Water for the pigs is provided in each level of the triple-decked containers. Sea-Air Freight Forwarders manufactures the containers in Ontario and flies them to Chicago for loading. The water tank is a PVC pipe with end caps; three nipple drinkers are screwed into the piping, while a filler cap allows water to be hosed into the drinker. Quite amazing, and works well, where the pipe is lashed to the sidewall. Re-filling is a bit awkward on the airplane (Seattle), when a long hose needs to be hauled down the length of the plane to fill 60 waterers.

The “groom” rides upstairs, just behind the cockpit, but as a “crew member” can sit in the flight engineer’s seat to see the takeoff and landing. Landing is more interesting than takeoff – less white-knuckling – because you can see the landing strip and the airport coming up. The cockpit computer voice loudly announces “2500 feet; 500 feet; 200; 50; 20; 10” and then a smooth bump on landing and roll-out. Thanks to Capt. Brad!

“I’m sure I see a gilt on heat over there; let me out of here!”

Where the Money is: Grow-Finish
( Reprinted from V6,No8 PEAK of Performance News! by the late Dr. Frank Aherne. This is the second of eleven articles in this series)

Cleanliness is not optional!
In general the level of disease and therefore animal performance is influenced by the: Number of organisms to which the animal is exposed (N)
The virulence of the organisms (V)
Stress levels it is encountering (S)
Level of resistance to disease (R)
The interrelationships between these factors can be written as:
N x V x S/R = Disease and performance levels

Controlling N
• Proper washing/disinfecting
• Use of all-in/all-out production systems (AIAO)
• Use of foot baths
• Use of antimicrobial products in the diet.

Controlling V
• Closed herd
• Site segregated production
• AIAO
• Proper isolation/acclimatization
• Purchase healthy stock. Remember that transportation is a high- risk time. Ensure trucks used are washed, disinfected and dry.

Controlling S
• Resistance to disease is provided by antibodies acquired by colostrums and those produced later by synthesis in liver, bone marrow.
• Vaccines
• Phagocytosis in spleen, lymph nodes and bone marrow
• Proper nutrition and management. Have a system in place to deal with any unhealthy pigs that arrive to the barn.

Table 3. The effects of thorough cleaning on grower pig performance

Experiment 1	Cleaned	Not cleaned	% Improvement
ADG, grams	736	692	63
Experiment 2
ADG, grams	744	639	7.4
% treated	4.1	6.9
% mortality	21	3.5

Table 4. Effects of washing on bacteria levels

	Viable bacteria/sq cm
Just after pigs leave the pens	50,000,000
After plain washing the pens	20,000,000
Hot washing plus detergent/font>	100,000
Rinsing with disinfectant	1,000

Waddilove (1999) cited by Gadd (1999)

It has been suggested that 85% of disease is preventable by good (1) sanitation, (2) nutrition and (3) management. So it makes economic sense to prevent disease by proper cleaning and disinfecting rather than treating for diseases.
Table 3 shows that cleaning improved growth rate, reduced mortality and percentage of pigs treated for disease. Improved performance resulting from a proper washing/disinfecting program is due to the overall reduction in numbers of organisms to which the pigs are exposed (Table 4). Bottom Line: don’t be casual about washing and disinfecting. Poor sanitation does reduce pig performance and profit.

Pressure washing

* Before starting, dress properly, using rubber boots, gloves, safety glasses and rain gear.
* Follow manufacturer suggestion for operating pressure-washing equipment
* Identify electrical safety hazards and cover them.
* Empty slurry channels
* Set at 2000 psi, with hot water
* Pre-soak pen walls, floors and feeders for a least one hour prior to washing. Soak an area that can be washed before it re-dries.
* Re-plug the slurry channels so as to allow a good layer of liquid in the channels (less easy for flies to become established, particularly in nurseries and finisher units).
* Start at the highest points on the walls and work your way down. Wash feeders, then wash fans and ceilings and then the floors using soap (detergent). Use of a detergent in pens that have concrete floors/walls will reduce washing time substantially as well as reducing bacterial numbers.
* Use disinfectant according to manufacturer’s recommended dilution and directions. Disinfectants should be rotated every six months.
* Allow the room to be completely dry before refilling with pigs. - Check all equipment and drinkers for damage/repair.
* Reset the ventilation/heating controls for the new batch of pigs. Barns must be clean, warm and dry before next fill.