MARCUS GARVEY

TECHNICAL HIGH
GRADE 11

TOPIC: Animal Science

SUBTOPIC: Pig Production
 OBJECTIVE:
● What is scours
● The type of scours
● the symptoms of scours
● the prevention of scours
● the treatments for scours
what is scours ?
Scours or diarrhea, are the excretion of feces containing excess fluid. There can
be a variety of causes, and therefore a multifaceted approach to prevention is
necessary.

Piglets are particularly vulnerable to scours as their digestive system is still

immature and an upset is more easily triggered. E.coli is one of the most frequent
sources, but scours can also be viral, parasitic or nutritional.
the types of scours
● Bacterial: A number of bacteria can be responsible for scours; common
culprits are E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter.
● Viral: Rotavirus and reovirus can result in scours, along with swine fever and
transmissible gastroenteritis.The porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus and
the PRRS virus also cause scouring.
● Parasitic: Heavy burdens of both coccidia and worms can cause scouring.
● Dietary or nutritional: Any change in feed can cause scours. Differences in
the nutritional specification or material quality can result in digestive upset.
Introduction of a new ingredient or even variation in the quantity of feed
supplied can also be responsible. Contamination of feed or water also has
the potential to affect gastrointestinal function.
the symptoms of scours
Symptoms of scours are dependent on the age of the piglet. For example, baby pig scours are characterized
by light-colored, foul-smelling liquid scour, which may result in several deaths in a litter. This commonly
occurs soon after birth; piglets appear listless and may huddle together.

Diarrhea that occurs at two to three weeks of age is often called pre-weaning or milk scours. Although not
normally associated with high mortality, it does result in significant growth setbacks. The immunity acquired
from the colostrum has fallen to low levels by this time, although antibodies in the milk offer some protection
to the gut.
The prevention of scours
Antibodies from the sow in the form of colostrum are important in preventing scours.
Therefore, ensuring that all piglets are suckling well in the first three days of life is
very important. This is dependent on both the health of the sow and her piglets.
Weak or small piglets may not have the energy to suck or there may not be enough
viable teats for the whole litter. Piglets born to sows that aren’t producing enough
milk (agalactia) are also at high risk. Other conditions that predispose piglets to
scouring include anemia and pneumonia.
the treatments for scours
Antibiotic treatment may be necessary for serious cases of scouring. Rehydration therapy,
in the form of electrolyte addition to the water, is effective. An oversupply of milk can
exacerbate the problem, in which case feed intake for the sow could be reduced during an
outbreak.

The option to move or segregate litters as well as putting piglets in a sickbay can help to
reduce the spread of scours. Fostering of piglets from sows with large litters or not enough
milk will prevent them becoming too weak. Using an E. coli vaccination before farrowing
is a sensible consideration, particularly if there has been a problem in the past.
Group four {4}
Sherice campbell

Anastassia foreman

Sanique grier

Anthonio wabba

Rasheed morgan

Rhyme fray

Chevaughn merchant