Health monitoring of finishing pigs by secondary data use – a longitudinal analysis

Abstract

Background In Germany, animal welfare has become an increasingly important issue. Since 2006, German legislation demands self-monitoring of animal welfare by farmers, but there is a lack of prescribed indicators for governmental monitoring. Since recording of the health status through examinations on individual farms requires many resources, secondary data use is obvious. Therefore, this study deals with the overall evaluation and utilization of existing production data from the German pork production. Performance data and information on antibiotic usage and meat inspection were used for a benchmarking system of animal health in finishing pigs. Results Seven health scores and one total score were evaluated for 184 finishing pig herds on semi-annual basis between July 2017 and June 2019, based on the health indicators mortality, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, treatment frequency, respiratory lesions, exterior lesions and animal management. In preparation, the selected health indicators were brought to the same scale and skewed data were transformed to build scores (MOR, ADG, FCR, TF, RESP, EXT and MANG). A differentiated analysis was carried out for three classes of initial body weight regarding to farmers’ fattening management strategies. Conclusions The present study shows that existing production data of German finishing pigs are usable for welfare monitoring. However, preparatory editing steps are crucial. The total score can only be an estimate of health status because partly bad or good performance could be disguised. It has also been demonstrated, that relative benchmarking is suitable for depicting temporary fluctuations in the investigated collective.

Health Monitoring of Fattening Pigs – Use of Production Data, Farm Characteristics and On-Farm Examination

“…Since Grosse-Kleimann et al [2] found the initial body weight (IBW) on day one of the fattening period to be an important stratification criterion, only herds with IBW between 24 and 33.5 kg were chosen for further analyses. Additionally, data from pigs housed in pens with straw bedding or outdoor climate were excluded because the number of pens was too small to be representative (4 farms with exclusively straw bedding or outdoor climate).…”

“…Seven standardized health scores and one total score according to Grosse-Kleimann et al [2] were chosen as the target variables: mortality (MOR), average daily gain (ADG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), treatment frequency (TF) and meat inspection indicators associated with respiratory health (RESP), exterior injuries or alterations (EXT) and animal management (MANG). They are based on selected indicators from production data (Table 1) and were standardized on a zscale, with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.…”

“…Table 1 Source and descriptive measures of indicators, which are the basis for examined health scores in the study collective of 154 pig units, according to Grosse-Kleimann et al [2]. (MOR mortality score, ADG average daily gain score, FCR feed conversion ratio score, TF treatment frequency score, RESP respiratory lesions score, EXT exterior lesions score, MANG animal management score, UDD used daily doses, FP fattening pig place) To investigate whether the slaughter scores could sufficiently depict pig health or whether investigation of living animals is necessary, several analyses were carried out.…”

“…The latter can be used if their relation to animal health issues is very close and their recording is easier, which is important for monitoring the health status of a wide range of pig farms. GrosseKleimann et al [2] have already derived a set of seven health scores and one total score for this purpose, which allows longitudinal screening of a target collective of farms under conventional production conditions in Germany. Onehalf of the scores is based on findings in slaughtered pigs, whereas the other half consists of information regarding biological performance (average daily gain and feed conversion ratio), mortality and treatment with antibiotics.…”

“…Concerning the aforementioned health scores [2], the question is whether management and farm characteristics could influence them and whether particular factors for the prevention of health incidents can be identified. Several studies have addressed this issue and found production items that can be used as a basis for extended veterinary and agricultural consulting to improve the health status of fattening pigs in the long run.…”