CLAW LESIONS AND POOR REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE IN SOW.

A research institute at the Leipzig University, Germany captures all pig movement on camera to follow and analyse every step ,It is interesting to understand how pig claws interact with hard surfaces technically unknown to them. Sows in modern intensive housing environments face substantial threats from claw lesions. The risk of the claw developing a painful and ultimately devastating lesion is based on its interaction with the flooring surface, overcrowded conditions and aggressive social behavior. The majority of claw lesions have a strong bio-mechanical component in their development . The Mechanical impact is either the direct /primary cause of lesions or promotes the progression of a lesion caused primarily by other factors such as metabolic disorders, mineral deficiencies/imbalances or local inflammation. The most critical factors contributing to the development of claw lesions in swine operations today are hard flooring systems. The pig's foot is anatomically designed for a soft, variable, uneven surface where weight bearing by the two main claws is significantly supported by weight bearing of the two dew claws. When the pig is placed on concrete, the mechanics of the foot and how it interacts with the flooring surface is changed totally. The result is increased production of horn of inferior quality, disruption of normal horn formation or mechanical damage to the tissue and subsequent inflammation. Once a sow experiences lameness and pain due to a claw lesion, her performance including her reproductive potential is severely compromised and she may be removed from the herd. Research studies show that genetic improvement and management techniques, swine producers have the opportunity to reduce, and even prevent, the painful claw lesions that decrease not only productivity of sows but also their well-being. Materials from;Christoph Mülling Professor of Veterinary Anatomy, University of Leipzig, Germany.