Economic Losses

In the end, clusters of lame sows drag down productivity while they are in the herd. Because they spend less time in the herd, replacement costs are higher and space utilization is lower due to higher turnover rate, says Deen.

Finally, don't underestimate the impact of lameness on product demand. “The largest recall of meat products in the history of the United States was due to lameness in cattle, and we should be concerned about the same in swine,” he stresses.

‘Feet First’ Symposium is Staged

The swine industry's first-ever symposium on sow lameness provided the approximately 150 attendees from around the world an educational look at an often-underestimated problem in hog operations.

The sessions were held in early April in Minneapolis and at the University of Minnesota, hosted by Zinpro Corp., based in Eden Prairie, MN. The members of the Feet First team, comprised of a global collection of researchers, veterinarians and nutritionists, are focused on identifying and preventing lameness in sows.

“Lameness in commercial sow operations is a much bigger issue than most operators realize, and it costs the industry an untold amount of income through lost performance and production each year,” says Terry Ward, director of Research and Nutritional Services, Zinpro Corp. “By taking proactive steps to identify and address lameness-causing factors, we can reduce the prevalence of lameness for the good of the animal and the business enterprise.”

Talks at the conference focused on performance and economics, lesion surveys, lesion identification and pathology, claw trimming for weight balance, effects on reproduction and the role of nutrition in foot health.

Workshops were also held at the University of Minnesota's Veterinary Medicine Center in St. Paul, where attendees participated in hands-on exercises and heard discussions on locomotion scoring and lesion identification. Attendees also learned the proper method for functional trimming using the Feet First chute.

Learn more about trace mineral nutrition from Zinpro by visiting www.zinpro.com or calling 800-445-6145.

Lesion Surveys Around the World

Lesions/disorders data were collected from independent surveys conducted from 2005 to 2008 in sow units in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States. Different individuals scored the lesions in the respective surveys.

Netherlands veterinarian Marrina Schuttert reported the data at the Zinpro Feet First Symposium in Minneapolis.

In Australia, 186 sows were scored in parities 0-10 in a 1,600-sow unit. Rear and front feet were scored within the first 60 days of gestation. Sows were in stalls for the first six weeks of gestation, then group-housed.

Results showed that the prevalence of claw lesions associated with the heel, sole and white line exceeded 90%. Severe heel overgrowth and erosion, severe lesions at the heel sole junction and severe white line lesions were recorded in about 30% of the feet. Vertical wall cracks were seen in about 80% of the feet.

In Germany, 76 sows were scored from a 400-sow herd representing parities 1-12. Gestating sows were kept in pens.

Results showed that heel overgrowth/erosion was the most common lesion, affecting more than 80% of feet. Other heel lesions were moderate or severe. Lesions at the heel/sole junction and white line represented 30% of feet surveyed.

Data was collected from 4,252 sows, parities 1-6, from various farms in the Netherlands. Gestating sows were housed in either stalls or pens.

The two most prevalent disorders in Dutch herds were heel overgrowth/erosion and elongated dew claws.

A U.S. operation in the Midwest involved scoring 771 sows in parities 0-10. Gestating sows were kept in stalls or pens.

More than 90% of all sows had a lesion in the wall and heel. About 50% to 75% of the sows had overgrown heels, lesions in the white line, heel/sole junction and sole. Heel lesions and overgrown heels were more prevalent in rear feet. Serious and deep lesions in the wall were observed in about half of the sows and in the heel in one of three sows. A quarter of the sows had serious and deep overgrown heels and serious and deep white line lesions.

Heel overgrowth/erosion was the most common claw disorder across all herds. Wall cracks were more common in herds in Australia and the United States, where most gestating sows are housed in stalls, vs. Dutch and German herds, where most gestating sows are housed in pens. Lesions were more common in the outer vs. the inner claw.