title: Continuous straw provision reduces prevalence of oesophago-gastric ulcer in pigs slaughtered at 170 kg (heavy pigs).
abstract: Adopting a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design, this study evaluated whether continuous straw provision by racks, tail docking and gender (barrows vs. females) have an effect on the prevalence of lung lesions and oesophago-gastric ulcer (OGU) visually scored at slaughter in 635 Italian heavy pigs (169 ± 4 kg). The lung lesions were very low (72% of pigs with score 0), and were not significantly different among the experimental groups. Overall, OGU was diagnosed in 47% of the pigs. The consumption of small amounts of straw (70 g/day/pig) represented a protective factor against the onset of OGU (OR: 0.27). Barrows were more likely than females to have OGU (OR: 1.52), while no significant differences between docked and undocked pigs were detected. Nevertheless, the presence of straw acted as a protective factor particularly in undocked pigs (OR: 0.16), suggesting that in this group the absence of rooting material may have a stronger effect on welfare.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell'Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy. Electronic address: gdimartino@izsvenezie.it.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Martino
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Capello
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scollo
authors.forename: Flaviana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gottardo
authors.forename: Anna Lisa
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rampin
authors.forename: Eliana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schiavon
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marangon
authors.forename: Lebana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bonfanti
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D004935:Esophageal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013276:Stomach Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014456:Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Heavy pig; Oesophago-gastric ulcer; Straw; Tail docking