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Masonville, Iowa | I haven't clipped needle teeth for over 8 years. Definitely cuts down on strep and staph infections. I will see an occcasional litter that will scuff each other up but they are few and far between. Greasy pig is not a problem. My experience with greasy pig is that you see it when: a) you are running alot of gilts and they don't carry maternal antibodies, or b) pigs going into new facilities where the new wire has tiny, tiny abrasions that irritate the pigs' skin enough to allow the staph infection in. Excede has helped control greasy pig quite a bit.
I was concerned about sow discomfort when we quit clipping also. That has not been a problem. You just need to size the litters on sows according to functional teats and then maintain the integrity of the litter so that they are not continuously trying to reestablish the pecking order. | |
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