The effect of floor type in farrowing pens on pig injury. I. Leg and teat damage of suckling piglets

Furniss, S.J.; Edwards, Sandra A.; Lightfoot, A.; Spechter, H.H.

doi:10.1016/0007-1935(86)90044-8

Cited by 22 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…A similar pattern, but at lower magnitudes, was observed with respect abrasions over the hocks and skin lesions at the face or the tail. These observations corresponded well to the distribution pattern of skin lesions previously reported by others (Penny et al., 1971; Gravås, 1979; Svendsen et al., 1979; Furniss et al., 1986; Mouttotou et al., 1999).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Lameness in Piglets. Abrasions in Nursing Piglets and Transfer of Protection towards Infections withStreptococcifrom Sow to Offspring

Zoric

Sjölund

Persson

et al. 2004

Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series B

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A group of 175 newborn piglets were monitored with respect to development of abrasions and lameness. Lameness was diagnosed in 10.9% of the piglets. About every second litter was affected and around 75% of these diagnoses took place during the first 3 weeks of life. Skin lesions were present already on day 3. They increased in magnitude until day 10 and thereafter declined. They were generally bilateral and most commonly observed as abrasions over the carpal joints. Hocks, face and tails were affected in a similar way, but at lower magnitudes. Sole bruising was observed in 87% of the piglets on the third day of life, and moderate to severe lesions dominated until day 10. Thereafter the incidence decreased, indicating healing with time. Still 39% of the piglets were affected at day 17. There was a significant positive correlation between skin lesions of carpus and hock within all examination days in selected piglets with known identity (n = 48). Between day 10 and 17 significant positive correlations were found within all examination sites with exception of abdomen and teats. The offspring of sows treated against mastitis expressed more abrasions then piglets delivered by healthy sows and the mortality during the first 17 days postpartum was significantly higher among piglets delivered by sows treated for mastitis. The level of serum antibodies to Streptococcus equisimilis in eight dams decreased during the last month of gestation and a declining maternal immunity to S. equisimilis was demonstrated in all piglets (n = 47) during the first 5 weeks of life. During the first 2 weeks of life somewhat lower median levels of serum antibodies were recorded among the piglets that were treated against arthritis (n = 8).

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Lameness in Piglets. Abrasions in Nursing Piglets and Transfer of Protection towards Infections withStreptococcifrom Sow to Offspring

Zoric

Sjölund

Persson

et al. 2004

Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series B

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“…The risk of skin abrasion also increased when the floor was worn and rough and, in contrast to sole erosion, with small amounts of bedding, as reported in previous studies [1,3,5]. It is possible that bedding does not protect against skin abrasions, as it does sole erosions, because skin abrasions occur predominantly while the piglets are scrabbling on their knees to feed, therefore small amounts of bedding quickly get pushed aside, and may even get forced into the skin.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

A cross sectional study of prevalence, risk factors, population attributable fractions and pathology for foot and limb lesions in preweaning piglets on commercial farms in England

et al. 2009

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Background: In a cross sectional study of 88 indoor and outdoor English pig farms, the prevalence of foot and limb lesions in 2843 preweaning piglets aged 1-4 weeks from 304 litters was recorded. The environmental risks for the prevalence of lesions and population attributable fractions were calculated. The risks for lesions in piglets were compared with those for limb and body lesions in their mothers. A small number of piglets with each type of lesion were examined post mortem to elucidate the pathology of the clinical lesions observed.

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“…For example, slip-resistance, particularly for the sow, needs to be achieved without modifying the floor's characteristics in such a way that predisposes injury through excessive abrasion (McKee and Dumelow, 1995). Abrasion is a common risk for suckling piglets, with mixed reports as to which flooring material causes the highest incidence of knee damage: Furniss et al (1986) found that the worst knee damage was seen on an old cement screed. In contrast, Clark (1985) found that newly installed concrete screed had the highest abrasive properties, whereas the same floor after 3 months continuous use had the lowest abrasiveness.…”

Section: Flooringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If slatted floors are to be used (e.g. in the dunging area), the recommended void width is no greater than 10 mm with rounded edges (Mitchell and Smith, 1978;see Table 2), and plastic-coated metal has been shown to be less injurious than steel (Furniss et al, 1986;Lewis et al, 2005). In addition, void width with respect to use of straw or other substrate that may cause clogging needs to be considered.…”

Section: Flooringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative farrowing systems: design criteria for farrowing systems based on the biological needs of sows and piglets

Baxter

Lawrence

Edwards

2011

Animal

Self Cite

114

112

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The construction of a suitable farrowing environment is a continuing dilemma: the piglet's needs must be matched with those of the sow and the farmer during the main phases that constitute farrowing: nest building, parturition and lactation. Difficulties exist in resolving the various conflicts of interest between and within these three parties (e.g. sow v. farmer: space needed for nest building v. space needed to maximise the amount of farrowing accommodation, or sow v. sow: ensuring the survival of the current litter v. maintaining condition for future litters). Thus, the challenge is to resolve these conflicts and design a system that maximises sow and piglet welfare while maintaining an economically efficient and sustainable enterprise. In order to successfully design a farrowing and lactation environment, it is necessary to consider the biological needs of both the sow and her litter. The natural behaviour of the sow has been well documented and very little variation exists between reports of peri-parturient behaviour observed in extensively kept domestic sows and their wild counterparts. The failure for domestication to significantly alter these behavioural patterns provides evidence that they are biologically significant and that the commercial farrowing environment should attempt to accommodate this behavioural repertoire. In addition, the behavioural needs of the piglets, as well as the physiological needs of both sows and their offspring should be considered. This article aims to review the considerable body of literature detailing the behavioural repertoire of sows and their offspring during the different phases of farrowing, and the accompanying physiological processes. The focus is on identifying biological needs of the animals involved in order to synthesise the appropriate design criteria for farrowing and lactation systems, which should optimise both welfare and animal production.

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The effect of floor type in farrowing pens on pig injury. I. Leg and teat damage of suckling piglets

Cited by 22 publications

References 2 publications

Lameness in Piglets. Abrasions in Nursing Piglets and Transfer of Protection towards Infections withStreptococcifrom Sow to Offspring

Lameness in Piglets. Abrasions in Nursing Piglets and Transfer of Protection towards Infections withStreptococcifrom Sow to Offspring

A cross sectional study of prevalence, risk factors, population attributable fractions and pathology for foot and limb lesions in preweaning piglets on commercial farms in England

Alternative farrowing systems: design criteria for farrowing systems based on the biological needs of sows and piglets

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