Factors in the housing environment of finisher pigs associated with the development of gastric ulcers

Abstract

The prevalence and severity of gastric ulcers were investigated in a sample of 50 slaughter pigs from each of 16 commercial farms in the uk. The mean prevalence of ulcers was 19.1 per cent and the mean (se) severity score on the 16 farms was 2.2 (0.15) on a scale from 0 (normal) to 6 (severe). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the type of lying surface provided for the pigs during the finishing phase was the most important factor associated with the occurrence of gastric ulcers in the farms studied. Finisher pigs housed on slatted floors had a significantly higher mean ulcer severity score (P<0.001) than pigs housed on solid concrete floors, which had a significantly higher score (P<0.01) than pigs housed on straw bedding. Feeding a pelleted finisher ration was also associated with significant increase in ulcer severity (P<0.01) compared with feeding an unpelleted ration, but was of less importance than the type of floor. The detrimental influence of feeding pellets was ameliorated by the provision of straw bedding.

Preparatory work for the future development of animal based measures for assessing the welfare of pig ‐ Report 2: Preparatory work for the future development of animal based measures for assessing the welfare of weaned, growing and fattening pigs including aspects related to space allowance, floor types, tail biting and need for tail docking

“…They found that gastric lesions were more pronounced with dry feeding and in the fully-slatted system. In line with this, Amory et al (2006) reported that finisher pigs housed on slatted floors had a higher gastric ulcer severity score than pigs housed on solid concrete floors, which had a higher score than pigs housed on straw bedding.…”

“…Gastric lesions were more pronounced with dry feeding and in the fully-slatted system. In line with this, Amory et al (2006) reported that finisher pigs housed on slatted floors had a higher gastric ulcer severity score than pigs housed on solid concrete floors, which had a higher score than pigs housed on straw bedding. at the end of the experimental period, and 15 pigs/group) with a deep-litter system (1.7 m 2 /pig or a k=0.073 at the end of the experimental period, and 90 pigs/group) and found a trend to higher aggression levels in the conventional housing system at 22 weeks of age.…”

Processing of ingredients and diets and effects on nutritional value for pigs

“…However, a reduced particle size of grain is not the only factor that may trigger development of ulcers. There are other factors such as type or intensity of production [57, 58] and type of housing [59] that also may increase the risk of pigs developing ulcers. The development of ulcers increases as pigs are fed pelleted diets that contain corn ground to 400 μm compared with pigs fed non-pelleted diets [1, 31].…”

“…In the UK, 79% of pigs from 60 farms had some level of ulcers [61] and in a survey related to the presence of gastric ulcers in pigs on 16 commercial farms in the UK, it was observed that 19.1% of the commercial farms had some prevalence of ulcers [59]. It is hypothesized that the formation of ulcers starts within 7 d after pigs are provided a diet ground to a small particle size and it is also assumed that keratinization and erosions of stomach tissue may be ameliorated when pigs are fed a coarse diet for 7 d [54].…”

Effect of Trace Mineral Supplementation on Gastric Ulcers in Exercising Yearling Horses †

“…Furthermore, yearlings were consuming a pelleted concentrate when baseline endoscopies were conducted. It has been documented in pigs that feeding a pelleted concentrate results in more severe ulceration than feeding a textured concentrate (Amory et al, 2006). The yearlings were transitioned from the pelleted concentrate to a textured grain between baseline endoscopies and the initiation of Period 1.…”