Validation of accelerometers to automatically record sow postures and stepping behaviour

Ringgenberg, Nadine; Bergeron, Renée; Devillers, Nicolas

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2010.09.018

Cited by 73 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Indeed, to measure the stepping behaviour of the 30 sows all within the first 15 min after feeding, each sow was observed for only 30 s. This short period of time may not be long enough to accurately reflect the stepping behaviour of a sow. Other studies (Ringgenberg et al, 2010;Grégoire et al, 2013) used a longer period per sow (30 to 60 min) and reported an association which may indicate that a longer observation period is required if stepping behaviour is to be used as an indicator, but this would be more difficult to implement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Different measures were recorded for each selected sow. At morning feeding, the number of steps of rear legs, defined as the sow lifting the hoof off the ground and putting it back down (Ringgenberg et al, 2010), was recorded for 30 s per sow while they were standing and eating. The posture of the sow (standing, lying or dog-sitting) was noted every 15 min for the first hour after food delivery to evaluate its latency to lie (⩽30 min after feeding, between 30 and 60 min after feeding, >60 min after feeding).…”

Section: Farms and Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, postural behaviour which could be used as an indicator of lameness can also be affected by space allowance (Salak-Johnson et al, 2012). Other lameness measures such as sow walking speed, stride length and stepping behaviour have been shown to be promising quantitative indicators of lameness and may be easily measured on farm (Ringgenberg et al, 2010;Grégoire et al, 2013). Recording the presence of stereotyped behaviours requires the performance of animal observations, which can disturb the sow and interrupt the abnormal behaviour (Keeling, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On-farm evaluation of methods to assess welfare of gestating sows

Conte

Bergeron

Gregoire

et al. 2014

animal

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The objectives were to evaluate quantitative animal-based measures of sow welfare (lameness, oral stereotypies and reactivity to humans) under commercial farm conditions, and to estimate the influence of housing, sow parity and stage of gestation on the outcome of these measures. Across 10 farms, 311 sows were used. Farms differed in terms of housing design (pen v. stall), space allowance, floor type in stalls (partially v. fully slatted), and feeding system in pens (floor v. trough). Lameness was assessed in terms of gait score, walking speed, stride length, stepping behaviour, response to a stand-up test and latency to lie down after feeding. The presence of oral stereotypies and saliva foam were recorded. Reactivity to humans was assessed by approach (attempt to touch the sow between the ears) and handling tests (exit of the stall for stall-housed sows, or isolation of the animal for pen-housed sows). Only stride length and walking speed were associated with lameness in stall-housed sows (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01). In stalls, the probability that a sow was lame when it presented a short stride length (<83 cm) or a low speed (<1 m/s) was high (69% and 72%, respectively), suggesting that these variables were good indicators of lameness, but were not sufficient to detect every lame sow in a herd (sensitivity of 0.39 and 0.71, respectively). The stage of gestation and parity also influenced measures of stride length and walking speed (P < 0.05). Saliva foam around the mouth was associated with the presence of sham chewing and fixture biting (P < 0.05). The probability that a sow presents sham chewing behaviour when saliva foam around her mouth was observed was moderate (63%) but was not sufficient to detect all sows with stereotypies (41%). A high discrimination index was obtained for behavioural measures (aggressions, escapes) and vocalisations during the approach test (stalls: 78.0 and 64.0; pens: 71.9 and 75.0, respectively), the number of interventions needed to make the sow exit the stall during the handling test for stall-housed sows (74.9), and attempts to escape during the handling test for pen-housed sows (96.9). These results suggest that these measures have a good power to discriminate between sows with low and high reactivity to humans. Finally, the outcome of several measures of lameness, stereotypies and reactivity to humans were influenced by the housing characteristics, sow parity and stage of gestation. Therefore, these factors should be considered to avoid misinterpretations of these measures in terms of welfare.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Farms and Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On-farm evaluation of methods to assess welfare of gestating sows

Conte

Bergeron

Gregoire

et al. 2014

animal

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“…Posture and stepping behaviour The standing posture of sows was recorded for a 24-h period according to a previously validated method (Ringgenberg et al, 2010), using one accelerometer (Pendant G Acceleration Data Logger, Onset Computer Corporation, Pocasset, MA, USA) fixed on a rear leg. Posture was recorded every 5 s and the percentage of time spent standing over 24 h was estimated.…”

Section: Footprint Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of lameness in sows using gait, footprints, postural behaviour and foot lesion analysis

Gregoire

Bergeron

D’Allaire

et al. 2013

Animal

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Lameness in sows has an economic impact on pig production and is a major welfare concern. The aim of the present project was to develop methods to evaluate and quantify lameness in breeding sows. Five methods to study lameness were compared between themselves and with visual gait scoring used as a reference: footprint analysis, kinematics, accelerometers, lying-tostanding transition and foot lesion observation. Fifty sows of various parities and stages of gestation were selected using visual gait scoring and distributed into three groups: lame (L), mildly lame (ML) and non-lame (NL). They were then tested using each method. Kinematics showed that L sows had a lower walking speed than NL sows (L: 0.83 6 0.04, NL: 0.96 6 0.03 m/s; P , 0.05), a shorter stride length than ML sows (L: 93.0 6 2.6, ML: 101.2 6 1.5 cm; P , 0.05) and a longer stance time than ML and NL sows (L: 0.83 6 0.03, ML: 0.70 6 0.03, NL: 0.69 6 0.02 s; P , 0.01). Accelerometer measurements revealed that L sows spent less time standing over a 24-h period (L: 6.3 6 1.3, ML: 13.7 6 2.4, NL: 14.5 6 2.4%; P , 0.01), lay down earlier after feeding (L: 33.4 6 4.6, ML: 41.7 6 3.1, NL: 48.6 6 2.9 min; P , 0.05) and tended to step more often during the hour following feeding (L: 10.1 6 2.0, ML: 6.1 6 0.5, NL: 5.4 6 0.4 step/min standing; P 5 0.06) than NL sows, with the ML sows having intermediate values. Visual observation of back posture showed that 64% of L sows had an arched back, compared with only 14% in NL sows (P 5 0.02). Finally, footprint analysis and observation of lying-to-standing transition and foot lesions were not successful in detecting significant differences between L, ML and NL sows. In conclusion, several quantitative variables obtained from kinematics and accelerometers proved to be successful in identifying reliable indicators of lameness in sows. Further work is needed to relate these indicators with causes of lameness and to develop methods that can be implemented on the farm.

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“…In addition, lameness has an economic impact as it decreases reproduction performance, longevity, human workload and veterinary costs (Anil et al, 2005;Ringgenberg et al, 2010;Pluym et al, 2013a). The importance of lameness as a welfare and economic problem is shown by its high prevalence: 8% to 15% of sows in group housing is estimated to be lame (Heinonen et al, 2006;Kilbride et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of locomotion score on sows’ performances in a feed reward collection test

Bos

Nalon

Maes

et al. 2015

Animal

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Sows housed in groups have to move through their pen to fulfil their behavioural and physiological needs such as feeding and resting. In addition to causing pain and discomfort, lameness may restrict the ability of sows to fulfil such needs. The aim of our study was to investigate the extent to which the mobility of sows is affected by different degrees of lameness. Mobility was measured as the sow's willingness or capability to cover distances. Feed-restricted hybrid sows with different gait scores were subjected to a feed reward collection test in which they had to walk distances to obtain subsequent rewards. In all, 29 grouphoused sows at similar gestation stage (day 96.6 ± 7 s.d.) were visually recorded for gait and classified as non-lame, mildly lame, moderately lame or severely lame. All sows received 2.6 kg of standard commercial gestation feed per day. The test arena consisted of two feeding locations separated from each other by a Y-shaped middle barrier. Feed rewards were presented at the two feeders in turn, using both light and sound cues to signal the availability of a new feed reward. Sows were individually trained during 5 non-consecutive days for 10 min/day with increasing barrier length (range: 0 to 3.5 m) each day. After training, sows were individually tested once per day on 3 non-consecutive days with the maximum barrier length such that they had to cover 9.3 m to walk from one feeder to the other. The outcome variable was the number of rewards collected in a 15-min time span. Non-lame and mildly lame sows obtained more rewards than moderately lame and severely lame sows ( P < 0.01). However, no significant difference was found between non-lame and mildly lame sows ( P = 0.69), nor between moderately lame and severely lame sows ( P = 1.00). This feed reward collection test indicates that both moderately lame and severely lame sows are limited in their combined ability and willingness to walk, but did not reveal an effect of mild lameness on mobility. These findings suggest that moderately and more severely lame sows, but not mildly lame sows, might suffer from reduced access to valuable resources in group housing systems.

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Validation of accelerometers to automatically record sow postures and stepping behaviour

Cited by 73 publications

References 22 publications

On-farm evaluation of methods to assess welfare of gestating sows

On-farm evaluation of methods to assess welfare of gestating sows

Assessment of lameness in sows using gait, footprints, postural behaviour and foot lesion analysis

Effect of locomotion score on sows’ performances in a feed reward collection test

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