are vaccinations needed?

hello, i am newbie. i got 4 pigs from a local pig famer last week, average weight was about 25kgs so i would assume they got their early vaccinations (or i would assume because of the stringent laws here in finland, EU where i live) and the farm is legit. i have been told that typically they get another vaccination. does anyone know is this necessary? i am wondering if its just a hoop that the famers jumpt through to please the EU.

my pigs are on almost a full acre of jerusalem artichokes and brassicas, and i plan on keeping them only up to the fall (or when it drops below 5C). any help appreciated- tried searching the forum but couldnt find anything.

I initially thought you asked if pigs needed VACATIONS.

It's for you to decide.. Do you have problems in your area with swine related diseases? Are you sure to prevent the spread of pathogens to and from your property. Individuals have been raising pigs without vaccines for centuries. And human beings have also lived without antibiotics for a good while, but i still use them when needed. This is part circumstantial, part regulations, part food and animal ethics.

I guess there is also a liability issue, both for consumers, and safety of other farms and water shed.

Need? No. No one needs vaccines. Smart choice? Maybe, but you are probably at a really low risk. Confined in a 3m x 3m pen on concrete the whole time and you probably do want more meds.

Pigs are really a lot like people. Would you get vaccinated if you lived like that? Open air, plenty of space, and pretty much in isolation for your entire life...

One of my favorite podcasts to listen to while working outside is the Chicken Thistle Farm Coop-Cast. For the past five or so years they have been raising pigs partly as a hobby business. With a large property and a max of two sows, they thought they would be able to raise their pigs on pasture without medications. The no medications thing was quickly abandoned, and just this year they threw in the towel and introduced a vaccination program for their pigs.

Another great pasture pig resource is Walter Jeffries of Sugar mountain farm. He uses heritage breeds on pasture with rotational grazing and even hangs out on the permies board from time to time, despite all that it looks as though he still vaccinates albeit not as heavily as the industrial farms:

Vaccines – I do believe in vaccination as preventative medicine. We vaccinate ourselves, our dogs and our kids. When I buy chicks I get them vaccinated for Merks Disease. I have not found it necessary to vaccinate the pigs as heavily as the literature suggests. Part of this may simply be that we are fairly isolated as well as the animals being outdoors in a low stress environment. For the sows I use FarrowSure Gold B or similar. If there were a disease outbreak in our area, I would vaccinate them as needed.

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2007/02/01/piglet-interventions/

are vaccinations needed?

Only needed if you want to protect your pigs from diseases.
If the diseases are not present in your environment then it won't be an issue.
Vaccinations are needed more for breeder pigs than feeder pigs.
We vaccinate. Vaccinations are a cheap preventative medicine.

-Walter

I would check what the law says in your area - however you feel about vaccinations yourself, if you are in risk of a liability suit if some kind (in Denmark that would be a risk), then I would vaccinate regardless of my own ideas in the area.

Walter Jeffries wrote:

are vaccinations needed?

Vaccinations are needed more for breeder pigs than feeder pigs.
We vaccinate. Vaccinations are a cheap preventative medicine.

-Walter

what diseases do you vaccinate for walter?

I'm a strong proponent of preventative medicine and vaccines are preventative - well worth the cost. I vaccinate our piglets. If someone wants them unvaccinated it costs extra.

We use the following vaccines with the pigs:

Pavro Shield L5E 7
Parapleuro Shield P+BE 8
FarrowSureGold B (breeders)
Essential 3+T
LitterGuard LT-C
CircoFlex (piglets)

There is some overlap.

A good source is Jefferslivestock.com They have the data sheets online for vaccines and are quite helpful. ValleyVet and PBSAnimalHealth are also good.

These two types of repeater injectors are invaluable if you have many animals to vaccinate:

http://www.jefferspet.com/products/automatic-bottle-top-syringe

http://www.jefferspet.com/products/volume-repeater-syringes