■爪病变显著导致跛行,极大地影响了母猪的福利。这项研究调查了影响巴西商业牧群母猪爪病变严重程度的不同因素。
■总共129只母猪(n=12,364只母猪)被纳入研究。牧群在中西部,东南,或巴西南部地区。库存规模分为250-810头母猪,811-1,300头母猪,1,301-3,000头母猪,和3,001-10,000头母猪。牧群属于合作社(Coop),积分器,或独立的结构。牧群管理是在现场(内部)维持品种,或通过购买商业遗传学(外部)。牛群在妊娠期间采用了单个板条箱或集体住房。在每个农场里,一组随机选择的母猪由同一评估者(两名独立专家评估了129群)从0(无)到3(严重)的脚跟过度生长和侵蚀(HOE)进行评分,鞋跟-鞋底裂纹(HSC),沿白线(WL)的分离,水平(CHW)和垂直(CVW)墙体裂缝,和杂草丛生的脚趾(T),或产后后腿的露爪(DC)。该研究使用主成分分析(PCA)和层次聚集聚类(HAC)分析评估了牛群之间的差异和相似性。因素的影响(即,生产结构,管理,怀孕期间的住房,和区域)使用偏最小二乘法(PLS)进行评估。
■脚跟过度生长和侵蚀的患病率最高,其次是WL和CHW,而T的得分最低,DC,CVW。牧群分为三个集群(即,C1、C2和C3)。鞋跟过度生长和侵蚀,HSC,WL,CHW,CVW,T分别减少了17、25、11、25、21和17%,分别,在C3中与C1和2的组合相比。独立结构增加了所有三个集群中的L指数。此外,个人住房增加了L指数,而与集群无关。结果表明,向更大的方向转变,更多技术先进的牛群可能有利于爪子的健康。此外,采用集体妊娠住房似乎可以减轻对爪子健康的不利影响,尽管需要进一步验证,因为巴西最近才从个人住房做法过渡。
UNASSIGNED: Claw lesions significantly contribute to
lameness, greatly affecting sow welfare. This study investigated different factors that would impact the severity of claw lesions in the sows of Brazilian commercial herds.
UNASSIGNED: A total of 129 herds (n = 12,364 sows) were included in the study. Herds were in the Midwest, Southeast, or South regions of Brazil. Inventory sizes were stratified into 250-810 sows, 811-1,300 sows, 1,301-3,000 sows, and 3,001-10,000 sows. Herds belonged to Cooperative (Coop), Integrator, or Independent structures. The herd management was conducted either maintaining breeds from stock on-site (internal), or through purchase of commercially available genetics (external). Herds adopted either individual crates or group housing during gestation. Within each farm, one randomly selected group of sows was scored by the same evaluator (two independent experts evaluated a total of 129 herds) from 0 (none) to 3 (severe) for heel overgrowth and erosion (HOE), heel-sole crack (HSC), separation along the white line (WL), horizontal (CHW) and vertical (CVW) wall cracks, and overgrown toes (T), or dewclaws (DC) in the hind legs after parturition. The study assessed differences and similarities between herds using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Agglomerative Clustering (HAC) analysis. The effects of factors (i.e., production structure, management, housing during gestation, and region) were assessed using the partial least squares method (PLS).
UNASSIGNED: Heel overgrowth and erosion had the highest prevalence, followed by WL and CHW, while the lowest scores were observed for T, DC, and CVW. Herds were grouped in three clusters (i.e., C1, C2, and C3). Heel overgrowth and erosion, HSC, WL, CHW, CVW, and T were decreased by 17, 25, 11, 25, 21, and 17%, respectively, in C3 compared to C1 and 2 combined. Independent structure increased the L-Index in all three clusters. Furthermore, individual housing increased the L-Index regardless of the cluster. The results suggest that shifting toward larger, more technologically advanced herds could potentially benefit claw health. Additionally, adopting group gestation housing appears to mitigate the adverse effects on claw health, although further validation is necessary, as Brazil has only recently transitioned from individual housing practices.