The effect of overgrown claws on behaviour and claw abnormalities of sows in farrowing crates

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2015.03.001Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We evaluated the relationship of overgrown claws on other types of claw lesions.

  • We examined the effect of overgrown claws on behaviour of sows in farrowing crates.

  • Sows with overgrown claws are more prone to other claw lesions.

  • Sows with overgrown claws spend less time standing and eating.

  • Overgrown claws did not affect postural and lying-down behaviour.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of overgrowth of the weight bearing claws on the behaviour of sows in farrowing crates. The study used 24 multiparous lactating sows, 13 with overgrown (OG) rear claws and 11 controls. Sows were video recorded continuously from approximately 12 h before farrowing in order to capture postural behaviour for 6 h prior to the birth of the first piglet. An index of the proportion of time spent in different postures was calculated by sampling sow postural behaviour every 10 min. Lying down behaviour and sow behaviour while standing at feeding were directly observed during three feeding events within a week of farrowing, commencing approximately 10 min prior to feed delivery and terminating once the sows lay down. Data on time spent “only” standing, time spent feeding, number of slips and weight shifts per minute and latency, time and number of attempts to lie down, among others, were recorded during the direct observations. Additionally, all front and hind weight bearing claws were examined for claw abnormalities which were scored according to severity using a 4-point scale (0 = normal to 3 = severe) on the day of transfer to the farrowing crate (d110 of gestation) and after farrowing while the sows were lying down. Data were analysed using generalised linear mixed model equation methods in PROC GLIMMIX of SAS v9.3. Sows with overgrown claws (OG) had a higher score for erosion (P < 0.05) and corkscrew dew claws (P < 0.05) than control sows. Furthermore, OG sows had higher erosion scores in the rear claws (P < 0.05) compared to the control sows. There was no difference between control and OG sows in the time spent in the different postures prior to farrowing. On the first week after farrowing, OG sows spent less time feeding (P < 0.05), slipped (P < 0.05) and shifted weight (P < 0.05) between their hind feet more frequently while feeding than control sows. OG sows required more attempts to stand up to feed (P < 0.05) and had a shorter latency to lie down (P < 0.01) after feeding compared with control sows. Overgrowth of the rear claws was associated with increased scores for other types of claw abnormalities and more frequent slips while in the farrowing crate; suggesting that overgrown claws could have negative implications for sow welfare and piglet mortality.

Introduction

Claw lesions are very common in sows with almost 100% of group housed and 80% of stall housed pregnant sows having at least one claw lesion (Gjein and Larssen, 1995, Anil et al., 2007, Enokida et al., 2011, Pluym et al., 2011, Grégoire et al., 2013, Calderón Díaz et al., 2014). One of the most common claw abnormalities observed in breeding herds is overgrown claws. KilBride et al. (2010) reported that 8.2% of lactating sows had overgrown weight bearing claws and Bonde et al. (2004) found that while 26% of lactating sows had long or overgrown claws, in 14% of these the overgrowth was limited to the accessory digits (range 5–28%). In a study of 3645 pregnant sows housed individually on 25 Irish farms, up to 26% of sows had mild to moderately overgrown weight bearing claws while almost 7% of sows had severely overgrown rear claws (Boyle, 1996). A recent Irish survey of pregnant sows in group housing systems on 68 farms revealed that 31% of sows were affected by overgrowth of the weight bearing claws (unpublished data). In spite of this high prevalence, little is known about the aetiology or effects of overgrown claws. While the findings of some studies support a relationship between overgrowth and housing sows on less abrasive substrates (e.g. straw; KilBride et al., 2010 or rubber; Calderón Díaz et al., 2013) this does not explain the high prevalence of overgrowth recorded in the aforementioned Irish surveys where all sows were kept on partially or fully slatted concrete flooring. Overgrowth of both the weight bearing claws and accessory digits can affect sow lying (Bonde et al., 2004) and feeding (Fitzgerald et al., 2012) behaviour which could have negative implications for sow welfare. Furthermore, although KilBride et al. (2010) found a relationship between toe erosion and toe overgrowth little else is known about the relationship between overgrown claws and other claw lesions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between overgrown claws and postural, standing up and lying down behaviour and with behaviours related to discomfort such as slipping and weight shifting in the farrowing crate. A secondary objective was to evaluate the association between overgrown claws and other claw abnormalities.

Section snippets

Ethical statement

This trial was conducted in accordance with the International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals as issued by the Council for the International Organisations of Medical Sciences in 1985. No invasive measures were used and thus the experiment did not require licensing under the European Communities (Amendment of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876) Regulations 1994.

Experimental design and husbandry

The study was conducted on the experimental farm of the Pig Development Department, Teagasc Animal and Grassland

Claw abnormalities

All the sows included in the study had at least one claw lesion. All the sows had erosion (100%), 87.5% had cracks in the wall, 45.8% had corkscrew dew claws and 29.2% had amputated dew claws. Sows with overgrown claws had a higher score for erosion and corkscrew dew claws when compared to control sows (Table 2). Additionally, OG sows had higher erosion scores on the rear claws when compared to control sows. Irrespective of treatment, cracks in the wall had lower scores in the front claws

Discussion

In this study, all sows had at least one claw lesion which is consistent with Calderón Díaz et al., 2013, Calderón Díaz et al., 2014. Furthermore, irrespective of treatment, the scores for claw abnormalities such as corkscrew dew claws and number of amputations were higher in the rear claw than for the front claws which is consistent with findings from several other studies (Kroneman et al., 1993, Jorgensen, 2000, Fitzgerald et al., 2012). Sows with overgrown claws had higher scores for

Conclusions

In farrowing crates, sows with overgrown claws have difficulty standing up to feed and while standing during feeding, which is reflected in slips and weight shifts, and ultimately terminate feeding prematurely in order to resume a recumbent posture. These behavioural deviations may be associated with mechanical difficulties posed by manoeuvring in a confined space with long claws but also with discomfort and/or pain caused by claw abnormalities. These findings have implications not only for sow

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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