Oral group medication in pig production: characterising medicated feed and drinking water systems

Abstract

Despite common use of oral group medication in pig rearing, the homogeneity, stability and carry-over of frequently used medicinal products in feed and drinking water are largely unknown. Therefore, a field study was performed on 52 Belgian pig farms, characterising preparation and administration of medicinal products via these systems, and farmers’ user experiences with medicated feed and medicated drinking water. The study showed that medicated drinking water is more commonly used than medicated feed, since 90.4 per cent of the farms sometimes use medicated drinking water and 69.2 per cent of the farms sometimes use medicated feed. The drinking water quality is evaluated at least once a year on only 30.7 per cent of the farms. Separate pipelines for medicated and non-medicated circuits were not present in any of the farms using medicated feed and in 27.7 per cent of the farms using medicated drinking water. With drinking water medication, 63.5 per cent of the farmers reported encountering practical problems, often related to solubility issues and precipitation of the active compounds. In contrast, medicated feed is bought ready-to-use from the feed manufacturer in 68.2 per cent of the cases, thus reducing the number of practical problems experienced by the farmer. This study shows room for improvement of oral group treatment, developing appropriate pharmaceutical formulations for drinking water medication, quality control of drinking water, using separate pipeline circuits, and cleaning and disinfecting protocols.

Stability, Homogeneity and Carry-Over of Amoxicillin, Doxycycline, Florfenicol and Flubendazole in Medicated Feed and Drinking Water on 24 Pig Farms

“…Oral group therapy with antimicrobials and anthelmintics is common practice in livestock farming. Especially in pig production, antimicrobial drugs are primarily administered through the feeding and drinking water system [ 1 , 2 ].…”

“…Medicated feed in the pig industry in Belgium is prepared either by (a) the compound feed manufacturer at the feed mill, i.e., for antimicrobials via a mixer at the end of the production line, whereas anthelmintics such as flubendazole can also be mixed at the main production line; (b) the compound feed manufacturer at the moment of delivery at the farm using a fine dosing system mounted on the delivery truck; or (c) the pig farmer on the farm using a dosing system on the feed line, or by topdressing [ 2 , 3 ]. Medicated drinking water is always prepared at the farm, using an electrical or mechanical dosing pump that mixes a pre-solution at a set percentage into the drinking water, or using a drinking water reservoir [ 2 ]. In our previous survey conducted on 52 Belgian pig farms [ 2 ], medicated drinking water and feed were used on 90.4% and 69.2% of the farms, respectively.…”

“…Medicated drinking water is always prepared at the farm, using an electrical or mechanical dosing pump that mixes a pre-solution at a set percentage into the drinking water, or using a drinking water reservoir [ 2 ]. In our previous survey conducted on 52 Belgian pig farms [ 2 ], medicated drinking water and feed were used on 90.4% and 69.2% of the farms, respectively. In the latter case, feed was purchased from a compound feed manufacturer in 68.2% of the cases, topdressing was used on 25.0% of the farms, and a dosing device on the feed line was used on 6.8% of the farms.…”

“…Drinking water quality starts with the source, and is influenced by the quality of the pipelines and water treatment procedures, for example purification or acidification with organic acids aim to diminish infections by enteropathogenic bacteria [ 10 , 11 ]. Yearly testing of drinking water quality is recommended, but previous studies show this is often not the case [ 2 , 12 ].…”

“…Although group treatment should be avoided and reduced as much as possible to limit unnecessary exposure of animals, and thereby limiting antimicrobial resistance selection, recommendations on good practices for group treatment are very much needed. In our previous research, we concluded that there are no data available that describe the homogeneity, stability, and carry-over of medicated feed and medicated drinking water prepared on pig farms [ 2 ].…”