Monitor building temperature to prevent respiratory disease

Pig producers should closely monitor building temperature fluctuations to prevent an increase in respiratory disease during the extreme cold weather.

According to Paul Thompson, vet consultant for pig-breeding company, ACMC, his practice is already seeing an upsurge in coughs and respiratory disease in pigs.

“For staff working on the unit during the day only it can be difficult to appreciate how cold the pigs may get at night, so monitoring the maximum-minimum thermometers and making appropriate adjustments to the environment is crucial.”

And for buildings experiencing regular problems the use of temperature data loggers can be valuable.

“Temperatures only need to go low (or high) for a short period to change a max-min thermometer, so the minimum reading may have registered a relatively short period – when a door has been left open, for instance – whereas a temperature logger shows the precise length of time that the temperature has been out of tolerance.”