Is it feasible to collect oral fluids from litters of piglets before weaning?

In sows and weaned pigs, oral fluids (OF) are usually sampled with cotton ropes and used for serological analysis or direct identification of pathogens. OF sampling is easy, quick and of low stress for animals, being suitable for group diagnosis since OF samples represent a pool of saliva from different pigs from the same pen. The aim of this study was to investigate if it is feasible to collect OF samples from sucklers, in farrowing pens.

The study was conducted in one farrow-to-finish farm located in Brittany. OF samples were collected for each litter with a cotton rope (Ø 0.8 cm). OF sampling was tested at 21 and 28 days of age, with 30 or 45 minutes of rope presentation. OF sampling was considered successful when more than 2 ml of saliva were collected. Each suckler was identified with individual marking number between scapulas. Percentage of piglets within a litter chewing the rope and individual interaction time were obtained from video recordings for 57 piglets from 5 litters at each weaning age. Training of litters the day before sampling was also tested at 21 days of age, by letting a rope for 4 hours in the pen.

At 28 days of age, we were able to collect OF samples within 30 minutes for 82% of the litters with an average of 3.6 ml of saliva per litter (n=17 litters). When the rope was in the farrowing pen for 45 minutes, we were able to collect OF samples from 94% of the litters with an average of 3.95 ml of saliva per litter (n=17 litters). At 21 days of age, OF samples were obtained from 62.5% of the litters (30 minutes access) with an average of 3.1 ml of saliva per litter (n=32 litters). With training the day before, OF samples increased to 100% of the litters (n=14 litters) at 21 days. The percentage of piglets chewing the rope were, on average, 84,4% (from 76,9% to 100%) and 94,6% (from 90% to 100%) at 21 and 28 days of age respectively. The duration of interaction per piglet varied, on average, from 513 seconds (30 to 1190 sec) to 612 seconds (20 to 1560 sec) for 21-day-old and 28-day-old sucklers respectively.

This study showed that collection of OF samples from suckling is feasible by presenting a cotton rope in a farrowing pen for 30 minutes, all the more when piglets have been trained the day before by putting a rope for 4 hours. Moreover, the evaluation of the participation of piglets by video showed that OF samples can be considered as a correct sample of the litter. Collecting OF samples from suckling piglets would be useful to monitor vertical transmission of pathogens from the sow to the litter and for serological analysis, especially for the investigation of colostrum transfer.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.