Control of AMR in pigs by avoiding mixing and re-mixing

Intervention A consists of avoiding mixing and re-mixing between litters from weaning to slaughter, including separation of healthy pigs from diseased pigs that undergo antimicrobial treatment.

The period around weaning is the most stressful time in the pig’s life due to separation from the sow and its littermates, drastic changes in the diet, as well as environmental and social changes associated with relocation and mixing of 3-4 week-old piglets to new facilities together with ’foreign‘ piglets from other litters.

We hypothesize that reducing this practice to the bare minimum will result in a clear improvement of pig health and welfare with positive consequences on antimicrobial use and AMR.