NUTRITION ▶▶▶
Nutrition for claw horn quality and integrity
With sows increasingly being kept loose during gestation, and farrowing crates likely to disappear, claw quality and integrity are becoming much more important. How can nutrition help improve claw quality conditions?
A healthy sow claw as everyone likes to see it. BY DR SAMANEH AZARPAJOUH, INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, UNITED STATES L
ameness is a multifactorial disorder affecting swine welfare and profitability. Lameness is defined as a de- viation from the normal gait caused by lesions, dis- eases and other factors such as genetics, nutrition,
housing systems and management practices. It may be epi- sodic, and because multiple joints are affected it can shift between legs. Lameness is regarded as an indicator of poor welfare because of its association with pain, discomfort, reduced mobility, de- creased ability to cope with the environment and limitations in the ability to perform social behaviours and to explore the environment. It is estimated that up to 48% of sows on a giv- en farm are lame and, after reproductive problems, lameness is one of the most important reasons for the premature cull- ing of sows. The culling rate due to lameness is estimated to be between 6% and 35%. In addition, piglet mortality in lame sows (27.7%) is higher than in non-lame sows (12.4%).
The costs of lameness Direct lameness costs include increased workload, higher diagnostic and treatment costs, reduced productive and re- productive performance, increased culling rate, increased production costs, increased labour costs, lost genetic premi- um and decreased slaughter value. It is estimated that lameness costs approximately $ 230 million/year to the US
34 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 10, 2021
swine industry. Due to welfare and economic consequences of lameness, prevention is the best approach. Nutrition management plays a substantial role in the pre- vention of lameness. Feed ration composition significantly affects claw horn production, health, quality and integrity. Research has shown that proteins and amino acids, fatty ac- ids, minerals and vitamins are involved in the keratinisation process. Keratinisation represents the synthesis, aggrega- tion and stabilisation of keratin proteins by keratinocytes, and it ensures healthy claw horn growth and claw structural integrity.
Sow claw structure Sows have two weight-bearing claws and two dew claws. Each weight-bearing claw includes the distal phalanx, which is covered with a horn capsule. The claw horn capsule consists of a hard outside wall, a sole of hard horn, a soft heel and a nar- row white line joining the wall and sole. The strength of the claw varies between the soft and hard tissue claw areas, and the junction between these areas is particularly susceptible to lesions.
Claw lesion in sows The presence of claw lesions causes lameness in 5–20% of sows and has significant negative impact on longevity, pro- ductive performance and welfare of sows. Claw lesions in- clude heel erosions, separations and cracks along the heel/
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