Typical piglet weaning pens on Guam

Hog producers on Guam lose many piglets each year due to diarrhea. This diarrhea occurs when piglets are 1-2 weeks old and 1-2 weeks after weaning. Although the occurrence of piglet diarrhea is damaging to producers, no effort has been made to solve the problem. Ricardo Cruz is the owner of Columbus Piggery in Barrigada, Guam. His goal, with the help of a Western SARE Farmer/Rancher grant, is to alleviate the problem of diarrhea in piglets and to share this information with fellow producers.

To lessen the occurrence of diarrhea in newborn piglets, Cruz plans to first identify the bacterial strain that causes the diarrhea by collecting stool samples and rectal swabs from neonatal and postnatal piglets with diarrhea. Once identified the bacteria will be administered to a group of pregnant sows to increase the immunity of the piglets to diarrhea. Experimental piglets will also be treated with an appropriate antibiotic. The piglets' resistance to diarrhea as a result of receiving the bacteria will then be compared with a control group that did not receive the bacteria.

Cruz also wants to solve the problem of diarrhea in recently weaned piglets. Traditionally, newly weaned piglets are transferred to pens with wet and cold concrete floors, which Cruz believes predispose the piglets to diarrhea. He has developed a design for improved weaning facilities, including new pens with woven wire floors that will be elevated a foot high over existing growing pens, treatment tanks, and nipple waterers to demonstrate group treatment of diarrhea. Cruz will compare the growth rates and incidence of diarrhea in recently weaned piglets placed in elevated pens with those placed on cement floors.

The results of this experiment will be presented to the public through on-farm demonstrations, desktop and web-based publications, a slide show, and presentations at national swine management conferences.