Nghiên cứu khoa học nông nghiệp " A blueprint for sustainable small holder pig production in Central Vietnam " potx

TRAVEL REPORT: Mr Kit Parke, 24 March 2010


A blueprint for sustainable small holder pig production in Central Vietnam

AUSAIDCARD Project (424 7155 01 004/05VIE)

LOCATION: Central Vietnam– Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri

TIME: 12th January 2010 to 11
th
February 2010



Project checklist (taken from Questionnaire for monthly farm audit)
• Plus (+) = satisfactory (e.g. good ventilation) or in use (e.g. creep boxes)
• Minus (-) = not satisfactory (e.g. poor ventilation) or not in use (e.g. creep boxes)
• Project farm = a farm visited in 2009 and 2010
• Control farm = a farm not visited in 2009
• Tarni advised me that control farms were selected at the beginning of the project but
were not active until another farm dropped out of the project

Parameter Project farms Control farms Comment
Ventilation +/- -
Roofing material + +
Ridge vents +/- -
Dry floors - - Wet weather
Temperature (especially piglets) - - Wet weather,

cool
Farrowing crates + Not in use 1 exotic breed
farm
Creep boxes +/- -
Group housing +/- +/- Sows chewing
creep boxes
Hygiene (floors) + +/-
Sow breed Mong cai + +
Grower breed F1 + +
Exotic + - 1 farm Hue
Bedding:
Farrowed sows
Other pigs

+/-
-

+/-
-

Heating with light bulbs +/- - Ineffective
Dataloggers - -
Effluent disposal:
Sweeping, hosing
Disinfection

+
-

+

-

Health:
Piglets
Growers
Breeders

+/-
+
+

+/-
+
+

Overall very
good
Body condition score:
Piglets
Growers

+/-
+

+/-
+

Overall very
good
Breeders +/- +/-

Comments
• Project farms visited in both 2009 and 2010 had made very good progress and
appeared to be producing good quality pigs.
• There were some new control farms due to the production of the DVD.
• Exotic breed (large white) farm in Hue that was treated with Dectomax had no
clinical signs of Sarcoptic mange infestation (the farm owner was very happy with Dr
Darren).
• The level of rubbing and sarcoptic mange lesions in breeder pigs appeared to be much
less than in early 2009
• The main reason given for the decreased use of creep boxes was that some sows were
chewing them. This behaviour was believed to be due to a nutritional deficiency in
the sows (not substantiated). Sows are more likely to try and break the creep box to
use as nesting material. The use of creep boxes was much better in Quang Tri than
Hue.
• There is still some confusion as to the use of ordinary light bulbs as a heat source for
piglets and lactating sows.
• Many farms had wet floors in the pens which might have been due to farmers
cleaning them before our visit. The weather was mostly wet (drizzle) and cool which
meant pens would take longer to dry.
• I was not aware of any monthly farm audits being conducted during my time in
Vietnam.

E. coli vaccination project

Thuy Duong commune:

Farm Vaccination
status
Age of

piglets (days)
Diarrhoea Samples
collected
Comment
1 N 28 Y Y Wet pen, no
creep box
2 Y 28 Y Y Wet pen, no
creep box
3 N 7 N Y Wet pen, no
creep box
4 (CARD
Farm)
N 28 Y Y No creep box
5 Y 21 Y Y No creep box

Thuy Phuong commune:

Farm Vaccination
status
Age of
piglets
(days)
Diarrhoea Samples
collected
Comment
1 Y 9 Y Y
2 Y 15 Y Y Piglets treated
with
Kitasymycin
and

sulphadimidine
3 N 10 Y (at 6 d.o) Y Wet pen, no
creep box
4 N 2 Y Y Pen dry, some
straw, no creep
box
5 (CARD
farm)
N 10 Y Y No creep box
or straw
6 N 4 Y (at 2 d.o.)
Piglets
appeared
healthy
Y Straw, no
creep box
7 Y 10 Y Y Straw, no
creep box


Comments;
• I could not understand why CARD project farms were not used in this vaccination
project. However, it might have been due to the commune paraveterinarian selecting
these farms for the trial and that these farms had sows at the correct stage of
pregnancy when vaccination was carried out. Although CARD project farms would
also have had sows in late pregnancy.
• The other main issue was that faecal sampling of piglets was undertaken at the wrong
time (age of piglet).

Laboratory equipment (HUAF)
• This lab was going to be used for testing faeces for E.coli vaccine trial
• Blood bank refrigerator
• Biomedical freezer
• ‘Binder’ – 4 cabinets (incubators?)
• 3 x Microscopes, Olympus, TH4-200
• Purifier class II biosafety cabinet
• Stuart block heater
• Hermile 2 223 M-2
• Hirayama centrifuge
• MEMMERT?
• NIVR staff brought blood agar plates, pipettes, gloves, glass slides and coverslips,
sterile swabs (no transport media)