Sow Culling Research Articles

Evaluation of circulating immune cells, analytes, and inflammatory markers in sows affected with postpartum dysgalactia syndrome.

Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS) is a condition affecting periparturient sows, characterized by a reduction in milk and colostrum synthesis shortly after farrowing. Insufficient milk production results in substantial economic losses due to increased piglet morbidity/mortality and premature sow culling. Since PDS develops within a few days following farrowing, the study objectives were to determine if periparturient immune cell profiles and circulating biomarkers differ in sows affected by PDS. We hypothesized differences in immune cells, circulating analytes, and inflammatory markers would exist at farrowing in sows that subsequently developed PDS compared to healthy herd-mates. Thirty-six sows with PDS symptoms were matched by parity and day of lactation with 36 healthy control (CON) sows. Diagnosis of PDS (timepoint 2) occurred on average 9.25 ± 2.67 d after farrowing. Blood samples and litter weights were collected at farrowing (timepoint 1) and at the onset of clinical PDS (timepoint 2). Piglets from PDS sows had lower average daily gain and higher mortality than piglets from CON (P < 0.01). Aspartate aminotransferase was increased (20%; P ≤ 0.06) in PDS sows compared to CON at both timepoints. Additionally, blood urea nitrogen was increased in PDS sows at timepoint 1 and timepoint 2 (13%; P = 0.08 and 16%; P = 0.01, respectively). At timepoint 2, total protein, globulin, magnesium, and cholesterol were increased (P ≤ 0.03) while γ-glutamyl transferase and albumin were decreased (P ≤ 0.02) in PDS sows. Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, an inflammatory biomarker, was increased (48%; P = 0.07) at timepoint 2 in PDS compared to CON sows. Collectively, these data indicate PDS sows have altered metabolism and appear immune activated compared to healthy herd-mates, and further investigation is needed to determine if PDS can be predicted at farrowing.

Stochastic model to assess bioeconomic impact of PRRS on pig farms in Costa Rica.

Despite the economic importance of PRRS and its high prevalence in Costa Rica, there are no studies on the bioeconomic impact of the disease in the country or, even, in Central America. Such studies are essential in finding cost-effective preventive measures tailored for different production circumstances. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate economic and production parameters of a PRRSV-infection for a medium-sized farrow-to-finish pig farm system in Costa Rica with a farm-level stochastic Monte Carlo simulation model. The effect of PRRS was assessed by scenario analysis, in which a baseline PRRS-free situation was compared against three alternative scenarios that assumed low, medium and high PRRS effects. The PRRS effects were based on data from local farms, scientific literature and expert opinion. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the impact of key input parameters on output variables. Results show that at the animal level, changes between the baseline and the PRRS-high scenario were estimated as: +25 d in age to slaughter, -9.9 pigs to slaughter (per breeding sow/yr), +6% annual replacement rate, -255 d in sow productive lifetime, - 6.9 mo in age at culling of sows, and +24 non- productive days. For a medium size local farm (n=588 sows), a reduction of 5826 fat pigs to slaughter per farm/yr from baseline compared to PRRS-high scenario was observed. PRRS-induced loss per farm per year was estimated at -US $142,542, US $180,109 and -US $524,719 for PRRS-low, medium and high scenarios, respectively. Revenues/costs ratio changed from 1.12 in the baseline to 0.89 in the PRRS-high scenario. The production cost per kg carcass weight increased from US $2.63 for the baseline to US $3.35 in the PRRS-high scenario. PRRS-induced loss was estimated at US $77.1 per slaughtered pig/yr and US $892 per breeding sow/yr for the PRRS-high scenario. Results from the model indicate that pig farms with medium to high prevalence of PRRS will require optimal market conditions in order to have positive economic outcomes. These results can be helpful in the design of better control strategies for PRRS.

107 Yeast-Based Postbiotic Supplementation in Sow Diets to Enhance Offspring Growth and Health Through the Nursery Period

Abstract Litter size and the resulting nutritional demand on the sow continue to increase while sow mortality and culling rate are also increasing. Non-nutritive feed additives may enhance sow health and thereby improve offspring growth and productivity after weaning. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of yeast-based postbiotic supplementation in gestation and lactation diets on offspring performance through the nursery period. Gestating sows (N = 53; Parity 0 to 5; BW = 242.7 ± 7.1 kg) in 2 breeding groups were blocked by parity and assigned to either a control (CON) diet or a diet supplemented with a yeast-based postbiotic (SUP) at 0.5% in gestation from d 80 to 113 of gestation and 0.2% in lactation (d 114 of gestation to weaning at 20 ± 2 d). Sow reproductive performance and offspring growth from birth to 65 d of age were monitored. At weaning, pigs were allotted to pens within maternal dietary treatment (10 pigs/pen; 31 to 32 pens/maternal treatment; 630 total pigs; BW = 6.18 ± 0.86 kg) and all piglets received common nursery diets in a 4-phase program. Pigs were weighed at week 1, 2, 4, and 6 after weaning. Sow body weight and or reproductive performance (Piglets born alive/litter, 14.4 vs 14.1; piglet birth weight, 1.45 vs 1.48 kg; piglets weaned/litter, 13.0 vs 12.9; lactation sow feed intake, 6.4 vs 6.8 kg/d) was similar in CON and SUP sows, respectively. In the first week after weaning, pigs from SUP sows had greater (P = 0.03) feed intake (0.14 vs 0.13 kg/day) and tended to have decreased (P = 0.06) proportion of pigs that lost body weight (5.6 vs 11.0%). The improved feed intake in the first week after weaning may explain the decreased fallback rate in pigs from SUP sows. Across both sow groups, by 65 d of age, body weight (21.53 vs 21.76 kg), average daily gain (0.36 vs 0.37 kg/day), average daily feed intake (0.54 vs 0.53 kg/day), gain efficiency (0.67 vs 0.69 kg), and mortality (1.26 vs 1.60%) was similar in piglets from CON and SUP sows, respectively. The postbiotic in sow diets positively impacted voluntary feed intake of pigs in the first week after weaning, during a period when feed intake is often low and erratic.

30. Construction of a decision support tool to optimize sow culling by farmers

30. Construction of a decision support tool to optimize sow culling by farmers

Important health and management reasons of early sow removal

Gilt and sow management practices are key factors for the reproduction and production efficiency of any production system. In Poland, the number of piglets born alive per sow per year and the number born alive per sow per lifetime are relatively low. This may have a number of causes. One of them is an unsuitable parity distribution. According to some data, most females are removed from the herd after the first or second parity. As a consequence, the number of piglets born alive per sow per lifetime is small. In some countries, the number of litters per sow per lifetime varies from 3.3 to 5.6, with a total number of 32 to 73 piglets weaned. The average longevity of a sow in various countries ranges from 467 to 969 days. For Poland, precise data are unfortunately lacking, but unpublished data suggest that the number of litters per statistic sow does not exceed 5, although in particular farms this parameter ranges from 3 to 7. According to data available from different farms, early sow culling takes place mostly after the first or second parity. The causes include errors in gilt’s rearing and introduction into the herd, stall acclimatization, and boar exposure. A gilt’s longevity and performance are also determined by her body weight and age at first breeding, feed intake in the lactation period, as well as body weight gained during gestation and 1st lactation. If properly developed and managed, a gilt with high immunity will perform well as a P1 and will continue to be highly productive throughout her lifetime. Otherwise, she will perform poorly in her first parity, after which her longevity is likely to be short. This paper also reviews health-related causes of early sow culling in Polish farms. The most important ones are infertility, embryonic death, stillbirth, mastitis, and MMA (mastitis, metritis, agalactia), as well as infectious pathogens (viruses), such as IAV-S, PRRSV, PCV2, PPV, ECMV, ADV, CSF, or bacteria: Leptospira spp., Brucella suis, and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae.

Vaginal microbiota signatures in healthy and purulent vulvar discharge sows

Purulent vulvar discharges, primarily caused by genito-urinary tract infections, are an important source of economic loss for swine producers due to sow culling and mortality. However, the agents that compose the vaginal microbiota of sows and their changes during infections are not well understood. The first goal of this study was to characterize and compare the vaginal bacterial content of healthy (HE, n = 40) and purulent vulvar discharge sows (VD, n = 270) by a culture-dependent method and MALDI-TOF MS identification. Secondly, we performed 16S rRNA targeted metagenomic approach (n = 72) to compare the vaginal microbiota between these groups. We found a wide variety of bacteria, with Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidota being the most abundant phyla in both groups, as well as Escherichia-Shigella, Streptococcus, and Bacteroides at the genus level. Most agents identified in the sequencing method also grew in the culture-dependent method, showing the viability of these bacteria. Alpha diversity did not differ between HE and VD sows, regarding sample richness and diversity, but a beta-diversity index showed a different microbiota composition between these groups in two tested herds. ANCOM analysis revealed that Bacteroides pyogenes were more abundant in VD females and can be a marker for this group. Other agents also require attention, such as the Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Staphylococcus hyicus found in remarkably greater relative abundance in VD sows. Network analysis revealed important positive correlations between some potentially pathogenic genera, such as between Escherichia-Shigella, Trueperella, Streptococcus, Corynebacterium, and Prevotella, which did not occur in healthy sows. We conclude that the alteration of the vaginal microbiota between healthy and purulent vulvar discharge sows, although not extreme, could be due to the increase in the relative abundance of specific agents and to associations between potentially pathogenic bacteria.

84 What Does “Found Dead” Mean? Tools for Better Record Keeping

Abstract I have been in the swine industry for 49 years and I have seen a lot of changes. Record keeping has been one of those change starting in 1975 with a program called PigTails which was collected on small pads to PIGCHAMP starting in 1983 and expanded to 26+ programs being used today. Each program has been unique in how data are collected, development of equation and how data are reported. On March 1, 1999, a group of producers, university personal, record keeping companies, and companies doing swine industry were assembled to standardize terminology, equations used for reporting data to the industry from this there was a publication called the “NPPC Production &amp; Financial Standards”. Standardizing was not accomplished as shown by different record programs having different report, equations, and long lists for reasons for animal deaths and culling. I have seen farm with up to 75 reasons for sow deaths and culling. For the industry to move forward and do a better job standardizing death loss and culling reasons, changes need to take place. In 2017 SMS wrote an article called “It is time for an overhaul of removal records” in HHF. Suggested were 6 categories: Disease/Health, Reproduction, Performance, Intestinal, Locomotion and Other. Under each were 2 to 6 reasons for being culled, dying, or euthanized. The same review of the grower/ finisher reasons should be done. When reviewing records for deaths the records are not very accurate with a very high percent being other or unknown. Conclusion: What is swine industry going to do about standardizing death loss and culling reasons so better analysis can be done to improve industry numbers?

Analysis of culling reasons during the breeding cycle and lifetime performance: The strategy to remove crossbred Landrace and Large White sows under tropical climate.

Background and Aim:Sow culling is an important practice in commercial swine production because it is directly associated with the economic efficiency of the breeding herd. This study was conducted to analyze the reasons for sow culling and quantify the factors affecting culling in crossbred Landrace and Large White sows under tropical climate.Materials and Methods:A total of 4887 culled sows from one parent stock farm located in Ratchaburi province, Western Thailand, were examined in this study. Culling reasons were grouped into the following eight categories according to farm management: (1) Reproductive disorders, (2) old age, (3) low performance, (4) diseases, (5) lameness, (6) udder problems, (7) body condition, and (8) other illnesses. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between culling sows and environmental factors. Effects of parity and season of culling were considered as fixed effects in a statistical model.Results:Descriptive statistics indicated the following factors accounting for sow removals: Old age (34.93%, n=1707), reproductive disorders (29.32%, n=1433), low performance (12.62%, n=617), lameness (12.56%, n=614), diseases (4.8%, n=235), body condition (4.68%, n=229), udder problems (0.79%, n=39), and other illnesses (0.26%, n=13). Parity and season of culling were also found to have a significant effect on sow culling (p<0.05). The majority of culling sows in this population were of old age and high parity.Conclusion:This study indicated that the purposeful culling of sows on this farm was within the targeted range. However, the incidence of reproductive disorders was too high and required further investigations.

Description of on-farm treatment compliance and risk factors for culling in sows

BackgroundIn commercial pig farming, sick or injured sows are often treated by producers or hired staff. To date, limited quantitative data exists on treatment compliance and the possible effect on sow longevity post-treatment. The objective of the study was to quantify on-farm compliance of treatment selection, frequency, and dosage, as well as to investigate the association between body condition scores (BCS) and other sow-level factors on post-treatment cull risk.ResultsOn-farm treatment records, including culling reason or reason of death up to 6 months post-treatment, production records and sow characteristics were obtained for 134 sows over an 8-week period. Treatment compliance was based on the accuracy of recorded treatments compared to the herd veterinarian’s established treatment guidelines. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models including treatment reason, treatment compliance, BCS, parity, production stage and production metrics, were constructed to investigate associations between those variables and sow culling or death. This study found low compliance for on-farm sow treatment protocols, with only 22.4% (30/134) of the sows receiving correct and complete treatment during the duration of the study. No effect of individual treatment components (drug, dosage, or frequency) on sow culling was observed. A trend for an interaction between treatment compliance and BCS was found, and parity and number of piglets born alive were identified as predictors for sow maintenance in the herd.ConclusionsOn-farm sow treatment compliance was low, resulting in that approximately 80% of the enrolled sows were not treated according to existing guidelines. Non-compliance of treatment guidelines did not seem to affect the risk of culling in treated sows but may have prolonged any associated pain, recovery time and negatively impacted the sow welfare during that time period.

RELEASING HORMONE AND VITAMIN EFFICIENCY IN THE TREATMENT OF OBSTETRIC AND GYNECOLOGICAL PATHOLOGIES IN BREEDING SOWS

Reproduction is a crucial issue at the present stage in the pig husbandry development. Infertility of breeding sows leads to excessive use of feed, increased costs associated with failed inseminations, insufficient breed and early culling of sows. Aim of the research. Study of infertility types and prevention of postpartum diseases in sows in order to develop methods to control them. Methods. A two-stage experiment was carried out in 2019–2020 at the LLC "Ryasnyanske" farm in Sumy region, Ukraine. The first stage involved development of a method for prevention and control of infertility in sows. The second stage focused on the method of postpartum pathology prevention. Results. The conducted research established that surfagon and vitamins manifested the highest efficiency in case of alimentary infertility as they increased fertilization by 20.8 %. In terms of symptomatic infertility, the best results were achieved through a combined use of surfagon and gonadotropic hormone for both primary and multiple fertilization of sows, especially considering extremely low values ​​in the control group - 15 % and 6.5 % of piglets, respectively. Aminazine proved to be the most effective remedy for immune infertility, the obtained results were 17.2 % higher than in the control group. Surfagon at a dose of 5 ml together with estrofan twice a day fully prevented inflammatory postpartum pathologies in sows. Conclusions. Pathologies of the reproductive organs in sows are widespread at pork-producing farms. Individual use of surfagon was justified for treatment of alimentary, symptomatic and immune infertility of sows and prevention of postpartum pathologies. A combined use of tissue therapy and biologically active drugs proved to be the most effective. The treatment regimens described above reduce infertility and prevent postpartum pathologies in sows.

Genetic parameters of sow feed efficiency during lactation and its underlying traits in a Duroc population

As a result of the genetic selection for prolificacy and the improvements in the environment and farms management, litter size has increased in the last few years so that energy requirements of the lactating sow are greater. In addition, selection for feed efficiency of growing pigs is also conducted in maternal lines, and this has led to a decrease in appetite and feed intake that is extended to the lactation period, so the females are not able to obtain the necessary energy and nutrients for milk production and they mobilize their energetic reserves. When this mobilization is excessive, reproductive and health problems occur which ends up in an early sow culling. In this context, it has been suggested to improve feed efficiency at lactation through genetic selection. The aim of this study is to know, in a Duroc population, the genetic determinism of sow feed efficiency during lactation and traits involved in its definition, as well as genetic and environmental associations between them. The studied traits are daily lactation feed intake (dLFI), daily sow weight balance (dSWB), backfat thickness balance (BFTB), daily litter weight gain (dLWG), sow residual feed intake (RFI) and sow restricted residual feed intake (RRFI) during lactation. Data corresponded to 851 parities from 581 Duroc sows. A Bayesian analysis was performed using Gibbs sampling. A four-trait repeatability animal model was implemented including the systematic factors of batch and parity order, the standardized covariates of sow weight (SWf) and litter weight (LWs) at farrowing for all traits and lactation length for BFTB. The posterior mean (posterior SD) of heritabilities were: 0.09 (0.03) for dLFI, 0.37 (0.07) for dSWB, 0.09 (0.03) for BFTB, 0.22 (0.05) for dLWG, 0.04 (0.02) for RFI and null for RRFI. The genetic correlation between dLFI and dSWB was high and positive (0.74 (0.11)) and null between dLFI and BFTB. Genetic correlation was favourable between RFI and dLFI and BFTB (0.71 (0.16) and −0.69 (0.18)), respectively. The other genetic correlations were not statistically different from zero. The phenotypic correlations were low and positive between dLFI and dSWB (0.27 (0.03), dSWB and BFTB (0.25 (0.04)), and between dLFI and dLWG (0.16 (0.03)). Therefore, in the population under study, the improvement of the lactation feed efficiency would be possible either using RFI, which would not have unfavourable correlated effects, or through an index including its component traits.

Environmental factors associated with lifetime non-productive days of sows in Southeastern Mexico

Objetivo. Estimar el número de días no productivos (DNP) de por vida, la proporción de DNP (%DNP) y días no productivos por cerda por año (DNP/Y), y determinar el efecto de factores de hato y cerda sobre las características aquí estudiadas en tres granjas comerciales en el trópico mexicano. Materiales y métodos. Los datos de 6703 cerdas de tres granjas comerciales fueron usados. El modelo que describió las características de interés incluyeron los efectos fijos de granja, año de primer parto, época de primer parto, edad al primer parto, causa de desecho, interacción de año por época y error residual. Resultados. Las medias de DNP de por vida, %DNP y DNP/Y fueron 64 días, 12% y 39.3 días, respectivamente. Todos los factores tuvieron efectos significativos (p&lt;0.01) en todas las características. Las cerdas con primer parto a mayor edad y las eliminadas por razones reproductivas tuvieron más DNP en el hato. Además, las cerdas eliminadas en el primer parto tuvieron menor DNP y mayor %DNP que las cerdas desechadas en partos subsecuentes. Conclusiones. La eliminación temprana de cerdas incrementó la proporción de días no productivos, que a su vez podrían reducir la rentabilidad de las granjas.

204 Genomics of age at puberty in gilts

Abstract Our previous research demonstrated that age at puberty is characterized by moderate heritability and is an early pre-breeding indicator of sow fertility. Early selection of gilts, based on genomic prediction of age at puberty and fertility in general, is considered a potential approach to reduce sow culling. Phenotypes, genotypes and tissues from UNL resource population (n &gt; 1,700) were used in initial genome-wide association to identify regions of the genome associated with age at puberty. The proportion of phenotypic variation for age at puberty explained by the Porcine SNP60 BeadArray was 27.3%, with top genomic regions responsible for relatively small effects. The top 1-Mb windows (1%) explained 6.7% of the genetic variation with one window located on SSC2 (12–12.9 Mb) displaying pleiotropic features, affecting both age at puberty and litter size. These top genomic regions were oversaturated with new genetic variants discovered by deep genomic and RNA (arcuate nucleus) sequencing, which were integrated in SowPro90, a custom Affymetrix SNP array. Using a subset of sows representing extremes of the distribution for age at puberty (n = 283) and genotyped with the SowPro90 led to identification of a SNP in the proximal promoter of the UBE2L6 (SSC2, 13.3Mb; F = 13.39; P = 0.0003), a gene known to modulate function of ISG15, a marker for pregnancy. This novel SNP, which exceeded the effect of the original top SNP in the region (DIAS0004771; F = 6.98), explained 6.8% of the proportion of phenotypic variance. Identification of functional polymorphisms that influence age at puberty could lead to improvements in the accuracy of genomic prediction while reducing sow replacement rates. This project was supported by AFRI Competitive Grant no. 2013-68004-20370 from the USDA-NIFA.

Structural characterization of piglet producing farms and their sow removal patterns in Finland

BackgroundThe main objectives of this observational, cross-sectional study were to characterize piglet producing farms in Finland and to investigate how farm profiles are associated with sow culling and mortality.The study was conducted on 43 farms during 2014. A questionnaire survey was administered in-person and supplemented with observations in the housing facilities. Annual removal figures and average monthly sow inventories were retrieved from a centralized animal data recording system (National Swine Registry) administered by the Finnish Food Authority. Multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical clustering were used to explore the complex underlying data-driven patterns.ResultsSow removal varied markedly between farms with an overall average culling percentage of 38.0% (95% CI 34.1–42.0) and a relatively high average mortality percentage 9.7% (95% CI 7.9–11.5). We identified three farm clusters, which differed both in their typologies and removal patterns. Cluster 1 included farms with features indicative of a semi-intensive or intensive kind of farming, such as larger herd and room sizes, higher stocking density and more sows per caretaker. Most of the cluster 1 farms exceeded the investigated cut-off levels for culling and mortality. Cluster 2 farms were estimated to have the best animal welfare among the sample farms based on a combination of environmental indicators (e.g. amount of bedding, rooting and nesting materials, space allowance, pen cleanliness) and the lowest level of sow mortality as an animal-based indicator. Cluster 3 farms followed a strategy of a rather non-intensified system based on the predominance of smaller herd size, lower stocking density and less sows per caretaker, combined breeding and gestation rooms and rare use of farrowing induction. This cluster showed the lowest culling levels within the sample.ConclusionsThis study captures the diversity among Finnish sow farms and provides a baseline assessment of their practices and facilities. Our results support the notion that farm typologies are associated with sow culling and mortality. In summary, the control of suboptimal sow removal cannot be based on single improvements only, because of other limitations within the individual farm resources.

Shoulder lesions in sows: A review of their causes, prevention, and treatment

Severe shoulder lesions in sows are manifested as ulcers comparable to pressure ulcers in humans. In sows, shoulder lesions appear on the skin overlying the bony prominence of the scapula, and are most commonly observed in the first weeks of lactation. Shoulder ulcers arise due to prolonged compression of blood vessels around the tuber of the scapular spine when the sow is lying, leading to insufficient blood circulation, necrosis, and subsequent ulceration. Due to the nature of shoulder lesions and their estimated occurrence (5%-50% of breeding sows worldwide), they represent an obvious welfare concern. There is also an economic impact due to labor time for treatment, medication, and premature culling of sows. While multiple factors contribute to ulcer development, maintaining optimum body condition in sows appears to be a key factor in prevention. This review summarizes the literature on sow shoulder ulcers, including the causes, prevention, and treatment. Regular monitoring of lesions is recommended, as this will help to identify individual farm causes and prevention measures. While much is known about shoulder ulcers, we conclude that there are significant gaps in the scientific literature regarding the mechanisms of development and healing, pain caused, and effective means for treatment and prevention.

Lameness: a principle problem to sow longevity in breeding herds.

Abstract The objective of this paper is to review causes of lameness lesions, lameness detection methods, factors affecting lameness, the association between lameness and other economically important swine production traits, and treatment for lameness in swine breeding herds. Lameness in sows is an important welfare and economic challenge to pig producers. It has been reported to be the second most common reason for the involuntary culling of sows which directly impacts sow longevity/sow productive lifetime. Factors affecting the prevalence and severity of gilt and sow lameness breeding herd are housing type, flooring type, toes/dewclaws management, the genetic effect for feet and leg conformation, and nutrition especially mineral supplements. Sow preference and behavioural response to flooring type may be likewise be affected by lameness onset, duration, severity and location. To avoid unnecessary distress and associated financial losses, early treatment of lameness observed among the females in the gilt development unit and in the breeding herd is necessary. The key factors listed previously are the foundation of a proper prevalence strategy. However, this review shows that additional research is still needed, especially studies to accurately evaluate lameness lesions, examine nutrient requirements for optimum foot health, investigate genetic effects on feet and leg conformation, clearly define the supplemental vitamin or/and mineral levels and duration for usage. All of these factors may influence breeding herd lameness and may contribute to more consistent and comparable results from sow herd.

Functional claw trimming improves the gait and locomotion of sows

Within the swine industry, lameness is one of the leading causes of culling and euthanasia of sows. Lameness negatively affects sow productivity and reproduction, both of which are major factors leading to culling sows. Claw lesions are one of the leading causes of sow lameness, specifically caused by overgrown claws or dewclaws. The objective of this study was to discern the difference in sow gait, pre- and post-functional trimming. In this study, 52 sows were functionally trimmed to a claw length of 5.5cm from the coronary band, and were videotaped using two high-speed cameras at three time points: pre trim (PRE), one hour post (POST1) and 48h post (POST48) trimming. Videos were analyzed to measure the following spatiotemporal values: stance duration, swing duration, stride duration, stride length, limb velocity, breakover duration, and duration of three-limb support phases. Sows showed significant improvement in gait from PRE to POST48 in response to claw trimming including a decrease in swing and stride duration, decreased breakover, and increased swing:stance ratio, and velocity (P<0.05). These changes signify more forward movement, which may indicate increased efficiency of gait following claw-trimming.

Evaluation of reproductive performance in sows of PresticeBlack-Pied pig - Czech genetic resource

The aim of the study was to evaluate reproductive performance in selected sows of Prestice Black-Pied pig included in Czech genetic resources and also to analyse losses of piglets and culling of sows according to parity order. The experimental work was conducted in a nucleic herd of sows registered in breeding book. A total of 88 sows were included in the observation. Findings indicate that productive parameters of Prestice Black-Pied sows are comparable to productive parameters of modern genotype sows. The results also showed that the highes conception rate after the first insemination was achieved after the second, the third and the fourth parity. Analysis of gestation length revealed that it was significantly influenced by the parity. Very highly significant difference (P&lt;0.001) was found between the 1st and the 2nd parity and between the 1st and the 4th parity. Total numbers of piglets and numbers live-born, stillborn and reared piglets per litter increased significantly (P&lt;0.001, P&lt;0.01, P&lt;0.05) up to the 4th parity, afterwards they continuously decreased. The number of stillborn piglets was the lowest at the 2nd parity, the highest at the 5th and the 6th parity (P&lt;0.05). Length of interval was highly significantly different (P&lt;0.01) between the 2nd and the 5th parity and significantly different (P&lt;0.05) between the 4th and the 5th parity. Differences in the losses of piglets were not significant among parities. The most radical culling of sows was recorded after the 3rd and the 4th parity.

Effects of a high carbohydrate diet and arginine supplementation during the rearing period of gilts on osteochondrosis prevalence at slaughter

Osteochondrosis (OC) is a consequence of necrotic growth cartilage formation early in life and suggested to be associated with lameness and premature culling of sows. Higher insulin, glucose, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are associated with increased OC in horses and are affected by carbohydrates. If dietary composition can affect OC through metabolic parameters in sows, it could be a tool in practice to reduce OC prevalence. This study examined if OC prevalence in rearing gilts can be influenced by dietary carbohydrates and/or arginine by affecting IGF-1, insulin, glucose, and nitric oxide (NO) levels. Gilts (n=212; Dutch Large White x Dutch Landrace) were acquired after weaning (4 weeks of age). At 6 weeks of age, gilts were subjected to a 2×2 factorial treatment design of dietary carbohydrate and arginine level scale fed at pen level. Carbohydrate level consisted of 12.5% cornstarch and 12.5% dextrose added to a basal diet (C+) versus an isocaloric diet in which cornstarch and dextrose were replaced with 8.9% soya bean oil (C−). Arginine supplementation consisted of 0.8% arginine supplemented to a basal diet (A+) versus 1.64% alanine as the isonitrogenous control (A−). At 24 weeks of age, blood samples of in total 34 gilts around feeding were taken and assessed for insulin, glucose, IGF-1, and NO levels. After slaughter at 25 weeks of age, OC was scored on the elbow, knee, and hock joints. Gilts in the C− treatment had higher glucose and insulin levels 90min after feeding onwards and higher IGF-1 levels than gilts in the C+ treatment (P<0.05). Arginine supplementation did not significantly affect metabolic parameters. Arginine supplementation tended to decrease OC prevalence (P=0.07) at the animal level (all joints combined) and in the knee joint. Carbohydrate treatment affected prevalence of OC only in the knee joint in which gilts in the C− treatment had a higher odds ratio (OR) to have OC (OR=2.05, CI: 1.18–3.58) than gilts in the C+ treatment. Additionally, body weight at slaughter was significant when added to the statistical model (P<0.01) in the knee joint and the animal level (per 10kg increase OR=1.33, CI=1.11–1.6 and OR=1.17, CI=1.05–1.31, respectively). This study found effects of carbohydrates on OC prevalence in gilts at slaughter. The dietary treatment effects found in the current study likely have been mediated through effects on body weight.

Stochastic Analysis of Profitability of the Pig Breeding Process

This study deals with the economy of agricultural production, specifically in animal farming. The main goal is to find and apply an efficient simulation model of pig breeding process in order to investigate the impact of various changes in the production settings on the economy of a particular pig breeding. For this reason, it is necessary to take values given in the study as model ones. Costs at particular parts of the breeding process were used as the main simulation inputs, together with number of parities, length of farrowing interval, number of weaned piglets depending on a parity number, lactation length, and the gestation length of sows. Additional inputs were price of produced piglets, price of insemination doses etc. Statistical distributions for the simulations of the inputs were obtained with theoretical curve fitting of sample data, which were provided from research projects focused on piglet production efficiency. The empirical distribution of sow profitability depending on the number of parities, which can help to decide about the culling of sows from the herd, was also determined in the research. A simulation was performed using the program @RISK. The obtained results and recommendations are discussed at the end of the paper.