Do Rubber Floor Mats Prevent Lameness in Gestating Sows Housed in Large Groups? A Field Experiment on Three Commercial Farms in France.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Huneau-Salaun A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8614336 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:Lameness and lesions to the skin and claws of sows in group housing are commonly occurring indicators of reduced welfare. Typically, these problems are more common in group housing than in individual housing systems. Group management type (dynamic versus static) and stage of gestation influence the behavior of the animals, which in turn influences the occurrence of these problems. The present study compared prevalence, incidence and mean scores of lameness and skin and claw lesions in static versus dynamic group housed sows at different stages of gestation during three consecutive reproductive cycles. A total of 10 Belgian sow herds were monitored; 5 in which dynamic groups and 5 in which static groups were utilized. All sows were visually assessed for lameness and skin lesions three times per cycle and the claws of the hind limbs were assessed once per cycle. Lameness and claw lesions were assessed using visual analogue scales. Static groups, in comparison with dynamic groups, demonstrated lower lameness scores (P<0.05) and decreased skin lesion prevalence (24.9 vs. 47.3%, P<0.05) at the end of gestation. There was no difference between treatment group regarding claw lesion prevalence with 75.5% of sows demonstrating claw lesions regardless of group management. Prevalences of lameness (22.4 vs. 8.9%, P<0.05) and skin lesions (46.6 vs. 4.4%, P<0.05) were highest during the group-housed phase compared to the individually housed phases. Although the prevalence of lameness and skin lesions did not differ three days after grouping versus at the end of the group-housing phase, their incidence peaked during the first three days after moving from the insemination stalls to the group. In conclusion, the first three days after grouping was the most risky period for lameness incidence, but there was no significant difference between static or dynamic group management.
| S-EPMC5040397 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Judgement bias testing has emerged as a potential tool for assessing affective states in animals. Researchers infer an animal's affective state based on an animal's response to an ambiguous stimulus that is intermediate to both the rewarded and punished conditioned stimuli. Animals can be classified as "optimistic" or having a positive affective state if the animal displays behaviors that suggest an increased expectation of reward in the face of ambiguous stimuli. Alternatively, animals can be classified "pessimistic" or having a negative affective state if the animal displays behaviors that suggest an increased expectation of punishment in the face of ambiguous stimuli. Recent reports in multiple species question what factors influence performance in judgement bias testing, and which may allow for erroneous conclusions regarding individual affective state. In order to better understand this concern, 25 female swine were subjected to behavioral assessments at critical rearing stages to determine response variability. These same individuals were then assessed for physical measures of welfare and judgement bias using the "go/no-go" task as breeding adults. Sows which were more aggressive approached the ambiguous, but not the positive, stimulus significantly faster than others. Both optimistic and pessimistic biases were observed despite all sows living in enriched housing, and, sows with more positive physical welfare measures (fewer skin lesions and healthy body condition) did not exhibit more optimistic judgement biases. Our data demonstrate that behavior traits, such as aggressiveness, can affect a sow's performance in a judgement bias test, while measures of physical health did not. We suggest that individual differences in behavior (e.g., bold-aggressive behavioral syndrome, or, proactive coping style) generate different emotional responses and can contribute to the animal's overall affective state more so than physical ailment. Our findings highlight the complexity of how different factors impact an animal's overall affective state and support the need for complementary measures in future JBT studies, including personality assessment.
| S-EPMC8880926 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Confinement of gestating sows is becoming banished in favor of group-housing in countries worldwide, forcing breeding companies to develop genetic lines adapted for social living. This study aimed at assessing the influence of two genetic lines selected for high performance (HP1, HP2, derived from Landrace × Yorkshire) on welfare and reproductive performance of sows housed in large semi-static groups (20 groups of 46-91 animals) across several parities. To address this, agonistic behaviors were recorded on d0, d2, d27, and d29 post-mixing while body lesions were scored on d1, d26, and d84. Sows' individual and reproductive performances were also recorded. HP2 sows were more aggressive than HP1 sows since they fought (p = 0.028) and bullied (p = 0.0009) pen-mates more frequently on d0-d2. HP2 sows had more total body lesions throughout gestation than HP1 sows at higher parities (p < 0.0001). Regarding reproductive performance, HP2 sows lost less piglets (p < 0.0001) and tended to wean more piglets (p = 0.067) than HP1 sows. In conclusion, while HP2 sows were the most aggressive, HP1 sows had piglets with lower survivability, which raises ethical issues in both cases and points to the need of considering social aspects when developing genetic lines for group-housing.
| S-EPMC7762012 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Sow productivity, that is, the number of weaned piglets per sow per year, depends on their health status. The gut microbiota is considered a crucial factor in the health of pigs and may affect sow productivity. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between productivity and the fecal microbiotas of sows in different farms. Feces of sows were collected from 18 farms (10 samples/farm). A total of 90 fecal samples of high-reproductive performance farms were labeled as group H, and 90 fecal samples from low-reproductive performance farms were labeled as group L. Fecal microbiotas were analyzed by 16S rRNA metagenomics, and the organic acids and putrefactive metabolites of the microbiotas were measured. β-diversity was significantly different between groups H and L (P < 0.01), and the relative abundances of 43 bacterial genera, including short-chain fatty acid-producing and fiber-degrading bacteria such as Ruminococcus, Fibrobacter and Butyricicoccus, significantly differed between groups (P < 0.05). In addition, the concentrations of acetate, propionate and n-butyrate were significantly higher in group H than in group L (P < 0.05). In conclusion, sow productivity in farms was likely associated with the compositions of the fecal microbiotas.
| S-EPMC7599717 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundShoulder ulcers can have a significant impact on the welfare of sows. In Denmark, rubber mats are used for treatment of shoulder ulcers. The objective of the study was to compare a treatment consisting of a combination of rubber mats and zinc ointment with the effect of local antibiotic spray (chlortetracycline) on shoulder ulcers.MethodsA total of 304 sows with shoulder ulcers were observed shortly after farrowing (day 1) and on days 14 and 21 after the first observation. The sows were paired according to the grade of the shoulder ulcer using the official Danish scoring system. From each pair of sows, one sow was allocated to mat group (M) and the other to an antibiotic group (A) in a random way. In the M group, rubber mats were placed on the floor, and the ulcers were treated with zinc ointment once a day. In the A group, sows were treated with antibiotic spray daily. The size of the shoulder ulcer was measured manually on a continuous scale on days 1, 14 and 21. The data were analysed by use of two multivariable models where the response was the area of the shoulder ulcer on day 14 and day 21, respectively. Explanatory variables were treatment, herd, parity, body condition and size of ulcer on day 1. If a sow had an ulcer on both shoulders, the shoulder with the largest ulcer was selected.ResultsThe treatment consisting of mats and zinc ointment had a statistical significant effect on the size of the shoulder ulcer on day 14 and day 21 compared to daily treatment with antibiotic spray. For lean sows that were kept on rubber mats and zinc ointment, the average shoulder ulcer was significantly smaller on day 14 (3.8 cm(2) versus 9.5 cm(2) when antibiotic spray was used) and day 21 (3.4 cm(2) versus 6.6 cm(2)) compared to lean sows that were only treated with antibiotic spray. For fat sows this was also the case when using the lesion on day 21 as the response (2.0 cm(2) versus 5.7 cm(2)) but not on day 14. Moreover, the size of the lesion on day 1 was statistically associated with the size of the lesion on day 14 and on day 21. The treatment was equally effective in the three herds.ConclusionsRubber mats and daily smearing with zinc ointment slow progression and contribute to the healing of shoulder ulcers compared with housing on slats and daily spraying with antibiotics. It is recommended to place a rubber mat in the farrowing crate at the first sign of shoulder ulcers.
| S-EPMC3629990 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Strategies to combat microbiota-associated health problems are of high interest in pig production. Successful intervention strategies with beneficial long-term effects are still missing. Most studies on pig microbiota have been conducted under standardized experimental conditions, but the situation in commercial farms differs dramatically. This study describes the fecal microbiota in German commercial pig farms under practical conditions. The study is part of the larger project "Optibiom" that aims to use bacterial composition and farm metadata to formulate tailor-made solutions for farm-specific health maintenance strategies. Special consideration is given to the sow-piglet relationship. Fecal samples from sows and their piglets were collected at two time points each in 20 different farms (sows ante- and postpartum and piglets before and after weaning). The extracted DNA was sequenced with Illumina 16S rDNA sequencing. For data analysis and visualization, differential abundance analyses, as well as hierarchical clustering and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) were performed. A new "family unit" was implemented to compare farms based on the association between the microbiota in sows and their offspring. There are distinct changes in the microbial communities in sows before and after birth as well as in suckling and post-weaning piglets. The suckling pig microbiota is particularly different from all other groups and shows a lower bacterial diversity. While dominant genera in antepartum sows further displace the abundance of non-dominant genera postpartum, the opposite was true for piglets, where non-dominant bacteria in the suckling phase became dominant after weaning. The family unit for sows and their piglets led to separate cluster formation for some farms. The results indicate that the sow-piglet relationship is one driving force for the observed differences of the pig farms. The next step in the analysis will be the combination of metadata (feeding, housing and management practices) to find farm-specific differences that can be exploited to formulate a farm-specific health maintenance strategy.
| S-EPMC8367078 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Successful pig farming needs the best conditions of cleanliness in the housings. The present study examined for the first time whether a robot scraper usually applied in dairy farming is usable in sow housings for cleaning the slatted floors and improving hygiene and thus animal welfare. For evaluating the suitability of the robot scraper with regard to the cleaning performance (polluted surface area and occluded slots), the whole housing area was divided into score-squares, which were individually scored at defined intervals. Selected excrement quantities removed by the robot were weighed. In order to assess the animals' interactions with the robot scraper, their behaviour towards the device was observed. Although the faeces of pigs had a firmer consistency than bovine excrement, excrement quantities of up to 1.4 kg m-2 were almost completely removed. Even 6 h after the cleaning its effect was still visible. Dry-cleaning led faster to nonslip surfaces for the sows than wet-cleaning. Within half an hour of observation, up to 8.2 of 120 sows were occupied with the robot scraper, but without harming it. The use of robot scrapers in pig housings is recommended, although slight technical modifications should be made to the robot scraper.
| S-EPMC6523839 | biostudies-other
Project description:Precision feeding (PF) with the daily mixing of 2 diets with different lysine content (high (H) or low (L)) was previously reported for growing pigs to reduce protein intake and N excretion compared with a conventional feeding (CF) based on a single diet (C). Using a simulation approach based on farm data, the objective of the present paper was to describe and evaluate a decision support system for the PF of gestating sows allowing the daily distribution of a tailored ration to each sow. Two datasets, 1 of 2,511 gestations (farm A) and 1 of 2,528 gestations (farm B), reporting sows' characteristics at insemination and objectives at farrowing were used as inputs for a Python model. This model, mainly based on InraPorc, calculates the nutrient requirements of each sow over gestation and simulates the impact of PF in comparison to CF. Simulated diets L, H, and C contained 3.0, 6.5, and 4.8 g/kg of standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID Lys) and 2.0, 3.3, and 2.5 g/kg of standardized total tract digestible phosphorus (STTD-P), respectively. The influence of farm, parity, gestation week, and their interactions, on calculated SID Lys and STTD-P requirements was analyzed applying a mixed model. The calculated SID Lys and STTD-P requirements increased markedly in the last third of gestation (P < 0.01) and were higher for primiparous than for multiparous sows, unless after week 14 for STTD-P requirement. The calculated SID AA and mineral requirements were lower for farm B than farm A (respectively, 2.94 vs. 3.08 g/kg for SID Lys and 1.30 vs. 1.35 g/kg for STTD-P, P < 0.01). On average, feed L represented 86% and 92% of the feed projected to be delivered by the PF strategy in farms A and B, respectively. Compared to CF, average calculated dietary SID Lys content was lowered by 27% and 32% with PF, for farms A and B, respectively, while average calculated dietary phosphorus content was lowered by 13% and 16%. The simulated proportions of sows in excess and deficient in SID Lys were reduced with PF. Compared to CF, the PF strategy allowed for a 3.6% reduction in simulated feed cost per sow during gestation, and reduced nitrogen and phosphorus intake (by 11.0% and 13.8%, respectively) and excretion (by 16.7% and 15.4%, respectively). To conclude, these simulations indicate that PF of gestating sow appears to be relevant to meet the amino acid requirement while reducing feed cost, and supplies and excretion of nitrogen and phosphorus.
| S-EPMC7568449 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study investigated the proteomic characteristics of colostrum for sows housed under different conditions. Among 12 gilts, four were housed in a gestation-crate and farrowing-crate combined housing system (CC) as controls, four were housed in a gestation-pen and farrowing-pen combined housing system (PP), and four were housed in a gestation-pen and farrowing-crate combined housing system (PC). Differentially expressed proteins in the colostrum (PP versus CC, and PC versus CC) were screened by proteomics technology, and bioinformatics analysis was then performed. Results showed that 93 proteins were differentially expressed in PP versus CC, and that 126 proteins were differentially expressed in PC versus CC. The differentially expressed proteins in the PP versus CC comparison were mainly enriched in interleukin (IL)-17, transforming growth factor-?, and nuclear factor-? B signaling pathways, and in metabolic pathways, including glutathione metabolism, peroxisome, and carbon metabolism. In contrast, differentially expressed proteins in the PC versus CC comparison were enriched in the IL-17 signaling pathway, cholesterol metabolism, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathway. In conclusion, the housing environment appeared to affect the colostrum composition of sows by acting on their immune system and metabolic processes, particularly fat metabolism.
| S-EPMC7070969 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal methyl-donor micronutrient supplementation during gestation on gut microbiota and the fecal metabolic profile in offspring piglets. Forty-three Duroc × Erhualian gilts were assigned to two dietary groups during gestation: control diet (CON) and CON diet supplemented with MET (folic acid, methionine, choline, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12). The body weights of offspring piglets were recorded at birth and weaning. Besides this, fresh fecal samples of offspring piglets were collected at 7, 14, and 21 days. The gut microbiota composition, metabolic profile, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) profiles in the fecal samples were determined using 16S rDNA sequencing, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics, and gas chromatography methods, respectively. The results showed that maternal methyl-donor micronutrient supplementation increased the microbiota diversity and uniformity in feces of offspring piglets as indicated by increased Shannon and Simpson indices at 7 days, and greater Simpson, ACE, Chao1 and observed species indices at 21 days. Specifically, at the phylum level, the relative abundance of Firmicutes and the Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio were elevated by maternal treatment. At the genus level, the relative abundance of SCFA-producing Dialister, Megasphaera, and Turicibacter, and lactate-producing Sharpea as well as Akkermansia, Weissella, and Pediococcus were increased in the MET group. The metabolic analyses show that maternal methyl-donor micronutrient addition increased the concentrations of individual and total SCFAs of 21-day piglets and increased metabolism mainly involving amino acids, pyrimidine, and purine biosynthesis. Collectively, maternal methyl-donor micronutrient addition altered gut microbiota and the fecal metabolic profile, resulting in an improved weaning weight of offspring piglets.
| S-EPMC8215270 | biostudies-literature