AGBU, A Joint Venture of NSW Department of Primary Industries and University of New England, 2351 Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
Australian Pork Limited, Barton Australian Capital Territory 2600, Kingston Australian Capital Territory 2604, Australia.
J Anim Sci. 2022 Nov 1;100(11). doi: 10.1093/jas/skac294.
Poor outcomes reflect low performance during the farrowing and lactation periods and unanticipated sow removals. Since the period around farrowing has the highest risk for sow health issues, monitoring of sows in that time-period will improve both welfare and productivity. The aim of this study was to identify the most relevant risk factors for predicting poor outcomes and the implication for sow welfare. Identifying these factors could potentially enable management interventions to decrease incidences of compromised welfare or poor performance. Data from 1,103 sows sourced from two nucleus herds were recorded for a range of variables investigated as potential predictors of poor outcomes in the farrowing house. Poor outcomes (scored as binary traits) reflected three categories in a sow's lifecycle: farrowing, lactation, and removals. Univariate logistic regression was used to identify predictors in the first instance. Predictors from univariate analyses were subsequently considered together in multi-variate models. The least square means representing predicted probabilities of poor outcomes were then reported on the observed scale. Several predictors were significant across two different environments (farms) and for all three categories. These predictors included feed refusal (lack of appetite), crate fit, locomotion score, and respiration rate. Normal appetite compared to feed refusals reduced the risk of farrowing failure (13.5 vs. 22.2%, P = 0.025) and removals (10.4 vs. 20.4%, P < 0.001). Fit in the crate was significant (P < 0.001) for farrowing and lactation outcomes, and was more informative than parity. Sows with sufficient space had two to three times reduced risk of poor outcomes compared to restrictive crates relative to sow dimensions. Sows with good locomotion score pre-farrowing had two to three times less risk of farrowing failure (P = 0.025) and reduced piglet mortality (P < 0.001), weaned two piglets more relative to affected sows (P < 0.001), and were less likely to be removed before weaning (3.24 vs. 12.3%, P = 0.014). Sows with higher respiration rates had a significantly (P < 0.001) reduced risk of poor farrowing outcomes. This study demonstrated it is possible to predict poor outcomes for sows prior to farrowing, suggesting there are opportunities to decrease the risk of poor outcomes and increase overall sow welfare.
较差的结果反映了分娩和哺乳期表现不佳，以及母猪意外淘汰。由于分娩前后时期母猪健康问题风险最高，因此在此期间监测母猪可以提高福利和生产力。本研究旨在确定预测较差结果的最相关风险因素及其对母猪福利的影响。确定这些因素可能使管理干预措施能够降低福利受损或表现不佳的发生率。从两个核心群中收集了 1103 头母猪的数据，记录了一系列潜在的变量，这些变量被调查为预测分娩舍中较差结果的潜在因素。较差的结果（评分作为二元特征）反映了母猪生命周期的三个类别：分娩、哺乳期和淘汰。首先使用单变量逻辑回归来确定预测因素。随后，将单变量分析中的预测因素一起考虑在多变量模型中。然后报告代表较差结果预测概率的最小二乘均值。在两个不同的环境（农场）和所有三个类别中，有几个预测因素都具有统计学意义。这些预测因素包括拒食（缺乏食欲）、笼具适配、运动评分和呼吸率。与拒食相比，正常食欲降低了分娩失败的风险（13.5%比 22.2%，P=0.025）和淘汰的风险（10.4%比 20.4%，P<0.001）。笼具适配对分娩和哺乳期的结果都有重要意义（P<0.001），比胎次更具信息性。相对于母猪尺寸，有足够空间的母猪发生较差结果的风险降低了两到三倍。分娩前运动评分良好的母猪分娩失败的风险降低了两到三倍（P=0.025），仔猪死亡率降低（P<0.001），相对于受影响的母猪，断奶的仔猪数量增加了两到三头（P<0.001），并且在断奶前被淘汰的可能性降低（3.24%比 12.3%，P=0.014）。呼吸率较高的母猪发生较差分娩结果的风险显著降低（P<0.001）。本研究表明，在分娩前可以预测母猪较差的结果，这表明有机会降低较差结果的风险，提高母猪的整体福利。
