Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T13:37:30.913Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A survey of sow management at farrowing in the UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

SH Ison ,
S Jarvis  and
KMD Rutherford
SH Ison*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824, USA Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Research Group, SRUC, Scotland's Rural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
S Jarvis
Affiliation:
Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Research Group, SRUC, Scotland's Rural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
KMD Rutherford
Affiliation:
Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Research Group, SRUC, Scotland's Rural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RG, UK
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: shison@msu.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Farrowing is an important period in pig production, with sow health and piglet mortality representing a welfare issue and an economic loss. Sow health and welfare is critical for piglet survival and good management can improve welfare and productivity. This study investigated the management of sows around farrowing and attitudes of UK pig farmers towards sow pain and difficulty farrowing. Farmers were asked how often they provided night checks, used farrowing induction and administered pharmaceutical products during and after farrowing. Farmers and veterinarians were asked if they used or prescribed anti-inflammatories for farrowing-related health issues. Farmers were asked if pain at farrowing was a problem for gilts and sows and what percentage they considered to have difficulty farrowing. Convenience sampling using a number of distribution methods was used. Sixty-one farmers and 52 veterinarians responded. Of the farmer respondents, ten worked on outdoor and 51 on indoor farms. Night checks were reported as frequently provided and farrowing induction was rare. Many respondents reported using oxytocin substitutes at least sometimes during (74%) or after (54%) farrowing. Azaperone was reported to be used at least sometimes by 45% of respondents during and 33% after farrowing. Farmers indicated that pain at farrowing was more often a problem for gilts than sows and 5% of gilts and 4% of sows were considered to have farrowing difficulty. The high level of supervision around farrowing, with the use of night checks, is encouraging and could improve welfare. Frequent use of oxytocin substitutes, which promote farrowing and milk let-down may negatively impact sow and piglet welfare and could be masking poor mothers that fail to perform well without intervention. This study provides interesting information regarding the management of sows around farrowing, which could inform future research and education to improve sow and piglet welfare in the periparturient period.

Keywords

animal welfarefarrowingpainpigsow managementsurvey
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , August 2016 , pp. 309 - 317
Copyright
© 2016 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Alonso-Spilsbury, M, Mota-Rojas, D, Martínez-Burnes, J, Arch, E, López Mayagoitia, A, Ramírez-Necoechea, R, Olmos, A and Trujillo, ME 2004 Use of oxytocin in penned sows and its effect on fetal intra-partum asphyxia. Animal Reproduction Science 84: 157–167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2003.11.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arey, D 1997 Behavioural observations of peri-parturient sows and the development of alternative farrowing accommodation: a review. Animal Welfare 6: 217–229Google Scholar
Baxter, E, Rutherford, K, D’Eath, R, Arnott, G, Turner, S, Sandøe, P, Moustsen, V, Thorup, F, Edwards, S and Lawrence, A 2013 The welfare implications of large litter size in the domestic pig II: management factors. Animal Welfare 22: 219–238. http://dx.doi.org/10.7120/09627286.22.2.219CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baxter, EM, Jarvis, S, D’Eath, RB, Ross, DW, Robson, SK, Farish, M, Nevison, IM, Lawrence, AB and Edwards, SA 2008 Investigating the behavioural and physiological indicators of neonatal survival in pigs. Theriogenology 69: 773–783. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2007.12.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baxter, EM, Lawrence, AB and Edwards, SA 2011 Alternative farrowing systems: design criteria for farrowing systems based on the biological needs of sows and piglets. Animal 5: 580–600. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1751731110002272CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baxter, EM, Lawrence, AB and Edwards, SA 2012 Alternative farrowing accommodation: welfare and economic aspects of existing farrowing and lactation systems for pigs. Animal 6: 96–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1751731111001224CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
BPEX 2014 The British Pig Executive Yearbook 2013-2014: Key industry statistics, pig performance data and details of Pig Health Improvement Projects. Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB): Kenilworth, Warwickshire, UKGoogle Scholar
Cipolla, M and Zecconi, A 2015 Short communication: Study on veterinarian communication skills preferred and perceived by dairy farmers. Research in Veterinary Science 99: 60–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2015.02.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Defra 2014 Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Structure of the agricultural industry in England and the UK at June. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/structure-of-the-agricultural-industry-in-england-and-the-uk-at-juneGoogle Scholar
González-Lozano, M, Trujillo-Ortega, M, Becerril-Herrera, M, Alonso-Spilsbury, M, Rosales-Torres, A and Mota-Rojas, D 2010 Uterine activity and fetal electronic monitoring in parturi-ent sows treated with vetrabutin chlorhydrate. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 33: 28–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2885.2009.01094.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herskin, MS, Bonde, MK, Jørgensen, E and Jensen, H 2010 Decubital shoulder ulcers in sows: a review of classification, pain and welfare consequences. Animal 5: 757–766. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S175173111000203XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Homedes, J, Salichs, M, Sabaté, D, Sust, M and Fabre, R 2014 Effect of ketoprofen on pre-weaning piglet mortality on commer-cial farms. The Veterinary Journal 201: 435–437. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.05.038CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hühn, U, Udluft, T, Wehrend, A and Zaremba, W 2004 Comparative investigations into the subpartal application of Oxytocin preparations in sows. Archiv fuer Tierzucht 47: 575–584Google Scholar
Ison, SH and Rutherford, KMD 2014 Attitudes of farmers and veterinarians towards pain and the use of pain relief in pigs. The Veterinary Journal 202: 622–627. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.10.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jääskeläinen, T, Kauppinen, T, Vesala, K and Valros, A 2014 Relationships between pig welfare, productivity and farmer dispo-sition. Animal Welfare 23: 435–443. http://dx.doi.org/10.7120/09627286.23.4.435CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, S, McLean, KA, Calvert, SK, Deans, LA, Chirnside, J and Lawrence, AB 1999 The responsiveness of sows to their piglets in relation to the length of parturition and the involvement of endogenous opioids. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 63: 195–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(99)00013-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkden, RD, Broom, DM and Andersen, IL 2013a Invited review: Piglet mortality: Management solutions. Journal of Animal Science 91: 3361–3389. http://dx.doi.org/10.2527/jas.2012-5637CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirkden RD, Broom DM and Andersen IL 2013b Piglet mor-tality: The impact of induction of farrowing using prostaglandins and oxytocin. Animal Reproduction Science 138: 14–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2013.02.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowe, NK 2002 The nature of labor pain. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 186: S16–S24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9378(02)70179-8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mainau, E, Dalmau, A, Ruiz-de-la-Torre, JL and Manteca, X 2010 A behavioural scale to measure ease of farrowing in sows. Theriogenology 74: 1279–1287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.theri-ogenology.2010.05.034CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mainau, E and Manteca, X 2011 Pain and discomfort caused by parturition in cows and sows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 135: 241–251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2011.10.020CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mainau, E, Ruiz-de-la-Torre, JL, Dalmau, A, Salleras, JM and Manteca, X 2012 Effects of meloxicam (Metacam®) on post-far-rowing sow behaviour and piglet performance. Animal 6: 494–501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1751731111001790CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martel, G, Dourmad, J-Y and Dedieu, B 2008 Do labour pro-ductivity and preferences about work load distributions affect reproduction management and performance in pig farms. Livestock Science 116: 96–107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2007.09.012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miquet, J and Viana, G 2010 Facilitation of nursing behavior in primiparous sows during colostrum phase improves piglet condition. Proceedings of the 21st IPVS Congress pp 160. 18-21 July 2010, Vancouver, CanadaGoogle Scholar
Mota-Rojas, D, Martínez-Burnes, J, Trujillo, ME, López, A, Rosales, AM, Ramírez, R, Orozco, H, Merino, A and Alonso-Spilsbury, M 2005 Uterine and fetal asphyxia monitoring in par-turient sows treated with oxytocin. Animal Reproduction Science 86: 131–141. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2004.06.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mota-Rojas, D, Martinez-Burnes, J, Trujillo-Ortega, ME, Alonso-Spilsbury, M, Ramírez-Necoechea, R and Lopez, A 2002 Effect of oxytocin treatment in sows on umbilical cord mor-phology, meconium staining, and neonatal mortality of piglets. American Journal of Veterinary Research 63: 1571–1574. http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.2002.63.1571CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mota-Rojas, D, Trujillo, ME, Martínez, J, Rosales, AM, Orozco, H, Ramírez, R, Sumano, H and Alonso-Spilsbury, M 2006 Comparative routes of oxytocin administration in crated farrowing sows and its effects on fetal and postnatal asphyxia. Animal Reproduction Science 92: 123–143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2005.04.012CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mota-Rojas, D, Villanueva-García, D, Velazquez-Armenta, EY, Nava-Ocampo, AA, Ramírez-Necoechea, R, Alonso-Spilsbury, M and Trujillo, ME 2007 Influence of time at which oxytocin is administered during labor on uterine activity and peri-natal death in pigs. Biological Research 40: 55–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0716-97602007000100006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NOAH 2014 National Office of Animal Health: Veterinary Medicine Classifications. http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Compendium/Overview/-42802.htmlGoogle Scholar
Papadopoulos, G, Vanderhaege, C, Janssens, G, Dewulf, D and Maes, D 2010 Risk factors associated with postpartum dys-galactia syndrome in sows. The Veterinary Journal 184: 167–171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2009.01.010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raekallio, M, Heinonen, K, Kuussaari, J and Vainio, O 2003 Pain alleviation in animals: attitudes and practices of Finnish vet-erinarians. The Veterinary Journal 165: 131–135. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1090-0233(02)00186-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruediger, K and Schulze, M 2012 Post-farrowing stress man-agement in sows by administration of azaperone: Effects on piglets performance. Journal of Animal Science 90: 2331–2336. http://dx.doi.org/10.2527/jas.2011-4661CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sabaté, D, Salichs, M, Bosch, J, Ramó, P and Homedes, J 2012 Efficacy of ketoprofen in the reduction of pre-weaning piglet mortality associated with sub-clinical forms of post-partum dys-galactia syndrome in sows. The Pig Journal 67: 19–23Google Scholar
Straw, BE, Bush, EJ and Dewey, CE 2000 Types and doses of injectable medications given to periparturient sows. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 216: 510–515. http://dx.doi.org/10.2460/javma.2000.216.510CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tenbergen, R, Friendship, R, Cassar, G, Amezcua, MR and Haley, D 2014 Investigation of the use of meloxicam post farrowing for improving sow performance and reducing pain. Journal of Swine Health Prodroduction 22: 10–15Google Scholar
Vanderhaeghe, C, Dewulf, J, de Kruif, A and Maes, D 2013 Non-infectious factors associated with stillbirth in pigs: a review. Animal Reproduction Science 139: 76–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2013.03.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Viitasaari, E, Hänninen, L, Heinonen, M, Raekallio, M, Orro, T, Peltoniemi, O and Valros, A 2013 Effects of post-partum administration of ketoprofen on sow health and piglet growth. The Veterinary Journal 198: 153–157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.06.013CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Viitasaari, E, Raekallio, M, Heinonen, M, Valros, A, Peltoniemi, O and Hänninen, L 2014 The effect of ketoprofen on post-partum behaviour in sows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 158: 16–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applan-im.2014.06.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
VMD 2011 Veterinary Medicines Directorate: Product information data-base. http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/ProductInformationDatabase/Google Scholar