The Hospital Pen

On the day piglets are brought to the nursery facility they need to adapt to all sorts of changes.  Some piglets adapt very quickly.  Some piglets do not.  Those that struggle with the transition may have come to the nursery small or skinny.  They may be sick, or have an injury.  There are many reasons why a piglet may not transition well. Regardless of the reason, it is the responsibility of the caregiver to help those pigs. In many cases help comes in the form of a “hospital pen”.

A hospital pen is a pen that is designated for struggling or sick piglets.  Each day as caregivers walk through their pigs, they pick out piglets that need extra care.  Those pigs are placed in the hospital pen.

Hospital pens are an excellent tool, and can make all the difference for a struggling piglet.

• There are fewer animals in hospital pens
  • Less competition for food and fewer pigs being bullied
  • Fewer pigs to pick on and bug the sick and recovering
  • More opportunity for those with injured or sore feet or legs to recover

• Some hospital pens have supplemental heat
  • This helps the sick and small pigs that have
  • difficulty maintaining body temperature

• Supplemental nutrition is provided
  • Caretakers will spread feed out on mats
    • This helps piglets find the food and have ready access to it.

• Most hospital pens have gruel pans. Gruel is just a mixture of feed and water.  Sometimes electrolytes or protein supplements are mixed in as well.
  • This helps piglets struggling with the transition
    from milk to solid food.
  • This also helps piglets that aren’t feeling well and
    don’t want to eat. Sometimes they feel good enough to drink and get nutrition from the gruel.

• The hospital pen gets more attention
  • This means pigs will get individual treatments with antibiotics.
  • Piglet will be monitored for recovery
  • When treatment is not successful piglets in a hospital pen are carefully monitored so that a decision to euthanize can be made before they suffer unnecessarily.

Hospital pens don’t end when piglets make the transition to living in the nursery and eating solid food.  Those pens are there for any pig that is sick, injured, or falling behind at any time in the growing period.  Hospital pens are an important tool. They play an important role in our ability to give proper care to the pigs entrusted to us.