Elanco will be holding a seminar on piglet gut health, to help support the transition away from medicinal zinc usage to control post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD).
It will take place at the Jury’s Inn hotel, near Hinckley, Leicestershire, on 21 September from 11am to 1pm, with leading industry experts lined up to share their learnings on alternative approaches to managing PWD, including vaccination.
Jack Fellows from Elanco Animal Health says, with 90 percent of producers using their vet as their first port of call when it comes to PWD, it is vital they start to encourage producers to consider an alternative prescription to zinc.
“Producers must start to prepare now to avoid being forced to turn to antibiotics when zinc is no longer an option,” says Jack Fellows.
“Vaccination will become an increasingly important component of PWD prevention. Amongst other topics on mastering piglet gut health, the seminar aims to support knowledge on the application of in-water vaccines to ensure appropriate and effective use.”
Jack Fellows adds that while vaccination may appear costly in comparison to zinc oxide, it offers a good return on investment.
“Piglets can be vaccinated from 18 days of life, so they are protected from the pathogen at weaning, and we are seeing a growing number of UK herds using vaccines as part of their PWD prevention strategy,” he says.
“Farms using the Coliprotec vaccine are no longer using in-water medication to control scours. They’re also noticing that piglets are eating more, and that they’re achieving an extra 2kg of slaughter weight while reaching market weights seven days sooner.”
What prescription will replace zinc?
Line up of speakers:
- Faye Murch, Kingsgate Nutrition will discuss managing the nutritional transition away from zinc
- Eric Nadeau, Elanco Global Pig Vaccine Advisor will cover controlling the effects of PWD with Coliprotec vaccine
- Daniel Parker, veterinary consultant will explain what can be learnt from successes in the poultry sector
- Francesc Molist from Schothorst Feed Research will cover the recent challenges in swine nutrition
Register for the event here.
