Effects of free-range and confined housing on joint health in a herd of fattening pigs

BMC Veterinary Research

Stina Ekman⁴  Julia Österberg¹  Eva Heldmer⁵  Nils Lundeheim²  Bjørnar Ytrehus³  Pernille Engelsen Etterlin⁴ 

[1] National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Uppsala, 751 89, Sweden;Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden;Terrestrial Ecology Department, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Trondheim, Norway;Section of Pathology, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, 75007, Sweden;Swedish Animal Health Service (SvDHV), Mellerud, 464 32, Sweden

关键词: Hock;    Elbow;    Osteochondrosis;    Joints;    Free-range;    Organic;    Housing;    Pigs;   

Others  :  1119002
DOI  :  10.1186/s12917-014-0208-5

 received in 2014-02-26, accepted in 2014-08-28,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Free-range housing, in which pigs have access to both indoor and outdoor areas, is mandatory in organic pig production in Europe, but little is known about the effects of this housing on joint health in pigs. A high level of joint condemnations at slaughter has been reported in organic free-range pigs in Sweden, compared with pigs raised in conventional confined housing. We hypothesised that biomechanical forces imposed on the joints of pigs that range freely promote the development of osteochondrosis and lead to joint condemnation. We compared the prevalence of osteochondrosis and other joint lesions (e.g. arthritis, traumatic) in the elbow and hock joints of 91 crossbred Hampshire (Yorkshire × Landrace) fattening pigs that were housed in a free-range indoor/outdoor system with that in 45 pigs housed in confined indoor pens.

Results

A larger proportion of free-range than confined pigs had osteochondrosis in the elbow joints (69 vs. 50%, p < 0.05), and a higher proportion of these joints in free-range pigs showed moderate or severe lesions (33 vs. 16%, p < 0.05). The free-range pigs also showed a higher prevalence of osteochondrosis in the hock joints (83 vs. 62%, p < 0.05) and a larger proportion of these joints had moderate or severe lesions (69 vs. 33%, p < 0.001). At slaughter, 4.2% of the free-range pigs had condemned joints, all of which showed severe osteochondrosis, while no joints of confined pigs were condemned.

Conclusions

In this experiment the prevalence of osteochondrosis in the elbow and the hock was higher, and lesions were more severe, in free-range than in confined pigs, suggesting that free-range housing increases the risk of acquiring osteochondrosis. Increased biomechanical stress to vulnerable joint structures may be the mechanism behind this effect, however more studies are needed to verify these results. This study suggests that modification of housing, and breeding for joints that are more adapted to free-range movement may be needed in free-range pig production. Severe osteochondrosis is a cause of joint condemnation, but the condemnation rate at slaughter underestimates the actual frequency of joint lesions and hence is a poor assessment of joint health.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Etterlin et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

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