The interrelationships between clinical signs and their effect on involuntary culling among pregnant sows in group-housing systems

Jensen, Teis; Bonde, Marianne; Kongsted, Anne Grete; Toft, Nils; Sørensen, Jan Tind

doi:10.1017/s1751731110001102

Cited by 35 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Heinonen et al (2006) and Pluym et al (2011) reported similar herd prevalence in conventional gestation sows, while Bonde et al (2004) reported higher prevalence in conventional lactating sows. Mean herd prevalence was 5.4% in organic gestation sows; it was 24.3% in conventional gestation sows, which is very similar to the 29% reported by Jensen et al (2010) for group-housed gestation sows in 33 Danish conventional herds, but higher than the 9.7% reported by Pluym et al (2011) in gestation sows in eight Belgian herds.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

“…The conventional herds were selected from a random sample of 797 Danish sow herds (Jensen et al, 2010) obtained from the central Danish farm database, from which 261 herds were randomly selected. The inclusion criteria were: (1) the herd was located in Jutland or Funen (87% of all live pigs were located here in 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An expert panel in 2003 suggested that leg disorders and other clinical diseases were underestimated in outdoor sow herds (Bonde and Sørensen, 2003). In Denmark in 2008 mean herd lameness prevalence of 29% in 2989 sows from 33 conventional herds was reported (Jensen et al, 2010). Heinonen et al (2006) found that on-farm lameness prevalence varies from 0% to 27.3%.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Herd- and sow-related risk factors for lameness in organic and conventional sow herds

Knage-Rasmussen

Houe

Rousing

et al. 2014

Animal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lameness in sows is an animal welfare problem which also presents an economic challenge to pig producers. Information about the prevalence of herd lameness in organic sows is relatively scarce. The first objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of lameness and to identify risk factors associated with sow lameness in Danish outdoor organic sow herds by analysing the association between risk factors at both sow and herd level using clinical records of lameness. A total of 1850 sows from nine organic herds were included in the study. Second, the study examined differences in the prevalence of sow lameness between outdoor organic and indoor conventional herds. An additional aim here was to identify risk factors associated with clinical records of sow lameness in Danish sow herds by analysing the association between risk factors with lameness at sow and herd level. One thousand and fifty four gestation sows from 44 indoor conventional and nine organic sow herds were included in this study. The nine organic herds were visited twice: once in summer/autumn 2011, and once in winter/spring 2012. In winter/spring 2011, a total of 44 indoor conventional herds were visited. Risk factors included in the study were clinical parameters and factors related to the production system. Sows were examined visually by one of four trained observers. The organic sows were assigned scores for lameness, body condition, hoof length, bursitis, abscesses and leg wounds, while the conventional sows were assigned scores for lameness, body condition and bursitis. A multivariable analysis was carried out by logistic regression with the herd and observer as random effects. The average herd lameness prevalence in gestation and lactation sows in organic herds was 11% in summer/ autumn and 4.6% in winter/spring. 'Wounds, bursitis and abscess' on legs (OR = 4.7, P < 0.001) and body condition score >3 (OR = 1.79, P = 0.008) were associated with increased risk of lameness in Danish organic sow herds. Season (winter/spring v. summer/autumn) lowered the risk of lameness (OR = 0.37, P < 0.001). Average prevalence of lameness in gestation sow herds in winter/spring in conventional herds was 24.4%, and in organic herds it was 5.4%. An organic sow had a decreased risk of lameness (OR = 0.28, P < 0.001) as compared with a conventional sow. Bursitis was associated with increased risk of lameness (OR = 2.08, P = 0.002) regardless of the production system (i.e. whether the herd was organic or conventional).

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Herd- and sow-related risk factors for lameness in organic and conventional sow herds

Knage-Rasmussen

Houe

Rousing

et al. 2014

Animal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Persistent conditions may necessitate euthanasia due to European legislation prohibiting transport of lame animals. Furthermore, the welfare of lame animals is seriously compromised, which is unacceptable within the modern standards of pig production (Jensen et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal gait development and variability of growing pigs reared on three different floor types

Stavrakakis

Guy

Warlow

et al. 2014

Animal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Biomechanical investigation into locomotor pathology in commercial pigs is lacking despite this being a major concern for the industry. Different floor types are used in modern, intensive pig production systems at different stages of the pigs' production cycle. The general perception holds that slatted and/or hard solid concrete surfaces are inferior to soft straw-covered floors regarding healthy musculoskeletal development. Previous studies have compared pigs housed on different floor types using clinical, subjective assessment of leg weakness and lameness. However, reliability studies generally report a low repeatability of clinical lameness scoring. The objective of this study was to quantitatively assess the long-term effect of pen floors, reflected in the biomechanical gait characteristics and associated welfare of the pigs. A cohort of 24 pigs housed on one of three different floor types was followed from 37 to 90 kg average liveweight, with gait analysis (motion capture) starting at 63 kg. The three floor types were fully slatted concrete, partly slatted concrete and deep straw-bedded surfaces, all located within the same building. Pigs underwent five repeated camera-based motion captures, 7 to 10 days apart, during which 3D coordinate data of reflective skin markers attached to leg anatomical landmarks were collected. Pigs walked on the same solid concrete walkway during captures. One-way ANOVA and repeated measures ANOVA were used to analyse the gait data. Results revealed changes over time in the spatiotemporal gait pattern which were similar in magnitude and direction for the pigs from different floor types. Significant increases in elbow joint flexion with age were observed in all pigs (P ⩽ 0.050; +6°). There were few differences between floor groups, except for the step-to-stride ratio in the hind legs being more irregular in pigs housed on partly slatted floors (P = 0.012; 3.6 times higher s.d.) compared with those on 5 to 10 cm straw-bedding in all pen areas. As the level of clinical problems was generally low in this cohort, it may be that floors elicit problems only when there is a primary predisposing factor increasing weakness in susceptible tissues.

show abstract

“…A lame sow is in pain, has reduced appetite, loses weight and has problems showing oestrus and conceiving (Willgert et al, 2014;Wolf, 2011). In addition to poor animal welfare and considerable suffering, the pain behind lameness causes economic losses due to reduced performance, involuntary culling and reduced longevity (Anil et al, 2009;Engblom et al, 2008;Jensen et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An experimental model for studying claw lesions in growing female pigs

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Problems with claw lesions leading to lameness are a growing concern in pig production.However, the causes and development of claw lesions are poorly understood and studies on prevention of claw lesion problems in gilts and sows are limited.This study tested a new experimental model which facilitates evaluation of the impact of different risk factors on pig feet lesions.The model consisted of using young gilts with a well-known background and promoting traumatic claw lesions for study purposes by increasing social and agonistic activity through regrouping on concrete flooring. Then claw lesions were assessed systematically and objectively on feet after slaughter. To test the model, two levels of exposure to concrete flooring were compared; normal activity in groups of gilts (no regrouping = NR) and increased activity in groups of gilts by performing several regroupings (repeated regrouping = RR).A total of 72 gilts (pairs of litter mates) in two batches, aged 4 months, were randomly distributed to the two treatments (NR and RR) in group pens (3 gilts per pen) with concrete 2 flooring. The gilts were given approximately 200 g of straw per gilt every day. At 8, 9 and 10 months of age, half the gilts (36 animals) were regrouped with each other. At 11 months of age, all gilts in both treatments were slaughtered and the left rear foot from each was removed and collected for detailed studies of claw lesions. Lesions of the heel, transition heel/toe, white line, wall and toe and over-growth of the heel were assessed on the outer and inner digit. Blind scoring of claw lesions on a scale from 0 to 3 was carried out in laboratory conditions on cleaned claws. Body lesions were also blind-scored on a scale from 0 to 3 one week after the third regrouping.The results showed claw lesions on the soft and hard horn of the claws and significantly (p=0.004) higher claw lesion score in RR gilts (0.40) than in NR gilts (0.23).It was concluded that as expected, regrouping gilts on concrete flooring resulted in both more numerous and more severe claw lesions than ungrouped gilts. Likewise, body lesion score was significantly (p<0.001) higher in RR gilts (1.71) than NR gilts (0.46).It was also concluded that the proposed model could be a successful experimental design for challenging different risk factors, e.g. flooring and management, for development of claw lesions in pigs.

show abstract

The interrelationships between clinical signs and their effect on involuntary culling among pregnant sows in group-housing systems

Cited by 35 publications

References 9 publications

Herd- and sow-related risk factors for lameness in organic and conventional sow herds

Herd- and sow-related risk factors for lameness in organic and conventional sow herds

Longitudinal gait development and variability of growing pigs reared on three different floor types

An experimental model for studying claw lesions in growing female pigs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About