engleski

Sow parity, body length, postural changes and piglet crushing

In the present study the association between sow parity, body length, frequency of posture changes and the rate of piglet crushing was investigated. The study was conducted at a pig farm farrowing unit and included 76 Seghers hybrid sows divided into three groups: parity 1 (n = 25), parity 3 (n = 27) and parity 5 (n = 24). Study sows were accommodated individually in farrowing crates of the same dimensions, in commercial conditions. The sow body length was measured upon accommodation in the farrowing crate. The frequency of sow posture change was observed within a 4 - hour period on lactation days 1, 10 and 20. Piglet death due to crushing was diagnosed by postmortem analysis. The sow body length increased with parity (P<0.001) and a high positive correlation between the sow parity and body length was recorded (P<0.05). The rate of sow posture change decreased with parity and increased with the time of lactation. On all days of lactation observed a high negative correlation was determined between the number of sow posture changes and parity, whereas between the number of sow posture changes and body length there was a significant to high negative correlation (P<0.05 all). Between the number of crushed piglets and other investigated parameters no significant correlation was found. Accordingly, the increasing body length in multiparous sows resulted in lower frequency of postural changes, while exerting no impact on the rate of piglet crushing.

sow ; parity ; body length ; postural change ; piglet crushing

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