Medication routes in pigs
There are many routes of medication which can
be practically used in pigs.
Intravenous
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Injection
into the ear veins of the pig. This
procedure should be carried out by a veterinarian |
Intramuscular
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Inject
into the muscle behind the ear |
The
mark inside the ring indicates the appropriate position |
Iron
injection in piglets use to be administer into the hind leg muscles this
should be avoided as these are high value muscles. |
Subcutaneous
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Extremely
difficult to find a true area in the pig with subcutaneous tissue. The skin
is closely applied to the fat and muscle layer. It is possible in the inner thigh as shown,
at the point of the shoulder and in the peri-anal region. The needle needs to be inserted at a low
angle as shown |
Intra-dermal
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The
injection is made into the dermis of the skin. The injection is extremely small volume –
0.1ml for example. There is no needle and therefore no risk of metal
contamination of the pig. In
addition, the injection can be administered anywhere in the pig – in the rump
for example making mass vaccination easier. |
Intra-vulva
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The
injection is given at the vulva/body skin junction using a 21g 1” needle. This
is often used immediately pre-farrow to reduce the medicine injection volume
for prostaglandins and Oxytocin. Note
doses are normally halved. Discuss
this with your veterinarian. |
Intra-peritoneal
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An
intra-peritoneal injection is difficult and can lead to perforation of the
intestine. Great care is therefore
necessary when administration. This
should only be performed by a veterinarian. |
Intra-cardiac
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An
injection into the heart through the diaphragm can made to euthanase a young
pig to 30 kg. The
needle is pushed underneath the xyphoid process into the ventricle of the
heart. |
In
a sedated pig an injection can be made straight into the heart through the
ribcage |
Medication via the Oral route
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Oral
dosing using a syringe – very useful for administration of oral vaccines or
anti-coccidiostat medication. |
Medication
can be administered via tablets which can be disguised in apple, grapes or
small sweats. This can be very useful
in boars or pet pigs |
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Medication
can be administered to be pig via the feed supply either via specific feed –
bagged note red colour of bag indicating medicated feed |
Or
the feed can be medicated in bulk and delivered into the feed bin. Note
however, issues with feed bin management to minimize antimicrobial
residue in otherwise unmediated feed |
Feeder
management and feed space allocation needs to be appropriate so the pigs can
gain access to the medicated feed.
Note some medications may also make the feed unpalatable. Feeders with holes waste medications |
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Medication
through the water supply either automatically using a pump |
Medication
manually using small water bowls as shown |
As
with feed, the water supply has to be freely available to the pigs. Leaking drinkers (or feeders with holes)
will waste medication. |
Topical medication
Medication
can be applied topically or ear canal useful in mange control.
Medication
onto the eye can be applied to assist treatment of conjunctivitis in
individuals.
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Topical
application of medication – for lice and mange for example |
The
ear canal |
Conjunctivitis
which was treated with eye ointment |
Medication via Par-vagina or
par-prepucial
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It
is possible to administer medication straight into the uterus or vagina to
treat reproductive infections using a standard AI catheter. However, in commercial practice the
animal’s value rarely is sufficient to justify the effort and the response to
treatment is generally very poor |
The
introduction of medication into the boar’s prepuce has been used to assist
the treatment of preputial diverticulitis in AI boars. However, the animal’s value and response to
treatment is poor make this technique little used |
Medication via Par-rectal
It is possible to administer mediation par-rectal. In practice this can be very useful in
dehydrated sows on farm where a water pipe can administer 8 litres of water
easily into the colon.