title: Farrowing disorders in the sow: a field study.
abstract: A prospective study was carried out in three intensive farms. 150 sows were individually followed from 20 days prior to farrowing to 5 days after farrowing. During the five post farrowing days, the prevalences of fever (rectal temperature greater than or equal to 39.8 degrees C), anorexia, vulval discharges and mammary gland disorders were 15.3%, 20%, 64.5% and 3.3% respectively. Parturition duration (piglet delivery) was 197 minutes on average. Farrowing lasted over 300 minutes for 10% of the sows. The 5 parameters were combined to build a score on farrowing disorders. The sows getting the highest rate of disorders tended to show specific physical features prior to farrowing. The oldest sows, the heaviest, those showing urinary infections or locomotor disorders were more predisposed to problems. Moreover affected sows gave birth to larger litters for a given parity.
authors.affiliation: Centre National D'Etudes Vétérinaires et Alimentaires, Ploufragan, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Madec
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Leon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*