On a farrow-to-finishing farm with 450 productive sows and 4900 fattening pigs in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, lameness occurred in fattening pigs of both sexes with a body weight of 40-70 kg. Male pigs were not castrated on this farm. The genetic background of sows was DanBred, while the piglets were crossbreds of DanBred x PIC 408. The farm produced in a three-week batch system with seven batches in sizes of approximately 64 productive sows and 2.35 litters per sow per year. After a lactation of four weeks, piglets were raised in groups of 42 animals per pen up to a weight of 28 kg in the nursery unit on plastic slatted flooring until week eleven of age. The totally slatted flooring in the fattening stable complied with the German Animal Welfare Livestock Farming Regulation with 18 mm gaps and 80 mm wide concrete elements. The slatted plastic flooring in the nursery was assessed as soft ground, while the slatted concrete flooring in the fattening stable was assessed as hard. In total, the nursery had approximately 3000 places and the fattening stable approximately 4900 places with 35 pigs per pen. All-in-all-out (AIAO) was performed in all production units. Average daily weight gain was 820 g in fatteners within an average fattening period of 110 days. The average body weight of pigs at slaughter was approximately 116-118 kg.
The final diet in the trough was a combination of fermented ingredients (cereals and rapeseed meal with 0.14 % Ca and 0.4 % P) and a supplementary feed (Table1: AZ-3, VM28, AM40, MM65) in varying proportions for different age groups. The mixture of ingredients that were used in the controlled fermentation (13 h at 37-39 °C) and the supplementary feed were delivered by a conventional feed company. Fermentation resulted in a final pH of 3.8 using starting cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum and Pediococcus acidilactici (Proferm HCL-FL®, Agravis Raiffaisen AG, Münster, Germany). The fermented part had been automatically added to the final liquid diet immediately before feeding starting at day 15 after weaning. The share of fermented ingredients within the final diet increased from 5 % up to 65 % in the final fattening period. The final diet contained thermostable and pH-tolerant phytase-6 (4a24 DuPont Axtra®-Phy-thermostabil, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, Copenhagen, Denmark). The drinking water was farm own ground water. Samples of the different final liquid diets were analysed by the LUFA/Chamber of Agriculture North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany for nutrient contents (Table 1). Diets were analyzed by standard procedures following the routine methods of the Association of German Agricultural Investigation and Research Institutions (Verband Deutscher Landwirtschaftlicher Untersuchungs- und Forschungsanstalten). Crude protein was determined on the basis of nitrogen quantification following the method of Kjeldahl. Nitrogen was measured in a high temperature elemental analyzer (Vario Max®, Elementar, Hanau, Germany). The calcium content was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry, phosphorus colorimetrically [33, 34]. For the analysis of crude fiber the fat- and ash-free samples were cooked with acid (1.25% sulphuric acid) and alkaline (1.25% sodium hydroxide 1.25) solutions in a crude fibre determination device (Fibertec™ 2010 Hot Extractor, Fa. Foss GmbH, Hamburg) followed by drying, ashing and weighing [33].
As shown in the feed declaration in Table 1, compared to official recommendations shown in Table 2, the total phosphorus content was reduced in the diet and did not meet the officially recommended values.
Table 1: Feeding techniques and diets´ composition (in all groups: liquid diet offered ad libitum, probe system).
|
Diet (AZ-3) for growing pigs
(88 % DM)
|
Diet 1 (VM28) for fattening pigs
(88 % DM)
|
Diet 2 (AM40) for fattening pigs
(88 % DM)
|
Diet 3 (MM65) for fattening pigs
(88 % DM)
|
Week
|
9-11
|
12-14
|
15-17
|
18-20
|
Body weight (kg)
|
15-28
|
28-40
|
41-65
|
66-80
|
Pigs, n per group
|
42
|
35
|
Pigs, n per valve
|
84
|
70
|
Length of trough (m)
|
2.5
|
3.8
|
Dry matter (DM) of the final liquid diet (%)1
Analyzed nutrients (88 % DM):
Crude protein (%)
Crude fiber (%)
Ca (%)
P (%)
Ca:P ratio
|
25.60
18.10
3.00
0.92
0.46
2:1
|
21.80
18.20
2.90
0.81
0.46
1.8:1
|
24.40
16.80
3.50
0.87
0.46
1.9:1
|
23.80
17.40
3.80
0.79
0.49
1.6:1
|
Labeled nutrient content in supplementary feed (88 % DM):
Energy (MJ ME)
Crude protein (%)
Lysine (%)
Fat (%)
Fiber (%)
Ca (%)
P (%)
6-Phytase (FTU/kg)
|
13.20
18.50
1.50
5.00
3.50
1.00
0.45
1125
|
13.20
16.14
1.15
3.25
4.10
0.70
0.40
750
|
13.20
15.25
1.08
3.00
4.25
0.67
0.40
750
|
13.10
14.00
0.98
3.00
4.50
0.65
0.37
750
|
1Share of fermented ingredients varied between 28 and 50 %.
Analyzed values of diet composition and feeding techniques in the different age groups are shown. P-content is highlighted in bold as it is assessed to be critically low compared with the officially recommended values [20] regarding total dietary phosphorus in Table 2.
Table 2: Official recommendations for feed intake, energy, protein and Ca and P contents according to the weight range of pigs [20].
Body weight range (kg)
|
11-25
|
25-50
|
50-75
|
75-100
|
Daily feed intake (g, 88 % DM)
|
953
|
1582
|
2229
|
2636
|
Energy (MJ ME/kg, 88 % DM)
|
14.0
|
13.8
|
13.8
|
13.8
|
Protein (g/kg, 88 % DM)
|
189
|
157
|
138
|
121
|
Calcium (g/kg, 88 % DM)
|
7.0
|
6.6
|
5.9
|
5.2
|
Phosphorus (g/kg, 88 % DM)
-total
-digestible
|
6.0
3.3
|
5.6
3.1
|
5.2
2.7
|
4.7
2.4
|
Recurring diseases on farm were arthritis and meningitis caused by Streptococcus (S.) suis, which was treated by amoxicillin application via the liquid diet in cases of disease outbreaks. Intermittent cases of fever and respiratory distress occurred in fatteners due to the influenza virus. At the time of this case report, neither S.-suis- nor influenza-related disease cases were observed. Routinely, all sows were vaccinated against four influenza virus subtypes at day 80 of gestation (Respiporc FLU3 and Respiporc FLUPAN H1N1, CEVA Tiergesundheit GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany) and against parvovirus and swine erysipelas at day 14 after farrowing (Parvoruvac, CEVA Tiergesundheit, Düsseldorf, Germany). Routinely, all piglets were vaccinated with commercial products against the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (Unistrain® PRRS, Hipra, Amer, Spain), Porcine Circovirus 2 (Ingelvac Circoflex®, Boehringer Ingelheim, Vetmedica GmbH, Ingelheim, Germany) and M. hyopneumoniae (Hyogen®, CEVA Tiergesundheit GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany) at an age of 24 days, i.e., prior to weaning. At an age of 50 and 70 days, pigs were vaccinated against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (Coglapix®, CEVA Tiergesundheit GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany).
Clinical examination of pigs in the pens was performed daily by the farmer by inspecting groups of pigs in pens and counting those pigs with suspected lameness according to behavior during resting, standing up, lying down and walking. Diseased pigs were color-marked on the back for later inspection, treatment and follow-up assessment on the following days. After assessing the number of affected pigs, selected individual pigs were examined by visual examination of the joints by the veterinarian at its weekly visits. Main clinical symptoms were high-grade lameness with a stiff walk in approximately 10-35 % of the fattening pigs at an age of 80-140 days (30-70 kg bw). Limbs were free of swellings and no obvious signs of arthritis were observed. All diseased animals and the individual treatments were recorded by the farmer. Treatment data were digitalized within the official antibiotic database of the obligatory German surveillance system. For treating those pigs with lameness, amoxicillin trihydrate (Hostamox LA 150 mg/mL, MSD Tiergesundheit Deutschland GmbH, Unterschleißheim, Germany, 15 mg/kg bw) was injected two-four times at 24h intervals. In addition, 0.1 mg dexamethasone per kg bw (Rapidexon Albrecht, Dechra Veterinary Products Deutschland GmbH, Aulendorf, Germany) was injected twice with an interval of one day. Approximately 90 % of the treated pigs recovered within one week after treatment. The oral treatment with 10 mg tiamulin fumarate (Denagard 45 %, Elanco Deutschland GmbH, Bad Homburg, Germany) per kg bw via the liquid diet was not successful.