A pig regulates its temperature through panting and through cooling its skin. Panting increases airflow and evaporation of water from the lungs, which releases heat. Pigs will also lie on cool surfaces or in cooler shaded areas to help dissipate heat from their bodies, or cover themselves in water or mud, which helps with evaporative cooling. (Mud also provides some protection against sunburn.) Show If your pigs are lying in the shade, panting, they may be beginning to suffer from heat stress. Going off feed is another classic sign: Pigs will markedly reduce their feed intake when too hot, because the digestive process itself releases heat, meaning more heat for the pig to dissipate. Prolonged heat stress—even if relatively mild—can therefore affect growth rates of market hogs, as well as the milk production of lactating sows. Recent research also shows that exposure to heat stress—even for only a few hours—can compromise immune defense systems, exposing the pig to secondary infections. Heat stress can also lead to fertility loss. Boar sperm volume and quality will both decrease if the boar overheats (an issue you may only identify after the sows you expected to be in pig all return to estrus), while heat stress in sows can lead to embryo death and reduced litter size. If you experience seasonal fluctuations in returns to service and/or poor litter size, heat stress could be a factor.
How can I prevent heat stress? The most important action you can take is ensuring pigs have access to wallows where they can get a good coating of mud on their skins. If you don’t provide a place for pigs to wallow you may find they move or break water troughs to create their own mud hole. It is far better to keep drinking water clean and wallowing water muddy, so providing two distinct areas will ensure your pigs are happier and healthier. A continuous supply of fresh, clean drinking water is obviously essential to pig health –and becomes even more important in hot weather. Warm drinking water does not have the same cooling effect as cold water, so consider where drinking water points are sited and how water is stored to ensure the supply is as cool as possible. Can you put drinkers in the shade or bury plastic water pipes so the water is not heated by the sun? Ideally, you should provide pigs with shade as well as wallows. Shade can be natural, such as trees and vegetation, or man-made structures, such as windbreak sheets attached to poles Pig huts may cast some shade but can become unbearably hot unless they are insulated and/or open to allow air flow. While pigs still need comfortable places to lie down, you can safely reduce bedding quantity in hot weather. Sows will leave their litters to seek relief if farrowing huts are too hot. If piglets are big enough to follow her you can provide shade on the range; however, if you need the sow to remain in the hut with a young litter then ensure vents are open to allow air flow. If high summer temperatures are a regular occurrence, insulated huts that prevent the interior heating up are a worthwhile investment. Alternatively, heat reflective paint on huts or arks can help to reduce heat buildup inside. Finally, avoid feeding pigs in the hottest part of the day. Feeding either first thing in the morning—or once in the early morning and again in the evening—will ensure the pigs get the nutrition they need.
Will all pigs be affected? Larger pigs will be more affected by heat stress than smaller pigs, as seen by the optimum temperatures for different ages and sizes of pigs. For example, the optimum ambient temperature for newborn piglets is around 950F; at three weeks old it is 800F; by the time pigs reach above 75lbs in weight the ideal temperature drops to 600F. If a pig gets too far above its optimum temperature range it will suffer from heat stress. The color of pigs can also affect their propensity for heat stress or sunburn. Although there is some concern that darker colored pigs might absorb more heat, in general smaller breeds with dark skin and long snouts are less susceptible, because they have a greater surface area per pound of body weight (meaning greater heat transfer), more pharynx area to allow cooling through panting, and natural pigment for protection against sunburn. Interestingly, recent research suggests new genetic lines produce nearly 20 percent more heat than their counterparts bred in the early 1980s, and so could be more susceptible to heat stress.
Heat stress is important Heat stress can have a significant effect on pig health and welfare, as well as the profitability of your pig enterprise. Getting prepared for the summer and making sure your pigs can wallow and lie in shade will make things better for them—and for your bottom line. Writer, Anna Heaton is AGW’s Lead Technical Advisor
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