40% of sow deaths are because of an unknown trigger
16 September 2025
3 minute learn
Key takeaways
- Many elements have an effect on sow mortality, making it onerous to establish causes on farm.
- Early illness intervention could also be vital to lowering sow mortality.
- Caregivers can look ahead to indicators of sickness to resolve issues early.
Sow mortality trending increased
Sow mortality has been a subject of concern within the swine trade for a while, with information displaying a gentle improve in mortality since 2014 till a file excessive 15.8% in 2023. Of those losses, virtually 40% of sow deaths are because of an unknown trigger.
On sow farms, there are numerous elements affecting sow mortality, defined Annika Senn, a first-year Kansas State College veterinary scholar who was a Zoetis Swine Veterinary Internship Program (SVIP) participant in 2024. Nevertheless, it may be onerous to establish causes of those mortalities on farm, which is why such a big proportion is listed as “unknown,” she added.
Potential early interventions
Sow remedy protocols can range significantly from farm to farm, and whereas veterinarians encourage acceptable use of anti-inflammatory or antibiotic merchandise when wanted, remedy choices could often be based mostly on different elements.
As a part of her SVIP expertise, Senn led a research to check potential early interventions on the time of farrowing on subsequent sow medical outcomes and mortality. Her research was offered on the 2025 American Affiliation of Swine Veterinarians Annual Assembly. Contact a Zoetis veterinarian in regards to the research outcomes.
Globally, sows are the category of swine that’s the least handled with antibiotics, which means there is a chance to deal with extra sows to get forward of mortality when an infectious trigger is implicated.
Antimicrobials resembling cephalosporins have been key to profitable administration of respiratory illness in swine; however as they’re medically vital antimicrobials in human medication, the Meals & Drug Administration has set limits on their use. Swine producers and veterinarians have achieved an excellent job adhering to the foundations concerning cephalosporin use in meals animals. There could also be conditions, although, when questions come up about compliance concerning extra-label use.
The extra-label use of cephalosporinsOpens in a brand new window in swine could also be permitted, resembling when there may be an sickness because of a pathogen that’s not on the label and for which there’s no accredited remedy, so long as that use is in response to the product label for dosage, frequency, period and route of administration. Zoetis additionally has ready a reality sheet on cephalosporin further label use, out there beneath.
The swine trade is exploring a variety of options — together with the usage of antimicrobials or dietary feed components — to assist promote the general well being of the sow through the instant interval earlier than and after farrowing, Senn stated.
Sow well being greatest practices
Early illness intervention can be vital to lowering sow mortality. Coaching groups to search for early indicators of sickness can have an effect.
Zoetis developed the Particular person Sow Care program to assist caregivers discover ways to catch indicators of sickness early. Via this system, caregivers are proven the significance of on a regular basis observations on the barn, group and particular person ranges.
The Particular person Sow Care program helps caregivers construct expertise to:
- Observe and consider every sow — decoding behaviors, monitoring feed and water entry, and taking a sow’s temperature.
- Examine and charge sow well being — evaluating and scoring sow well being elements, resembling atmosphere, feces, perineal space, physique situation, toes and legs, and underline.
- Guarantee sows and piglets are thriving — understanding methods to assess every lactating sow’s milk provide and methods to monitor well being and conduct of piglets.
- Talk successfully — understanding how and when to contact the herd veterinarian and what info to offer.
