Claw lesions of piglets kept in different types of farrowing pens

Claw lesions of piglets kept in different types of farrowing pens Introduction. Keeping sows in farrowing crates causes a number of welfare problems. Apart from that the floor condition in the farrowing system has a relevant impact on health and welfare of pigs and as a consequence on the economic outcome of the farm. Both crated systems and free farrowing pens are usually equipped with fully or partially slatted floor of different materials without straw bedding. Suckling piglets are highly susceptible for inadequate flooring. Material and methods Different commercially available farrowing systems were tested with regard to the prevalence of feet lesions of piglets. Data collection took place in a commerical sow unit of 600 sows. During farrowing and lactation period pigs were kept in different commercially available farrowing systems. Four crate systems (K1-K4) and three free farrowing systems (F1-F3) were investigaged with main focus on the claws of suckling piglets. Systems differed in dimensions, design, arrangement of the creep area and flooring. A total of 84 liters were clinically inspected twice (I: 5.4+/-1.3 d of age; II: 18.7+/-1.8 d of age) for claw injuries. Lesions were classified for type, severity, location and quantity. Multivariate ANOVA, Tukey-Test and repeated measurement ANOVA were used for statistical analysis. Results and conclusions Almost 90% of all main digits showed heel bruising and 34% dorsal coronet erosion at inspection I. The prevalence decreased to 36% and 1.5% respectively at inspection II. Hind limbs were more affected than front limbs. The free farrowing pen with a separated non-slatted lying area (F1) resulted in a lower prevalence of feet lesions compared to both the smaller fully slatted free farrowing pens (F2, F3) and to the crated systems (K1-K4). Plastified expanded metal slats with diamond-shaped openings induced less claw lesions than slatted steel with V-shaped bars. It is concluded that the quality of slatted floor elements for farrowing systems has to be improved with special emphais to health and welfare of suckling piglets both in crated and in free farrowing systems.