Claw lesions in lactating sows on commercial farms were associated with postural behavior but not with suboptimal reproductive performance or culling risk

Enokida, M.; Sasaki, Yosuke; Hoshino, Yuko; Saito, Hikari; Koketsu, Yuzo

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2010.09.017

Cited by 31 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…An effect of claw lesions on reproductive performance was also reported by De Pita (2010), Anil (2011) and Fitzgerald et al (2012) but could not be shown by Enokida et al (2011). In the present study, white line lesions and skin lesions above the claw increased the risk for stillborn piglets.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Prevalence of lameness and claw lesions during different stages in thereproductive cycle of sows and the impact on reproduction results

Pluym

Nuffel²,

Weyenberg³

et al. 2013

Animal

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Lameness in sows is an emerging disease condition with major effects on animal welfare and economics. Yet the direct impact on reproduction results remains unclear. The present field study investigated the impact of lameness and claw lesions throughout the reproductive cycle on (re)production results of sows. In five farms, a total of 491 group-housed sows were followed up for a period of one reproductive cycle. Sows were assessed for lameness every time they were moved to another area in the farm. Claw lesions were scored at the beginning and at the end of the cycle. Reproduction results included the number of live-born piglets, stillborn piglets, mummified fetuses and crushed piglets, weaning-to-oestrus interval and the presence of sows not showing oestrus post weaning, returning to service and aborting. Sows that left the group were recorded and the reason was noted. A mean prevalence of lameness of 5.9% was found, although it depended on the time in the productive cycle. The highest percentage of lame sows (8.1%) was found when sows were moved from the post-weaning to the gestation stable. No significant associations were found between lameness and reproduction parameters with the exception of the effect on mummified foetuses. Wall cracks, white line lesions, heel lesions and skin lesions did have an effect on farrowing performance. Of all sows, 22% left the group throughout the study, and almost half of these sows were removed from the farm. Lameness was the second most important reason for culling. Sows culled because of lameness were significantly younger compared with sows culled for other reasons (parity: 2.6 ± 1.3 v. 4.0 ± 1.8). In conclusion, the present results indicate that lameness mainly affects farm productivity indirectly through its effect on sow longevity, whereas claw lesions directly affect some reproductive parameters. The high percentage of lame sows in the insemination stable indicate that risk factor studies should not only focus on the gestation stable, but also on housing conditions in the insemination stable.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Prevalence of lameness and claw lesions during different stages in thereproductive cycle of sows and the impact on reproduction results

Pluym

Nuffel²,

Weyenberg³

et al. 2013

Animal

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“…We found that after inclusion of the chelated minerals, lesions on the heel, the sole and the hoof wall had decreased severity which was more pronounced on front than rear feet and on medial than lateral heel bulbs. It has been reported that lesions on these sites are more frequent and severe on rear than on front feet [2, 3, 43]. Moreover, the lateral heel bulb usually carries most of the sow’s weight and thus it is more prone to injuries compared to the medial heel bulb [1, 44, 45].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of diet supplementation with chelated zinc, copper and manganese on hoof lesions of loose housed sows

2016

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BackgroundHoof lesions are very common among sows and have been associated with lameness, early removal and compromised welfare and productivity. Although housing conditions and management can have an external effect on hoof health status, the role of trace mineral intake is vital in developing hoof structure and integrity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a diet supplemented with organic complexes of trace minerals (Zn, Cu, Mn), partly substituting their inorganic form, on hoof lesions of sows in three Greek swine herds.ResultsA total of 518 sows were initially examined for hoof lesions and their respective severity was scored. For each hoof, the length of toes and dew claws were evaluated and five anatomical hoof sites, the heel, the sole, the white line, the wall and the coronary band, were examined for lesions. Subsequently, the same sows were re-scored after one or two gestations on diets supplemented with organic trace minerals, partly substituting their inorganic salt form (organic form of Zn 45 ppm, Cu 14 ppm and Mn 25 ppm of the total 125 ppm of Zn, 15 ppm of Cu and 40 ppm of Mn, respectively). The odds of the higher versus the lower lesion scores were significantly lower after than before the inclusion of the organic minerals in sows’ diet, for each of the considered foot sites with the exception of the coronary band, with a distinct effect according to foot location. Specifically, on rear feet the improvement of hoof lesions was either smaller (for heel, sole and wall) than on front feet or not significant (for white line, toe and dew claw length). Additionally, for each foot site and herd examined, after the inclusion of the organic minerals, there were more sows with either the same or lower lesion score, with the exception of the toe and the dew claw length in one of the herds.ConclusionsWithin the specific conditions in the three studied herds, our findings highlight the role of chelated trace minerals in sows’ hoof health, suggesting an applicable and rewarding intervention to prevent hoof lesions.

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“…Reduced feed consumption as a sequel of claw lesions could be either or both the result of an existing inflammatory process or an impaired locomotor ability. In addition, the postural behaviour of the sow may be influenced, with affected sows exhibiting higher relative frequency of lying and lower frequency of standing posture (Enokida et al 2011), spending less time feeding and drinking. The amount of feed intake during lactation influences subsequent reproductive performance, such as wean-to-first service interval and subsequent litter size (Koketsu et al 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between claw lesions and reproductive performance of sows in three Greek herds

Lisgara¹,

Skampardonis²,

Angelidou³

et al. 2015

Vet. Med. - Czech

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ABSTRACT:Claw lesions, which are nowadays very common in sows, are associated with a high risk of early culling and compromised welfare. In this study, we investigated the associations between the severity of claw lesions and three of the most important reproductive indicators, the number of live-born and weaned piglets and the wean-to-first service interval in three Greek farrow-to-finish herds. All studied sows were individually housed during their previous gestations. Sows were examined for lesions, which were scored on a severity scale, on several anatomical sites of the claws, before farrowing. Data on the examined reproductive indicators were retrieved from productivity databases of the herds. Because scoring of lesions on several claw sites resulted in many correlated variables for each sow examined, we employed factor analysis to create a smaller set of uncorrelated variables (factors) which contained all the information in the original variables and produced the corresponding factor scores. The number of live-born and weaned piglets was associated with the produced factor scores in two multivariable linear regression models, whereas the possible associations between the wean-to-first service interval and the factor scores was modelled with the use of zero-inflated negative binomial regression. The number of live-born piglets was negatively associated with factor scores representing lesions on heel (P ≤ 0.001) and sole of front feet (P = 0.019). The number of weaned piglets was also negatively associated with factor scores representing lesions on heel (P = 0.003) of any foot, on sole of front feet (P = 0.001) and on white line, sole and wall of rear feet (P = 0.008), while the wean-to-first service interval was associated with factor scores representing lesions on heel of any foot (P = 0.02), on sole of front feet (P = 0.02) and of dew claw length of front feet (P = 0.009). Our results indicate that combinations of lesions on the dorsal and ventral part of the claws, negatively affected the reproduction parameters considered, emphasising the importance of general improvement of feet health.

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Claw lesions in lactating sows on commercial farms were associated with postural behavior but not with suboptimal reproductive performance or culling risk

Cited by 31 publications

References 13 publications

Prevalence of lameness and claw lesions during different stages in thereproductive cycle of sows and the impact on reproduction results

Prevalence of lameness and claw lesions during different stages in thereproductive cycle of sows and the impact on reproduction results

Effect of diet supplementation with chelated zinc, copper and manganese on hoof lesions of loose housed sows

Associations between claw lesions and reproductive performance of sows in three Greek herds

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