Oct 6, 2026 · 23 min · 9 segments
Episode 19 Summary: This week on *To The Front*, Tony Morris and Thomas Gross answer listener questions about getting new show pigs started on feed, monitoring their health, and washing pigs during…
How long is it normal for a new pig to take to adjust, and how much should they be eating in a day?" And so, uh, this was somebody that had messaged me, um, you know, not too long ago, and they've got those pigs in just not performing like that they, they had hoped to.
One, before we get them in, I've told everybody this before, you need to have a relationship with a veterinarian close to you so that when you get in situations like this, you've got a resource already set.
And Jeff and I were talking about this very thing, that the thing he wants people to do that they don't always do is call him before there's trouble, right? So that's number one advice that I would have for you.
And so if they came to your barn, and maybe they're by themself now or they're in a pen by themself, did you make a ration change? Uh, just the environment itself's gonna change.
And depending on how many changes you made to their life all at once can really dictate how quickly they get going on feed.
Um, so we try to keep as many of tho- we, those changes as little as we can, knowing that there are still big changes.
But things like transitioning onto the same feed they were on when they were at the breeder's place.
Are they in a group environment or are we putting them in individual pens? How much can we control the environment in terms of temperature and humidity and those things so it's as seamless as it can possibly be? If we've done all that stuff, it doesn't surprise me when it takes four, five, six, maybe seven days for those things to really get an appetite and really get going, right? Um, and I don't worry too much about them for that first five, six, seven days, provided that they are healthy.
If we do all those things, I'll give them up to a week before I get too worried about how much they eat.
Um, but if I see anything wrong with that stuff, then we got to make changes pretty quickly.
Yeah, I, I think, you know, we're, we're kind of thinking about it the similar way.
One of the things that I think is really important, and I know, uh, people do this a little bit differently, but long-term, we want those pigs to eat when we put feed in front of them.
How long is it normal for a new pig to take to adjust, and how much should they be eating in a day?" And so, uh, this was somebody that had messaged me, um, you know, not too long ago, and they've got those pigs in just not performing like that they, they had hoped to.
One, before we get them in, I've told everybody this before, you need to have a relationship with a veterinarian close to you so that when you get in situations like this, you've got a resource already set.
And Jeff and I were talking about this very thing, that the thing he wants people to do that they don't always do is call him before there's trouble, right? So that's number one advice that I would have for you.
And so if they came to your barn, and maybe they're by themself now or they're in a pen by themself, did you make a ration change? Uh, just the environment itself's gonna change.
And depending on how many changes you made to their life all at once can really dictate how quickly they get going on feed.
Um, so we try to keep as many of tho- we, those changes as little as we can, knowing that there are still big changes.
But things like transitioning onto the same feed they were on when they were at the breeder's place.
Are they in a group environment or are we putting them in individual pens? How much can we control the environment in terms of temperature and humidity and those things so it's as seamless as it can possibly be? If we've done all that stuff, it doesn't surprise me when it takes four, five, six, maybe seven days for those things to really get an appetite and really get going, right? Um, and I don't worry too much about them for that first five, six, seven days, provided that they are healthy.
If we do all those things, I'll give them up to a week before I get too worried about how much they eat.
Um, but if I see anything wrong with that stuff, then we got to make changes pretty quickly.
Yeah, I, I think, you know, we're, we're kind of thinking about it the similar way.
One of the things that I think is really important, and I know, uh, people do this a little bit differently, but long-term, we want those pigs to eat when we put feed in front of them.
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