Around 18.772 visitors attended this year’s Intensive Livetock Fair (LIV) in Venray the Netherlands. Daavision also participated in this three-day event which took place from the 1st till the 3rd of March. This year we introduced our new product: DaaCare Piglet.

Prior to the launch of the DaaCare Piglet, Daavision organized the symposium Piglet Vitality. Xandra Benthem de Grave (Schothorst Feed Research), Manon Houben (GD) en Ilse Declerck (University of Gent) spoke about the importance of a vital piglet.

Xandra Benthem de Grave gave all attendees insight into the effect of nutrition around the farrowing period. Transition feed still shows the best result. Although the manual labour for the farmer increases it has a postive effect on the number of vital piglets.

According to Ilse DeClerck, University of Gent, a smooth birth is crucial for a vital piglet. The time of induction should not be too early. The risk of piglets with a low birth weight or less vital piglets can lead to an incerease in stillbirths or a higher dropout.

Manon Houben, GD Animal Health, argued for extra care for both the sow and the piglets. If a sow is in good condition, then the piglets are able to get good quality colostrum. Colostrum not only contains the nutrients that keeps the piglet active, nut also contains the necessary nutrients which increase its immune system.

Farmer Hanneke van den Corput and maternity nurse Senne van de Voort concluded the symposium. Two weeks prior to the symposium both ladies walked through the farrowing pen of Hanneke’s farm along with the Dutch agricultural journal Vakblad Varkens. Looking for parallels between human maternity care and the care for newborn piglets. “Peace, cleanliness and regularity”  that were the similarities that were found.