animal welfare – Swine in Minnesota

High incidence of stillbirths in a free farrowing system linked to uterotonic misuse: A case report

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

In today’s Science Page researchers Alexander Grahofer, Heiko Nathues, and Jens Becker from the University of Bern share a case study on the use of carbetocin in farrowing sows.

Re-examining lameness

When you think about a sow with lameness, what image leaps to your mind? The classic view is of a sow that is limping as it walks. I would argue that a more accurate portrayal of the lame sow is one that is not walking and is reluctant to get up and walk. Examining the gait of a sow can still predict real problems, but sows are also capable of hiding their lameness or showing different levels of lameness over time.