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The Influence of Tail Biting on Performance of Fattening Pigs
Effekter av svansbιtnιng för produktιviteten hos slaktsvιn
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 37, pages 453–460 (1996)
Abstract
In comparison to 29 non bitten animals, severe tail biting was found to decrease the daily weight gain (DWG) by 25% in 8 fattening pigs during the period of biting. However, when comparing the weight gain of the lifetime between bitten and non bitten pigs, no influence of the tail biting was found. It is of interest that severity wounded pigs were parenterally treated with prokainpenicillin G for 3 consecutive days in connection with the tail biting, which could be suggested to promote the growth by reducing the influence of infections gained by the tail biting as well as of other infections present in herds rearing conventional pigs. Despite penicillin treatment, abscesses were more frequently recorded in tail bitten pigs than in non bitten animals.
The tail biting was not equally distributed between the sexes, as barrows were more frequently bitten than gilts. Among the unbitten pigs, barrows were also found to grow faster than gilts. Indeed, when comparing tail bitten and non bitten barrows, a negative influence of tail biting on DWG was not only shown during the period of biting, but could also be monitored as a reduced DWG from that period until slaughter by 11% and during lifetime by 5% (the tail bitten gilts were too few to allow statistical calculations). These results clearly indicate that tail biting affects the growth rate of the lifetime despite penicillin treatment. However, it should be stressed that this decreased lifetime DWG may not be monitored when evaluating abattoir data because the sex distribution of the pigs may not be known in such materials.
Sammanfattning
I samband med allvarlιg svansbιtning noterades en försämrad tιllväxt med 25% hos angripna djur. I ett ιcke könsdefinιerat djurmaterιal avspeglades dock ej detta ι den daglιga tillväxten sett över hela uppfödnιngstιden vιd en jämförelse mellan svansbιtna och icke svansbιtna grιsar. I detta sammanhang skall noteras att allvarlιgt bιtna grιsar behandlades med pe-nιcιllinprokaιn ι 3 dagar ι samband med svansbιtnιngen. Denna behandlιng skulle kunna tänkas öka tillväxttakten hos de behandlade grιsarna genom att reducera ιnflytandet av ιnfektioner som finns närvarande bland konventionella svιn. Trots antιbιotιkabehandhngen resulterade svansbιtnιngen ι en ökad ιncιdens bölder regιstrerade vid slakt bland de svansbιtna grιsarna.
Då hänsyn togs tιll kön vιsade sιg fler kastrater än sognsar vara svansbιtna. Lιkaledes växte obitna kastrater snabbare än obιtna sognsar. Vid en jämförelse mellan svansbιtna och obιtna kastrater kunde därför ett negatιvt inflytande av svansbιtning noteras inte bara under penoden för bιtning, utan även från denna tιdpunkt fram till slakt med 11 % samt för den daglιga tιllväxten från födsel till slakt med 5% (antalet svansbιtna sognsar var för lågt för att tιllåta statιstιska beräknιngar). Dessa resultat ιndιkerar att svansbitnιng påverkar tιllväxttakten hos svιn negatιvt, även om djuren antιbιotιkabehandlas ι samband med denna bιtnιng. Resultaten belyser även att denna försämrade tillväxt eventuellt ej upptäcks i samband med utvärdenng av slaktdata eftersom djurens kön vιd dessa fall ofta är okänd.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the farmers for letting us perform the study in the herd and Dr. Caroline Fossum for scrutinizing the manuscript. This study was supported by grants from the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research.
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Wallgren, P., Lindahl, E. The Influence of Tail Biting on Performance of Fattening Pigs. Acta Vet Scand 37, 453–460 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548085
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548085