Effect of increased dietary fiber on hoof lesions of loose housed sows

PDF
Published: Jan 29, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/jhvms.15622
Keywords:
dietary fiber dry sows hoof lesions loose housing
V. SKAMPARDONIS (Β. ΣΚΑΜΠΑΡΔΩΝΗΣ)
Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Economics of Animal Production, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly
M. LISGARA (Μ. ΛΙΣΓΑΡΑ)
Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Economics of Animal Production, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly
E. D. TZIKA (E. TZHKA)
Clinic of Farm Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
L. LEONTIDES (Λ. ΛΕΟΝΤΙΔΗΣ)
Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Economics of Animal Production, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly
Abstract

Loose dry sow housing became mandatory in the European Union from January 2013 onwards. One of the major causes of injuries to sows’ hooves and associated lameness is fighting on concrete/slatted flooring at grouping. Previous studies observed that in sows submitted to feed restriction, feed supplemented with dietary fiber reduced the time spent in the standing position and increased the time spent in the lying position. Therefore, we investigated the effect of increased levels of dietary fiber (7.2-7.5% crude fiber/kg dry matter) on the severity of hoof lesions of group housed sows in three Greek swine herds. The feet of 596 sows were initially examined for lesions upon their entry to the lactation facilities. Lesions scored included hoof hyperkeratinization, erosions or cracks and toe and dew claws overgrowths. When exiting the farrowing facilities they were offered recipes with increased dietary fiber throughout one or two subsequent gestations. Thirty-eight percent were re-examined for feet lesions during the first and sixty-two percent during the second lactation after initial examination. The proportion of sows with at least one lesion on any foot, at first scoring, was more than 95% in all herds. The most frequently and severely affected sites were the heel and the elongated toes and dew claws. The increased dietary fiber had no effect on lesion severity on any of the hoof sites considered.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Research Articles
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

· Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

· Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

· Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Anil SS, Anil L, Deen J (2005). Evaluation of patterns of removal and associations among culling because of lameness and sow productivity traits in swine breeding herds. J A Vet Med Assoc 226:956−961.
Anil SS, Anil L, Deen J, Baidoo SK, Walker RD (2007). Factors associated with claw lesions in gestating sows. J Swine Health Prod 15:78–83.
Baxter MA (1986). The design of the feeding environment for the pig. PhD Thesis, University of Aberdeen. UK.
Boon CR, Wray C (1989). Building design in relation to the control of diseases of intensively housed livestock. J Agric Eng Res 43:149–161.
Brouns F, Edwards SA, English PR (1997). The effect of dietary inclusion of sugar-beet pulp on the feeding behaviour of drysows. Anim. Sci. 65:129-133.
Cameron R (2012). Integumentary system: skin, hoof and claw. In: (eds: Zimmerman, J, Karriker L, Ramirez A, Schwartz K, Stevenson G.), Diseases of Swine. Wiley-Blackwell, West Sussex, pp. 264-269.
Cassar G, Kirkwood RN, Seguin MJ, Zanella AJ, Friendship RM (2008). Influence of stage of gestation at grouping and presence of boars on farrowing rate and litter size of group-housed sows. J Swine Health Prod 16:81-85.
Che L, Feng D, Wu D, Fang Z, Lin Y, Yan T (2011). Effect of dietary fibre on reproductive performance of sows during the first two parities. Reprod Domest Anim 46: 1061–1066.
Engblom L, Lundeheim N, Dalin AM, Andersson K (2007). Sow removal in Swedish commercial herds. Livest Sci 106:76–86.
Engblom L, Lundeheim N, Strandberg E, Schneider MP, Dalin AM, Andersson K (2008). Factors affecting length of productive life in Swedish commercial sows. J Anim Sci 86:432–441.
Fitzgerald RF, Stalder KJ, Karriker LA, Sadler LJ, Hill HT, Kaisand J, Johnson AK (2012). The effect of hoof abnormalities on sow behavior and performance. Livest Sci 145:230–238.
Fraser D (1975). The effect of straw on the behaviour of sows in tether stalls. Anim Prod 21:59-68.
Holmgren N, Eliasson-Selling L, Lundeheim N (1998). Claw and leg injuries in group housed dry sows. Proceedings of the 16th International Pig Veterinary Society Congress (Melbourne, Australia), p. 352.
Jensen MB, Pedersen LJ, Theil PK, Yde CC, Bach Knudsen KE (2012). Feeding motivation and plasma metabolites in pregnant sows fed diets rich in dietary fiber either once or twice daily. J Anim Sci 90:1910-1919.
de Leeuw JA, Jongbloed AW, Verstegen MWA (2004). Dietary fiber stabilizes blood glucose and insulin levels and reduces physical activity in sows. J Nutr 134:1481−1486.
de Leeuw JA, Jongbloed AW, Spoolder HAM, Verstegen MWA (2005a). Effects of hindgut fermentation of non-starch polysaccharides on the stability of blood glucose and insulin levels and physical activity in empty sows. Livest Prod Sci 96:165−174.
de Leeuw JA, Zonderland JJ, Altena H, Spoolder HAM, Jongbloed AW, Verstegen MWA (2005b). Effects of levels and sources of dietary fermentable non-starch polysaccharides on blood glucose stability and behaviour of group-housed pregnant gilts. Appl Anim Behav Sci 94:15−29.
Kroneman A, Vellenga L, van der Wilt FJ, Vermeer HM (1993). Review of health problems in group-housed sows, with special emphasis on lameness. Vet Quart 15: 26-29.
Lisgara M, Kostoulas P, Skampardonis V, Leontides L (2014). Claw lesions in individually and group housed sows in Greek swine farms. Proceedings of the 23rd International Pig Veterinary Society Congress (Cancun, Mexico), p. 131.
Lisgara M, Skampardonis V, Kouroupides S, Leontides L (2015). Hoof lesions and lameness in sows of three Greek swine herds. J Swine Health Prod., accepted.
Love RJ, van Dijk M, Kristo C, Smits R (1999). Measurement of feed intake in group housed sows. In: (Ed. P. D. Cranwell) Manipulating Pig Production VII, Australasian Pig Science Association, Adelaide, Australia, p. 262.
Meunier-Salaün MC, Edwards SA, Robert S (2001). Effects of dietary fibre on the behaviour and health of the restricted fed sow. Animal Feed Sci Technol 90:53−69.
Nielsen NP (2008). Loose housing of sows – current systems. Acta Vet Scand 50 (Suppl 1):S8. doi:10.1186/1751-0147-50-S1-S8.
Penny RHC, Osborne AD, Wright AI (1965). Foot-rot in pigs: observations on the clinical disease. Vet Rec 77:1101-1106.
Pluym L, Nuffel A Van, Dewulf J, Cools A, Vangroenweghe F, Hoorebeke S Van, Maes D (2011). Prevalence and risk factors of claw lesions and lameness in pregnant sows in two types of group housing. Vet Med-Czech 56:101–109.
Rabe-Hesketh,S, S krondal A , P ickles A ( 2005). M aximum l ikelihood estimation of limited and discrete dependent variable models with nested random effects. J Econometrics 128:301-323.
Rabe-Hesketh S, Skrondal A (2008). Multilevel and Longitudinal Modeling Using Stata, 2nd ed. Stata Press, Texas, pp. 295-309.
Roberts S, Matte JJ, Farmer C, Girard CL, Martineau GP (1993). High-fiber diets for sows: effects on stereotypies and adjunctive drinking. Appl Anim Behav Sci 37:297-309.
Robert S, Rushen J, Farmer C (1997). Effets d’un ajout de fibres végétales au régime alimentaire des cochettes sur le comportement, l e r ythme c ardiaque e t l es c oncentrations s anguines de glucose et d’insuline au moment du repas. J Rech Porcine France 29:161-166.
Serena A, Jørgensen H, Bach Knudsen KE (2009). Absorption of carbohydrate-derived nutrients in sows as influenced by types and contents of dietary fiber. J Anim Sci 87:136−147.
Stahly TS, Cromwell GL (1986). Responses to dietary additions of fiber (alfalfa meal) in growing pigs housed in a cold, warm or hot thermal environment. J Anim Sci 63, 1870-1876.
Tomlinson DJ, Mülling CH, Fakler TM (2004). Invited review: formation of keratins in the bovine claw: roles of hormones, minerals, and vitamins in functional claw integrity. J Dairy Sci 87:797–809.
van Riet MMJ, Millet S, Aluwé M, Janssens GPJ (2013). Impact of nutrition on lameness and claw health in sows. Livest Sci 156:24–35.
Welfare Quality ® (2009) Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol for Pigs (sows and piglets, growing and finishing pigs). Welfare Quality Consortium, Lelystad. The Netherlands.
Feet First® Team, (2010). Feet First® swine claw lesion identification. Available at: http://www.zinpro.com/lameness/swine/lesion-identification. Accessed 20 March, 2015.
Most read articles by the same author(s)