish regimen, you know the fine line you have to walk in feeding to achieve the best gain without breaking the bank.
There’s an old saying that if a little of something is good, more must be better. Sometimes this means being able to have something that works well, over a longer period, is better. However, we know the proof is in the pudding, so we have you covered with proven results. Raise the bar with Skycis® and Denagard® 10 Premix + CTC.
A Focus at Every Phase
Productivity is not just the ROI you achieve when you sell the finished pig; productivity has different metrics at different life stages. A productive sow is measured on parities and litter sizes… but those are heavily dependent on your provision of daily care and her own good genetics. A productive nursery piglet is measured on its ability to adjust to solid food and adapt to a group setting while maintaining reasonable immunity and illness recovery time. A productive grow-finish pig’s productivity rests on average daily gain, feed conversion, daily feed intake, and carcass yield.
The labels contain complete use information, including cautions and warnings. Always read, understand and follow the label and use directions.
1Patterson, J.; Foxcroft, G. Gilt Management for Fertility and Longevity. Animals. 2019.
2Berchieri-Ronchi B, Kim W, Zhao Y, et. al. Oxidative stress status of highly prolific sows during gestation and lactation. Animal, 5(11), 1774-1779. 2011. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1751731111000772
3Elanco Animal Health. Data on File.
Baseline, Denagard, Proteck, Skycis, the Full Value Pork logo, Elanco and the diagonal bar logo are trademarks of Elanco or its affiliates.
©2024 Elanco or its affiliates.
PM-US-24-0106