Longitudinal study of the effect of rubber slat mats on locomotory ability, body, limb and claw lesions, and dirtiness of group housed sows1

Díaz, Julia Adriana Calderón; Fahey, Alan G.; Kilbride, A. L.; Green, Laura; Boyle, Laura

doi:10.2527/jas.2012-5913

Cited by 46 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Rubber mats have been suggested to be a useful alternative for straw [32, 33]. Elmore et al [32] could not find a difference in lameness scores between sows housed on rubber mats versus concrete floors.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in that study, rubber mats were only added to the feeding stalls and not to the area with concrete slatted flooring between the stalls. By contrast, Díaz et al [33] covered the concrete slatted flooring in both the feeding stalls and the group area with rubber slat mats. Sows housed on rubber slat mats had a significantly reduced risk of becoming lame.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, rubber slat mats may provide more traction and hence reduce lameness due to slipping [36]. Besides the potential to reduce the risk of lameness, rubber slat mats have also been associated with an increased risk of toe overgrowth, heel-sole cracks, white line lesions and wall cracks [33]. …”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of group housing of pregnant sows on health

2016

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Group housing of sows during gestation is mandatory in the EU since 2013. Compared to housing in individual crates, group housing allows the animals to express normal activity and behavior. The present paper discusses the impact of group housing on health, with emphasis on lameness, aggression and possible spread of infectious diseases. The prevalence of lameness is generally higher in sows housed in group than in sows housed individually. Floor space per sow, group size, pen design and flooring are the main factors of group housing involved in lameness development. Especially floor characteristics are important, and particular attention should be paid to the type, building material and quality of the floor, hygiene and the use of bedding such as straw or rubber mats. Aggression between sows is another critical issue in group housing systems. It occurs predominantly because of competition for access to a limited resource, or to establish a social hierarchy. Key factors to prevent aggression in group housing include gradual familiarization of unfamiliar animals, sufficient space and pen structure during initial mixing, minimizing opportunities for dominant sows to steal food from subordinates, provision of a good quality floor, environmental enrichment and use of straw bedding. Very scarce evidence-based information is available on the relationship between group housing and infectious disease. Compared to individual housing, sows in group housing have more nose-to-nose contact, and they have more oral contact with feces and urine. These factors could contribute to a higher or faster transmission of pathogens, but so far, there is no evidence showing more disease problems in group housing systems. In conclusion, in group housing systems, particular attention should be paid to prevention of lameness and aggression. Management is crucial but also feeding strategies, floor and bedding, and design of housing are very important as relatively minor adjustments may exert major effects on the animals.

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Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of group housing of pregnant sows on health

2016

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“…Previous studies of claw lesions have often been performed on live pigs, either of varying age (Ehlorsson et al, 2002;Gjein and Larssen, 1995b;Olsson and Svendsen, 2002) or displaying a more limited age range (Díaz et al, 2013). Only a few studies on live animals have been complemented with studies on slaughtered gilts/sows, which were culled according to the normal routines in the herd and without systematic selection for a particular study (Gjein and Larssen, 1995b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Claw lesions in live sows can be studied and scored on sows lying down in the farrowing room (Díaz et al, 2014), using equipment designed for claw trimming (Díaz et al, 2013;Olsson and Svendsen, 2002) or a mobile device for on-farm claw scoring (Van Riet et al, 2012). According to our experience (Olsson & Svendsen, 2002), scientific claw studies under the conditions found in practice are challenging.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An experimental model for studying claw lesions in growing female pigs

et al. 2016

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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.

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