Variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool
The piglet mortality rates have become a major issue in today’s pig production. While other production traits such as number of born piglets or produced piglets per sow have been improved, the mortality rate has escalated. High mortality rates before weaning does not only affect the economy but must...
| Autor principal: | |
|---|---|
| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics (until 231231)
2013
|
| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855570864599203840 |
|---|---|
| author | Wallgren, Torun |
| author_browse | Wallgren, Torun |
| author_facet | Wallgren, Torun |
| author_sort | Wallgren, Torun |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | The piglet mortality rates have become a major issue in today’s pig production. While other production traits such as number of born piglets or produced piglets per sow have been improved, the mortality rate has escalated. High mortality rates before weaning does not only affect the economy but must also be looked at as both an animal welfare problem and an ethical issue. The background to this problem has been addressed many times, and its salvation has also been addressed by breeding. Breeding for increased piglet survival has been successful, but is time consuming and could not be seen as a quick fix. Through analyzes of production results, interviewing staff about management routines and herd visits has this study investigated the variation of piglet mortality within satellite herds of a sow pool, which share the same animal material but may differ in other aspects. The study focused on mortality from farrowing to weaning at approximately five weeks. It was found that there were great variation both between and within herds, even though the genetic material was the same, which indicate that the mortality rates were affected by management and housing. Furthermore, the mortality results within herds did also fluctuate heavily between batches, and could vary from 4-32%. Lower piglet mortality rates could be linked to certain management routines as many light hours during the lactation period and keeping the feed ratio of sows unchanged for the time around expected farrowing. Also, routines for identifying sow refusing to eat and the detection of the end of a farrowing was proved to be important for low mortality rates within the herd. The mortality rates were also dependent on season, party number and number of liveborn piglets in the litter. |
| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU5552 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics (until 231231) |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics (until 231231) |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU55522013-05-03T13:51:10Z Variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool Variation i smågrisdödlighet mellan och inom satellitbesättningar i en suggring Wallgren, Torun Piglet mortality management loose housed sows cross fostering The piglet mortality rates have become a major issue in today’s pig production. While other production traits such as number of born piglets or produced piglets per sow have been improved, the mortality rate has escalated. High mortality rates before weaning does not only affect the economy but must also be looked at as both an animal welfare problem and an ethical issue. The background to this problem has been addressed many times, and its salvation has also been addressed by breeding. Breeding for increased piglet survival has been successful, but is time consuming and could not be seen as a quick fix. Through analyzes of production results, interviewing staff about management routines and herd visits has this study investigated the variation of piglet mortality within satellite herds of a sow pool, which share the same animal material but may differ in other aspects. The study focused on mortality from farrowing to weaning at approximately five weeks. It was found that there were great variation both between and within herds, even though the genetic material was the same, which indicate that the mortality rates were affected by management and housing. Furthermore, the mortality results within herds did also fluctuate heavily between batches, and could vary from 4-32%. Lower piglet mortality rates could be linked to certain management routines as many light hours during the lactation period and keeping the feed ratio of sows unchanged for the time around expected farrowing. Also, routines for identifying sow refusing to eat and the detection of the end of a farrowing was proved to be important for low mortality rates within the herd. The mortality rates were also dependent on season, party number and number of liveborn piglets in the litter. Smågrisdödligheten har blivit en viktig fråga i dagens grisproduktion. Medan andra produktionsegenskaper, som antalet födda smågrisar eller producerade smågrisar per sugga, har förbättrats, har smågrisdödligheten eskalerat. Hög dödlighet före avvänjning påverkar inte bara ekonomin utan måste även ses som ett välfärdsproblem såväl som ett etiskt dilemma. Bakgrunden till den stigande smågrisdödligheten har undersökts många gånger, och har också angripits genom förändrad avel. Avel för ökad smågrisöverlevnad har varit framgångsrik, men är tidskrävande och kan inte ses som enda lösning. Genom analys av produktionsresultat, intervjuer av personal och stallbesök undersöktes i denna studie smågrisdödligheten satellitbesättningar inom samma suggpool, där man delar samma djurmaterial men andra yttre omständigheter kan skiljas åt. Studien har fokuserat på dödligheten under perioden från grisning till avvänjningen vid cirka fem veckors ålder. Det konstaterades att det fanns stora variationer i dödlighet både mellan och inom besättningar, även om det genetiska materialet var samma. Det tyder på att dödligheten påverkas av inhysning och skötsel. Smågrisdödligheten fluktuerade även kraftigt, mellan 4 till 32 %, mellan batcher, vilket ytterligare visar på att dödligheten påverkas av andra faktorer än genetiken. Lägre smågrisdödlighet kunde kopplas till vissa skötselrutiner så som fler ljustimmar under digivningsperioden och hålla suggans fodergiva oförändrad dagarna kring hennes förväntade grisning. Dessutom visade sig rutiner för att identifiera suggor som vägrar att äta, och identifiering av avslutade grisningar vara viktiga för låg smågrisdödlighet. Smågrisdödligheten visade sig också vara beroende av säsong, kullnummer samt antal levande födda smågrisar i kullen. SLU/Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics (until 231231) 2013 H2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5552/ |
| spellingShingle | Piglet mortality management loose housed sows cross fostering Wallgren, Torun Variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool |
| title | Variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool |
| title_full | Variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool |
| title_fullStr | Variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool |
| title_full_unstemmed | Variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool |
| title_short | Variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool |
| title_sort | variation in piglet mortality between and within satellites in a sow pool |
| topic | Piglet mortality management loose housed sows cross fostering |