Infrared Thermography of the Mammary Gland in Sows with Regard to Health and Performance

Stephan Rosengart, Bussarakam Chuppava, Dana Carina Schubert, Lea-Sophie Trost, Hubert Henne, Jens Tetens, Imke Traulsen, Ansgar Deermann, Christian Visscher and Michael Wendt
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Stephan Rosengart: Clinic for Swine and Small Ruminants, Forensic Medicine and Ambulatory Service, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Bussarakam Chuppava: Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Dana Carina Schubert: Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Lea-Sophie Trost: Department of Animal Sciences, Livestock Systems, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany
Hubert Henne: BHZP GmbH, An der Wassermühle 8, D-21368 Dahlenburg-Ellingen, Germany
Jens Tetens: Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, Burckhardtweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Imke Traulsen: Department of Animal Sciences, Livestock Systems, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany
Ansgar Deermann: EVH Select GmbH, An der Feuerwache 14, D-49716 Meppen, Germany
Christian Visscher: Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Michael Wendt: Clinic for Swine and Small Ruminants, Forensic Medicine and Ambulatory Service, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, D-30173 Hannover, Germany

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Monitoring of sows’ health is the key to preventing and controlling diseases in sows, and it guarantees optimal rearing conditions for piglets. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the health status of sows shortly after parturition, and to analyze thermographic images of the mammary gland and the sows’ performance. Clinical examination of a total of 513 db.Viktoria hybrid sows was bundled individually using a modified score system. According to this, animals were divided into three health classes: healthy, clinically suspicious, and diseased. Simultaneously, the mammary glands were investigated by infrared thermography. Total born piglets (TBP), number of piglets born alive (NBA), and the daily weight gain of the piglets were significantly lower in the diseased group ( p < 0.05). Regarding the results of the thermographic images of the mammary gland, significantly higher mean value of the warmest pixels was found in the diseased group (38.3 °C ± 0.57), while the significantly lowest value was reported in the healthy group (37.2 °C ± 0.54; p < 0.05). The results of this study show that thermography of the mammary gland at birth contains information that can help to identify diseased animals whose disease has negative effects on their piglets.

Keywords: swine diseases; welfare monitoring; sustainability; thermography; sow performance; pig production; postpartum dysgalactia syndrome; piglet performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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