Osteochondrosis, but not lameness, is more frequent among free-range pigs than confined herd-mates

Etterlin, Pernille Engelsen; Morrison, David A.; Österberg, Julia; Ytrehus, Bjørnar; Heldmer, Eva; Ekman, Stina

doi:10.1186/s13028-015-0154-7

Cited by 22 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…When van Grevenhof et al [ 40 ] compared the joint health of pigs reared in different housing systems, a partially slatted concrete floor or a deep litter floor with extra space allowance, they found that the conventionally reared pigs were more affected by Osteochondrosis than the pigs reared in the deep litter floor. Similar results were found by Etterlin et al [ 41 ]. The authors concluded that the extra space allowed for the deep litter herd strengthened the joint supportive tissue and provided some pain relief through exercise.…”

Section: Healthsupporting

confidence: 92%

Research trends in outdoor pig production — A review

Park

Min

2017

Asian-Australas J Anim Sci

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Since the industrialization of swine production in the late 1900s, swine farms in the United States, as well as in Europe, have largely become consolidated. Pig farms became larger in size but fewer in number, with 91% of market pigs being produced by large operations with 5,000 or more pigs on-site in the US, and only 3% of the total utilized agricultural land representing organic farming. Such change in the market made it difficult for small farmers to stay competitive, forcing them to find alternative ways to reduce the cost of production and increase profit using the outdoor production system. In contrast to the indoor confinement system, outdoor production system uses pasture-based units and/or deep-bedded hoop structures that promote animal welfare and environmental sustainability with a lower capital investment. In accord with the growing concern for animal and environmental welfare and food safety by the consumers, small farmers practicing an outdoor production system are seeing increased opportunities for marketing their products in the pork niche market. Unlike the general belief that the reproductive and growth performance measures of the outdoor sows and piglets are poorer in comparison with the animals reared indoors, studies showed that there was no significant difference in the performance measures, and some traits were even better in outdoor animals. Improved reproductive and production traits can increase the sustainability of outdoor farming. Present study reviewed the recent studies comparing the performance measures, meat quality and health of indoor and outdoor animals, as well as the efforts to improve the outdoor production system through changes in management such as hut types and breed of animals.

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Section: Healthsupporting

confidence: 92%

Research trends in outdoor pig production — A review

Park

Min

2017

Asian-Australas J Anim Sci

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“…Dairy cows commonly suffer from udder health disturbances and locomotion disorders; in 2013/2014, 26% of Swedish dairy cows were treated for some medical condition, although breeding in Sweden combines production, health, fertility and longevity traits into a 'total merit index' (Oltenacu and Broom 2010;Rodriguez-Martinez et al 2008). Joint lesions arise in all pig production systems, but they are more frequent and severe in organic compared with conventional production due to higher stress on pig joints in spacious and outdoor environments, as the leg conformation of modern, fast-growing pigs is not suited to the level of exercise required with large space allowances (Engelsen Etterlin et al 2015). Hence, it is worth discussing whether still higher yields per animal are desirable and in line with organic principles; attention should perhaps focus on improving animal health and welfare at current production levels or even accepting lower yield per animal if necessary.…”

Section: Animal Health and Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

Risks and opportunities of increasing yields in organic farming. A review

Röös

Mie

Wivstad

et al. 2018

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

181

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Current organic agriculture performs well in several sustainability domains, like animal welfare, farm profitability and low pesticide use, but yields are commonly lower than in conventional farming. There is now a revitalized interest in increasing yields in organic agriculture to provide more organic food for a growing, more affluent population and reduce negative impacts per unit produced. However, past yield increases have been accompanied by several negative side-effects. Here, we review risks and opportunities related to a broad range of sustainability domains associated with increasing yields in organic agriculture in the Northern European context. We identify increased N input, weed, disease and pest control, improved livestock feeding, breeding for higher yields and reduced losses as the main measures for yield increases. We review the implications of their implementation for biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient losses, soil fertility, animal health and welfare, human nutrition and health and farm profitability. Our findings from this first-of-its-kind integrated analysis reveal which strategies for increasing yields are unlikely to produce negative side-effects and therefore should be a high priority, and which strategies need to be implemented with great attention to trade-offs. For example, increased N inputs in cropping carry many risks and few opportunities, whereas there are many risk-free opportunities for improved pest control through the management of ecosystem services. For most yield increasing strategies, both risks and opportunities arise, and the actual effect depends on management including active mitigation of side-effects. Our review shows that, to be a driving force for increased food system sustainability, organic agriculture may need to reconsider certain fundamental principles. Novel plant nutrient sources, including increased nutrient recycling in society, and in some cases mineral nitrogen fertilisers from renewable sources, and truly alternative animal production systems may need to be developed and accepted.

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“…The total incidence of joint rejections at slaughter was very low in this study (1.3%). However, Etterlin et al (2015) have shown that the association between joint rejections at slaughter and gait scoring in pigs reared in organic production environments can be weak, and thus, joint rejection incidence at slaughter may be a poor indicator of clinical leg health. Thus, to assess pig welfare, it is important to investigate pig lameness during rearing rather than scanning the occurrence of osteochondrosis in carcasses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leg health, growth and carcass characteristics in growing-finishing pigs of two different genotypes reared on Swedish organic farms

et al. 2019

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Increased prevalence of joint abnormalities at slaughter among pigs from organically certified herds in Sweden has been reported. Most of these abnormalities are caused by osteochondrosis, which has a genetic background. Thus, we investigated whether changing the sire breed from the commonly used Hampshire to the commercially available sire breed Duroc affected joint health and growth rate. We studied 766 commercially reared growing-finishing pigs from insemination of the mother sow until slaughter. The pigs were raised at four commercial organic farms (integrated or externally integrated, and had 40-160 sows in production) and slaughtered at one slaughter plant. We found no significant difference between the offspring of the two sire breeds regarding back conformation, leg conformation, swollen joints, locomotion or lameness at 13 or 24 weeks of age, or regarding joint abnormalities at slaughter. This indicates that clinical leg health will not be improved by changing sire breed. However, the Hampshire-sired pigs had higher daily growth rate (P < 0.008), allowing earlier slaughter.

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Osteochondrosis, but not lameness, is more frequent among free-range pigs than confined herd-mates

Cited by 22 publications

References 43 publications

Research trends in outdoor pig production — A review

Research trends in outdoor pig production — A review

Risks and opportunities of increasing yields in organic farming. A review

Leg health, growth and carcass characteristics in growing-finishing pigs of two different genotypes reared on Swedish organic farms

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