Abstract

Lameness in piglets is one of the largest animal welfare issues in Sweden today. About every tenth piglet is treated with antibiotics for lameness before three weeks of age. This lameness is commonly associated with abrasions caused by contact to the floor and when given a laboratory diagnosis, these arthritis were found to be caused by ubiquitous microbes such as Streptococcus spp, Staphylococcus spp and E. coli. There was no difference in prevalence of arthritis between the sexes, but piglets of both sexes that developed arthritis grew slower than healthy pigs, regardless of sex. Lameness may be prevented by relevant floor maintenance and by increasing the amount of straw. There was a sow influence, since lameness was diagnosed only in every second litter. In affected litters, from one to nine piglets were affected by arthritis.

Published in

Pig Journal
2010, Volume: 63, pages: 1-11

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science


Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/80055