The effect of floor type in farrowing pens on pig injury. I. Leg and teat damage of suckling piglets.

Abstract

Abstract Knee and teat damage were scored for 1376 suckling piglets from 140 litters on six different types of floor surface. Both knee and teat damage were present from the day of birth, increased over the first week of life and then started to heal in the second and third weeks. Overall knee damage levels were low with 41% of piglets having no damage and only 11% having significant damage. Knee damage incidence and severity were worse on an old cement screed than on more recently laid cement, fibrocem or latex screeds. Damage on solid floors was related to their skid resistance value. Lowest levels of knee damage were observed on fully perforated floors of plastic-covered woven wire, but punched metal floors gave damage levels similar to solid floors. Teat damage also showed a low incidence overall, with 92% of males and 76% of females unaffected. Incidence and severity of teat damage were again significantly lower on plastic-covered wire than on other floor types. Knee and teat damage were not related to piglet birth-weight and had little effect on live-weight gain.