Bo Algers

Rearing conditions and foot-pad dermatitis in Swedish broiler chickens.

A method of classification of broiler foot-health status was developed to estimate the prevalence of foot-pad dermatitis in Swedish broilers. Data on foot health were collected from 101 commercial broiler flocks at slaughter. The producers were asked to fill in a questionnaire on rearing conditions and equipment for every flock. Lesions were commonly observed; only 62% of the birds were classified as being without lesions, 32% had mild lesions only (discoloration, erosions) and 6% had severe lesions (ulcers). Flocks reared in houses equipped with small water cups had significantly (P < 0.05) higher prevalences of foot-pad dermatitis than flocks reared with water nipples. Thick layers of litter, regardless of litter material, also resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) higher prevalences of foot-pad dermatitis than litter layers thinner than 5 cm.

Communication during suckling in the domestic pig. Effects of continuous noise

Abstract The purpose of this study was to analyse the function of the vocalizations of sows and piglets during suckling and to investigate the possible effects on the nursing-suckling interaction of exposure to continuous noise at a high level. Six sows with litters were studied in pens measuring 2.5 × 2.5 m. Three of the sows were exposed to a relatively silent background noise of 59 dB(A) (L eq 24 h) and three were exposed to fan noise at a level of 85 dB(A). A total of 64 sucklings during Days 2–4 after farrowing were recorded on video. For each suckling, four different parameters were recorded second by second; the visual and acoustic behaviour of the sow and the visual and acoustic behaviour of the piglets. The vocalizations of the piglets probably constituted functionally discrete classes. “High grunt/deep grunt” seemed to cause the sow to expose her udder. “Scream” and “squeak” were statistically associated with the occurrence of fights for teats among the piglets. The function of “croaking” is unclear. The gruntings of the sow progressed according to a typical pattern of an initially slow rate followed by rapid grunting, which in turn was followed by a decline in rate. This pattern was similar for all sows, regardless of the experimental situation. In the silent environment, the piglets seemed to respond to the alterations in grunt rate, which caused a synchronized pattern of behaviour. In the noise-exposed environment, the piglets failed to respond to the gruntings of the sow, which led to a disrupted pattern. Certain indications were found that suggested that the noise-exposed piglets gained less milk than the ones in the silent environment. It is suggested as a hypothesis, that the function of the final massage is to regulate the milk production of the sow according to the prevalent litter size.

Prevalence and control of foot-pad dermatitis in broilers in Sweden

1. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out to investigate spatial, temporal and management aspects of foot-pad dermatitis in Swedish broilers. The efficacy of a control programme was evaluated. 2. Flock information on producer, breed, foodstuff manufacturer, region, abattoir, date of slaughter, age at slaughter, planned and actual stocking density was recorded. A total of 6988 flocks, representing approximately 110 million broilers was examined. A total of 175 broiler producers from 15 geographical regions is represented. 3. The total foot-pad score per flock ranged from 0 to 200, with a mean of 34.7 and a standard deviation of 40.9. 4. Simple linear regression analysis showed that the mean total score on a weekly basis decreased (P < 0.001) over time, mainly because of a decrease in the prevalence of severe foot-pad lesions. 5. There was an association (P < 0.05) between slaughterhouse, foodstuff supplier and geographic region respectively and the mean total foot pad score of the flocks slaughtered.

Research on animal health and welfare in organic farming—a literature review

Abstract Organic standards aim at good livestock health and welfare. A literature search on organic animal health and welfare was performed in October–November 2001 to investigate how well these aims compare with reality, and to see what areas have been researched. The search also made it apparent that national and historical differences in organic standards and in the way organic farming is understood must be considered when comparing results from different studies. The reasons for this are further discussed. Only 22 peer-reviewed papers were found in the search, mainly dealing with dairy cattle health and parasitology. Ten were comparative studies. In addition, two overviews were found. No papers focused on welfare issues other than health. The small number of papers published is not surprising in light of the development of organic farming and its philosophy. For example, organic researchers have been more interested in solving practical problems than publishing papers. However, this makes it impossible to draw general conclusions regarding the health and welfare of organic livestock. None of the published articles found indications that health and welfare are worse in organic than in conventional livestock farming, with the exception of parasite-related diseases. A cautious conclusion based on this material is that except for parasite-related diseases, health and welfare in organic herds are the same as or better than in conventional herds.

Selection for increased production and the welfare of dairy cows: are new breeding goals needed?

Abstract In many European countries, milk production per cow has more than doubled in the last 40 years. The increase in production has been accompanied by declining ability to reproduce, increasing incidence of health problems, and declining longevity in modern dairy cows. Genetic selection for increased milk yield increasingly is viewed as increasing profit at the expense of reducing animal welfare. The economic future of the dairy industry is related directly to public acceptance of its breeding and production practices. It is important to the dairy industry that welfare problems should be addressed before there is widespread condemnation of breeding and management practices. A new breeding goal aimed at improving fitness and tolerance of metabolic stress is necessary to prevent the decrease in the quality of life of dairy cows and instead, perhaps, enhance it.

Preparturient variation in progesterone, prolactin, oxytocin and somatostatin in relation to nest building in sows

Abstract Progesterone, prolactin, oxytocin and somatostatin concentrations in the plasma of ten multiparous Swedish Landrace sows were measured during the last 72 h prepartum and related to nest-building behaviour. The beginning of nest building was determined when the sow started to take straw from the rack and to deposit it. Rooting, pawing and arranging straw, and taking and carrying straw were recorded as separate behaviour components. Nest building started within 24 h and peaked 6–12 h before parturition. Only prolactin concentrations 2 days before parturition were independently correlated with the nest-building onset. Prolactin levels started to increase before the nest-building onset and only reached maximum values after it, suggesting that it is the preparturient rise in prolactin concentration that initiates nest building. The duration of carrying and depositing straw correlated positively with progesterone concentrations and negatively with somatostatin concentrations 2 days before parturition. Nest building ceased within 4 h before parturition. Oxytocin concentration 8 h before parturition was related to the end of nest building. The results suggest that nest building in sows is under multiple hormonal control and that the beginning and end, and the different behaviour types are related to different parturient endocrine changes.

Maternal behavior in pigs.

When sows kept under commercial conditions were put into crates in the early 1960s, the neuro-endocrine regulation of the maternal behavior in these domestic animals was disputed. Thus, the study of sow maternal behavior intensified and today a significant body of knowledge has accumulated to support the hormonal regulation of sow maternal behavior. The onset of nest building is associated with a periparturient decline in progesterone, an increase in prolactin and a major rise in plasma concentrations of PGF2alpha the day before parturition. Some nest building behaviors, such as pawing and gathering straw, have been found to correlate with changes in the levels of progesterone, prolactin and somatostatin. The duration of the birth process correlates negatively with peripheral oxytocin levels. During lactation, the stimuli from the piglets affect the release of several hormones which not only regulate the let down of milk but also sow metabolism and mammary milk production. The sows nursing behavior ensures an even distribution of milk to her piglets. The piglets suckling behavior, in turn, is mainly a way to communicate their individual nutritional needs.

Nursing behaviour of sows during 5 weeks lactation and effects on piglet growth

Abstract The main goal of this study was to investigate the effect of sow nursing behaviour on piglet weight gain and within-litter variation (WLV) in piglet weight gain under as naturalistic conditions as possible. In order to achieve this, patterns of sow nursing behaviour and piglet weight gain were recorded during 5 weeks lactation. In addition, to be able to assess importance of sow behaviour on piglet growth more definitely, individual within-lactation repeatability of sow behaviour was also evaluated. Average piglet daily weight gain (ADG) and within-litter variation in weight gain during lactation were recorded by weighing the piglets of 21 individually penned, unrestrained Yorkshire sows on days 1, 4, 8, 15, 22 postpartum (PP) and at weaning (day 35±2). Nursing behaviour and sternal recumbency from five 24h periods (days 3, 6, 13, 20 and 30 postpartum) were described as frequency of successful nursings (SFREQ), frequency of unsuccessful nursings (USFREQ), total duration of all nursings (TOTDUR), percentage of nursings terminated by the sow (%SOW), average duration of sow-terminated nursings (SOWDUR) and percentage of observations when the sow was lying sternally (%STERN). With proceeding lactation, the only significant change in SFREQ was an increase on day 6. USFREQ increased to day 13, and then decreased towards the end of lactation. TOTDUR began decreasing after day 13, while SOWDUR decreased already after day 3. %SOW and %STERN both increased with proceeding lactation. All behavioural measures showed within-sow repeatability (first-order autoregression coefficient (AR(1))=0.39–0.73). Average piglet weight gain (ADG) was influenced positively by SFREQ ( P =0.02), while none of the other behavioural variables affected ADG. The effect of SFREQ on ADG was similar throughout lactation, the model estimated a 5.12g increase in ADG with one more successful nursing per 24h. Within-litter variation was not influenced by any of the selected variables. The results indicate that (i) nursing behaviour changes during lactation, according to a pattern suggesting an ongoing weaning process; (ii) sow behaviour is repeatable within-sow and within-lactation; (iii) a high frequency of successful nursings affects piglet growth positively also in sows that are not experimentally manipulated, and throughout the full course of lactation.

Nursing and suckling behaviour of semi-naturally kept pigs during the first 10 days postpartum

Abstract Two groups of Swedish Landrace pigs were kept in semi-natural enclosures of 7 and 13 ha. Out of these groups, the nursing and suckling behaviour of seven multiparous and three primiparous sows and their litters were studied during two 2 h sampling sessions per day during 10 days postpartum in the period June–August 1987. The suckling frequency slowly increased from about 0.9 to 1.4 h. During the first days, the sows initiated and the piglets terminated 80–100% of the sucklings; at the end of the period the figures were 40–55%, indicating that the piglets were more active and the sows possibly less inclined to nurse. During the first days, the piglets were less synchronized in their suckling behaviour, indicated by a smaller proportion of piglets taking part in the sucklings (on average about 85% of the litter on Day 1, as compared to 95–100% on the third day onwards). This was probably reflected in the pre-massage time (the massage needed to induce a milk ejection), which was longer at the beginning of the period (on average about 150–160 s during the first 2 days and about 110 s and less from Day 3 onwards). Udder massage was also performed at an increasing rate outside sucklings. The frequency of piglet-initiated nose contacts after milk ejection increased during the period, while the frequency before sucklings decreased. The findings were interpreted so that some aspects involved in the weaning process, defined according to an hypothesis suggested earlier, have already started during the first days postpartum, even if that does not mean that weaning actually started immediately after birth.

Behaviour and weight changes at weaning and regrouping of pigs in relation to teat quality

Abstract One hundred and one individually marked healthy piglets in 10 litters were followed from birth to 9 weeks of age in order to elucidate the relationships between weight changes and behaviour at weaning and regrouping. The piglets were weighed once a week and additionally at extra instances just before and after weaning and regrouping. The pigs were weaned by removal of the mother 6 weeks post-partum and the litters were mixed two by two, 7 days later, so that the pigs with weight rank 1, 3, 5 etc. in one litter were mixed with the corresponding pigs of the other litter. The behaviour of the pigs was recorded on video during 24 h before and after weaning and regrouping, and at 9 weeks of age (before moving to the fattening unit) by obtaining 20 s of continuous recording every fifth minute. Both weaning and regrouping markedly increased the frequencies of eating, drinking, aggression and submission, although the latter was only substantially increased by regrouping. Piglets having had the largest weight gain between 3 and 4 weeks post-partum (indicating good teat quality) ate less solids on all observations, except just before moving to the fattening unit, and drank less water before weaning. The same piglets had a lower relative weight gain at regrouping than their litter mates. During weaning, those pigs gaining more weight than their litter mates were more submissive, but there was no effect on aggression. When the pigs were regrouped, the pigs gaining more weight than their pen mates were more aggressive and those gaining less weight were more submissive. Aggression and submission were not observed in all pigs. During regrouping, those pigs showing submission were those that had used more productive teats that those that performed both aggressive and submissive behaviour. Pigs that showed aggression at regrouping were heavier than their pen mates and had a higher weight gain. In general, we conclude that the teat quality determines the nutritional change of the piglet at weaning, and also the degree of agonistic interactions at weaning and subsequent regrouping.