African Swine Fever has no vaccine and no cure. In pig farming, biosecurity is not best practice — it is the entire insurance policy.
Pig farming offers some of the best feed conversion and fastest returns in Nigerian livestock. It also carries a risk profile that punishes carelessness more severely than any other species: African Swine Fever has no vaccine, no treatment, and mortality rates that can approach the entire herd.
Everything below follows from that single fact.
Control who walks in
Most disease arrives on foot. Visitors, traders, and staff moving between farms carry pathogens on boots and clothing without any awareness of it.
- One controlled entry point, and no exceptions to it
- Functioning footbath with disinfectant that is actually changed
- Farm-only boots and overalls that never leave the premises
- A visitor log, and a firm rule against anyone who handled pigs elsewhere that day
The rule that gets broken is always the one made for a trusted person in a hurry.
Quarantine every incoming animal
New stock goes into isolated housing for a minimum of two to four weeks, ideally handled last in the daily routine. Watch for appetite loss, fever, skin discolouration and lethargy. An animal that looks fine on arrival can still be incubating something.
This applies to animals returning from a market that did not sell. They have mixed with unknown stock and must be treated as new arrivals.
Never feed untreated swill
Uncooked kitchen or restaurant waste has been implicated in ASF outbreaks repeatedly. If swill is used at all it must be thoroughly boiled — but the safer decision is a formulated ration, and it will usually give better growth anyway.
Separate age groups, and clean between batches
All-in, all-out management by house lets you fully clean and rest a building between batches. Mixing ages continuously means younger pigs are permanently exposed to whatever the older group is carrying.
Watch daily and act early
The first sign is usually reduced feed intake. Staff who feed the same pens every day notice this before it becomes visible in any other way — provided they are expected to report it and it costs them nothing to be wrong.
Isolate first, then investigate. A false alarm is cheap; a delayed response is not.
Buy from farms that take this seriously
When you buy a pig, you are buying whatever biosecurity culture produced it. Our pigs are raised in washed, controlled-access housing precisely because the alternative is a risk we are not willing to transfer to our customers. Ask any supplier how they manage entry, quarantine and feed — the confidence of the answer tells you most of what you need to know.
Need healthy livestock for your farm?
We supply vet-supervised cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, poultry and more across Nigeria — and we are happy to talk through what suits your setup before you spend anything.
