In the lives of those who have pigs as livestock, making sure that swine pregnancies are as successful as possible is important, which means owners will often contact you for advice as their veterinarian. Having good ultrasound equipment available to cater to customer requests will always be a good business decision. However, performing an ultrasound on a pig can be a touchy thing if you don't have the best equipment available because of the hefty layers of fat and tissue and the pig's resistance to having you close at all. To ensure you get the best ultrasound equipment for pig treatment, there are a few highly important features to look for while you shop.
Make sure the equipment you invest in is lightweight enough to be maneuverable in the field.
When dealing with livestock of any kind, it is always important that you have ultrasound equipment that is portable because you will more often than not be making house calls instead of having your clients come to you. However, with pigs, it is important that the equipment be lightweight enough that it can easily be maneuvered around in the barn or field. Make sure that whatever model you choose can easily be carried by a handle and still be functional while on the move.
Go ahead and opt for a video printer port.
A lot of veterinarians who treat livestock skip video printers and don't worry about printing ports in their ultrasound equipment because they feel this is an unnecessary expense to include. However, having the ability to print images on the fly can be a lot of help when an animal may not stay still long enough for you to get a good look on the screen. If a sow is struggling while you are performing an ultrasound because they don't like your presence, you can position the doppler, hit print, and get a quick photographic look at the situation.
Look for ultrasound equipment with ample frame storage capabilities.
Any vet who has performed an ultrasound on a pig can tell you that this is a lengthy process simply because of the size of the animal. You will normally have to get several shots to get a good look at the litter inside of her, which means your ultrasound machine needs to have the ability to capture many frames in storage. While many ultrasound machines can store several frames of imagery, it will help if you have one that has either extra integrated memory or space for an SD card.
For more information on pig ultrasound equipment, contact a company like Keebovet.