engleski

Leg weakness, osteomalacia and hypocalcemia in weaned Black Slavonian piglet: A case report

In recent years, interest in native breeds playing an important role in the conservation of agricultural biodiversity and traditional production systems has increased. However, these production systems, despite of providing greater behavioral freedom for animals, may jeopardise their health and welfare, especially from the nutritional aspect. This case report describes the reason for culling the weaned Black Slavonian piglet. The piglet was five-month-old, from the first parity sow and raised in an outdoor production system. After weaning, retardation in the piglet growth, poor leg conformation with alterations in bone length and diameter, and lameness were visible. Macroscopic post-mortem analysis revealed leg weakness, osteomalacia, and hypocalcemia. Progressive and irreversible deformities in bone structure and joints were observed along with a low level of bone mineralization and softening indicating deficiency of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. Lameness is generally the second most common cause of pigs being culled. Osteomalacia as a condition is more common in commercial production systems in first litter gilts in particular due to still undeveloped skeleton and high demands on calcium for milk production. This case report finding could also be attributed to non-adequate management mainly inappropriate nutrition, but also to other factors such as infectious and parasitic diseases, stress, aggression, lesions, toxic compounds, climate and housing conditions, etc. Therefore, more attention should be paid to good stockmanship, adequate management, prevention, and health control in native pig breeds kept in outdoor production systems to raise healthy, strong, and vital animals. A crucial role of the stockperson is to assess the interaction between the pig, its age, and productive cycle in relation to the feed quality, content, and intake. The role of the management is not only to ameliorate potential diseases in the herd but also for the pig to maximize its biological potential. Non-invasive technique such as urine chemistry analysis is a helpful and simple method to investigate and prevent nutrition-related problems.

Black Slavonian pig, leg weakness, osteomalacia, hypocalcemia

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