Effect of sow parity and other lactation parameters on pig welfare lesions in the weaner and finisher stages

Piglets from gilts have poorer performance and health during later life. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sow parity and other lactation parameters on pig welfare lesions in the weaner and finisher stages.

The study was conducted on a farrow-to-finish commercial farm. At birth, the sex and bodyweight (BW) of 847 piglets was recorded as well as the parity of their dam and the number of piglets born alive in their litter. The number of times each piglet was transferred between different sows was recorded during lactation as well as the total suckling period for each pig. At weaning and at each subsequent move between the weaner and finisher stages pigs were inspected individually by a single observer for the presence (score = 1) or absence (score = 0) of tail, ear, and body lesions. Data were analysed using binomial logistic regression in PROC GENMOD of SAS v9.3. There were few sows of parity ≥ 6 so parity was reclassified as parity 1 to 5 and parity 6+. Models included parity, sex, no. of transfers and production stage as fixed effects. Lactation length, BW at birth and number of piglets born alive were included as linear covariates.

Parity was a significant source of variation for tail and body lesions (P < 0.05). Pigs born from sows of parity 6+ were 1.9 times more likely (P < 0.05) to have tail lesions later in life when compared with parity 1 sows. There was no difference in the likelihood of having tail lesions later in life between parity 1 and parity 2 to 5 sows (P > 0.05). Pigs born from parity 2, 3 and 4 sows were 2.1, 2.2 and 1.8 times more likely to present ear lesions later in life compared to pigs born from parity 1 sows (P < 0.05). No relationship between length of lactation or between the number of piglets born alive and the presence of welfare lesions was observed (P > 0.05). The risk of having tail lesions later in life increased by 0.8 times for each 1 kg increase in BW at birth. Body weight at birth was not related with the risk of ear or body lesions later in life (P > 0.05). One-hundred-and-forty-seven pigs were transferred from their dam to a different sow and 53 pigs were transferred more than once during lactation. There was no relationship between number of transfers and tail or body lesions (P > 0.05) but pigs that were transferred once were 1.7 times more likely to have ear lesions in the subsequent production stages (P > 0.05).

Pigs born to parity 1 sows were at no greater risk of welfare lesions during the production stages and indeed were less likely to incur ear lesions. Transferring piglets between sows may place them at higher risk of ear lesions in later life.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared.