Relationship between postnatal piglet mortality, environmental factors and management around farrowing in herds with loose-housed, lactating sows

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate management routines and environmental factors influencing postnatal piglet mortality in commercial herds with individually loose-housed sows. Last year production records from 39 herds were used. We gathered information on specific routines as well as environmental factors by visiting every farm once. Herds practising moderate roughage feeding during pregnancy tended to have lower piglet mortality (p=0.06). Use of farrowing rails along all the sides of the pen resulted in lower piglet mortality than when no rails were present (p<0.01). Herds that hardly used any litter in the sow area at the time of farrowing had significantly higher piglet mortality than herds that used a moderate or large amount (p<0.05). Helping the piglets to obtain colostrum immediately after birth also reduced mortality (p<0.05), whereas other routines such as shutting the piglets inside the creep area while feeding the sow did not have any significant effect.

[1]  J. Matte,et al.  Endocrine and peripartum behavioral responses of sows fed high-fiber diets during gestation , 1995 .

[2]  Judith K. Blackshaw,et al.  Comparison of behaviour patterns of sows and litters in a farrowing crate and a farrowing pen , 1994 .

[3]  M. Ziron,et al.  Effect of a warm and flexible piglet nest heating system—the warm water bed—on piglet behaviour, live weight management and skin lesions , 2003 .

[4]  G. Cronin,et al.  A comparison of piglet production and survival in the Werribee Farrowing Pen and conventional farrowing crates at a commercial farm , 2000 .

[5]  E. Ziegel A Step-by-Step Approach to Using the SAS System for Univariate and Multivariate Statistics , 1994 .

[6]  L. Bate,et al.  Increasing piglet survival through an improved farrowing management protocol , 1996 .

[7]  J. Rooke,et al.  The acquisition of passive immunity in the new-born piglet , 2002 .

[8]  G D Dial,et al.  Reducing pig mortality through supervision during the perinatal period. , 1995, Journal of animal science.

[9]  K. Bøe,et al.  Piglet use of the creep area and piglet mortality – effects of closing the piglets inside the creep area during sow feeding time in pens for individually loose-housed sows , 2006 .

[10]  W. Close Thermoregulation in piglets: environmental and metabolic consequences , 1992 .

[11]  D. Kramer,et al.  Regulation of Contact with Offspring by Domestic Sows: Temporal Patterns and Individual Variation , 2000 .

[12]  C. Dewey,et al.  Patterns of crossfostering and piglet mortality on commercial U.S. and Canadian swine farms. , 1998, Preventive veterinary medicine.

[13]  H. Saloniemi,et al.  Seasonal and management effects on fertility of the sow: a descriptive study. , 1999, Animal reproduction science.

[14]  J. Matte,et al.  Effect of bulky diets based on wheat bran or oat hulls on reproductive performance of sows during their first two parities. , 1994, Journal of animal science.

[15]  E. Swierstra,et al.  CAUSES OF PIGLET DEATH FROM BIRTH TO WEANING , 1987 .

[16]  A Tuchscherer,et al.  Early identification of neonates at risk: traits of newborn piglets with respect to survival. , 2000, Theriogenology.

[17]  S Corning,et al.  Timing and causes of piglet mortality in alternative and conventional farrowing systems , 2000, Veterinary Record.

[18]  Knut Egil Bøe,et al.  Crushing of piglets by the mother sow (Sus scrofa) - purely accidental or a poor mother? , 2005 .

[19]  Beat Wechsler,et al.  Individual differences in the behaviour of sows at the nest-site and the crushing of piglets , 1997 .

[20]  G. I. Christison,et al.  Teat seeking success of newborn piglets after drying or warming , 1997 .

[21]  J. Olsen,et al.  Causes and Prevention , 1991, Scandinavian journal of social medicine.

[22]  J. Svendsen Occurrence and causes of traumatic injuries in neonatal pigs , 1986 .

[23]  Sandra A. Edwards,et al.  Effect of dietary fibre on the behaviour and health of the restricted fed sow , 2001 .

[24]  C. J. McGrath,et al.  Effect of exchange rate return on volatility spill-over across trading regions , 2012 .

[25]  H. Xin,et al.  RESPONSES OF PIGLETS TO CREEP HEAT TYPE AND LOCATION IN FARROWING CRATE , 2001 .

[26]  G. Cronin,et al.  Effects of accommodation type and straw bedding around parturition and during lactation on the behaviour of primiparous sows and survival and growth of piglets to weaning , 1992 .

[27]  David Fraser,et al.  Crushing of piglets by sows: effects of litter features, pen features and sow behaviour , 1998 .