Associations between lying-down behaviour problems and body condition, limb disorders and skin lesions of lactating sows housed in farrowing crates in commercial sow herds

Bonde, Marianne; Rousing, Tine; Badsberg, Jens Henrik; Sørensen, Jan Tind

doi:10.1016/j.livprodsci.2003.08.005

Cited by 96 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Currently, there are no studies available that compare skin lesions in loose-housing and crating systems. The fact, that shoulder lesions are a major problem in farrowing crates becomes clear from the present study as well as the study of Bonde et al (2004), who even found a prevalence of 20% in farrowing crates. There is evidence that lesions that occur at different points of the production cycle have negative impacts on the reproductive performance, and thus longevity, of the sows (Pluym et al, 2013).…”

Section: Integument Lesionssupporting

confidence: 70%

Confinement of sows for different periods during lactation: effects on behaviour and lesions of sows and performance of piglets

Lambertz

Petig

Elkmann³

et al. 2015

Animal

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Alternatives to farrowing crates with continuous confinement of the sow are urgently needed because the animal welfare is negatively impacted. Given the increase of herd sizes, practical experience with loose-housing is needed to force the implementation of these systems in the field. Next to aspects of labour efficiency, detrimental piglet mortality rates that may occur during the first days postpartum (pp) is a major criticism. Therefore, loose-housing after a crating period limited to the first days pp might be a feasible alternative to improve welfare under intensive production conditions. The aim was to investigate the effect of crating sows during lactation for different periods on their behaviour and integument alterations and on piglets' performance. Gilts from a commercial herd were observed from 5 to 26 days pp and housed in farrowing crates (1.85 × 2.50 m) that could be altered between confinement crates and loose-housing pens. Animals were divided into three groups, that were either crated continuously from birth until weaning (Group A, n = 55), until 14 days pp (Group B; n = 54) or 7 days pp (Group C, n = 59). The behaviour of six randomly selected gilts per group was video recorded from 5 to 26 days pp and analysed by time sampling technique. Lesions on the legs, shoulder and lumbar vertebra were scored on days 7, 14 and 25 pp. Piglets were weighed weekly, causes of losses recorded and weight losses of gilts measured. Not different between groups ( P > 0.05), animals spent 72 to 76% lying laterally, 14 to 17% lying in abdominal or semi-abdominal position, 9 to 10% standing and 1 to 3% sitting. B-sows were lying longer in week 3 and 4 of lactation compared to A-and C-sows ( P < 0.05). The incidence of slight shoulder lesions rose from <1% on day 7 to 4% on day 14 and 14% on day 25 pp. On day 25 pp, 5% of all studied gilts showed moderate shoulder lesions. Piglet mortality rates were 11.4%, 12.9% and 13.3% for groups A, B and C, respectively ( P > 0.05), whereas almost 90% of the losses occurred in the first week pp. In conclusion, loose-housing of lactating gilts after a reduced postnatal crating period of 7 days affected neither the activity level of the gilts and lesions on the integument nor pre-weaning mortality. Therefore, it is recommended to allow sows to move around to some extent during the later lactation period.

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Section: Integument Lesionssupporting

confidence: 70%

Confinement of sows for different periods during lactation: effects on behaviour and lesions of sows and performance of piglets

Lambertz

Petig

Elkmann³

et al. 2015

Animal

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“…Sows with poor body condition have an increased risk of developing shoulder ulcers. This fact is well documented on a phenotypic level in the literature (Davies et al, 1997;Bonde et al, 2004;Zurbrigg, 2006;Knauer et al, 2007;Ivarsson et al, 2009). The genetic correlation between shoulder ulcers and mean piglet weight was low but positive and thus unfavorable (0.23).…”

mentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Many environmental factors influence the prevalence and severity of shoulder ulcers, such as flooring (Bonde et al, 2004;Ivarsson et al, 2009) and feeding routines (Sørensen, 2009). Pen size and design, indoor/outdoor temperature and humidity (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Health status and stress response are other factors that could influence the presence of shoulder ulcers (Bonde et al, 2007). Poor sow body condition in the time period around farrowing and lactation increases the risk of developing shoulder ulcers (Davies et al, 1997;Bonde et al, 2004;Zurbrigg, 2006;Knauer et al, 2007;Ivarsson et al, 2009). Over the last decades, there has been a systematic selection for leanness (de Vries and Kanis, 1994;Edwards, 1998), that is, against the ability to build up body reserves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lundgren, Zumbach, Lundeheim, Grandinson, Vangen, Olsen and Rydhmer (Davies et al, 1997;Bonde et al, 2004;Cleveland-Nielsen et al, 2004;Rolandsdotter et al, 2009). To our knowledge, only few attempts have been made to estimate genetic parameters of shoulder ulcers (Bradley, 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heritability of shoulder ulcers and genetic correlations with mean piglet weight and sow body condition

Lundgren

Zumbach

Lundeheim

et al. 2012

Animal

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The objective of this paper was to estimate the heritability for shoulder ulcers and the genetic correlations between shoulder ulcers, mean piglet weight and sow body condition. The analyses were based on information on 5549 Norwegian Landrace sows and their 7614 purebred litters. The genetic analysis was performed using the Gibbs sampling method. Shoulder ulcers were analyzed as a threshold trait. Sow body condition and mean piglet weight were analyzed as linear traits. The heritability of shoulder ulcers was estimated at 0.25 (s.d. 5 0.03). The heritability for sow body condition was estimated at 0.14 (s.d. 5 0.02) and that for mean piglet weight at 0.23 (s.d. 5 0.02). The genetic correlation between shoulder ulcers and sow body condition was negative (20.59, s.d. 5 0.09). The genetic correlation between shoulder ulcers and mean piglet weight was positive (0.23, s.d. 5 0.10) and the genetic correlation between sow body condition and mean piglet weight was negative (20.24, s.d. 5 0.10).

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Nervous and Locomotor System

Madson¹,

Arruda²,

Arruda³

2019

Diseases of Swine

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Associations between lying-down behaviour problems and body condition, limb disorders and skin lesions of lactating sows housed in farrowing crates in commercial sow herds

Cited by 96 publications

References 11 publications

Confinement of sows for different periods during lactation: effects on behaviour and lesions of sows and performance of piglets

Confinement of sows for different periods during lactation: effects on behaviour and lesions of sows and performance of piglets

Heritability of shoulder ulcers and genetic correlations with mean piglet weight and sow body condition

Nervous and Locomotor System

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