Severe tail lesions in finisher pigs are associated with reduction in annual profit in farrow‐to‐finish pig farms. (16th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: van Staaveren, Nienke; Boyle, Laura Ann; Manzanilla, Edgar García; O'Driscoll, Keelin; Shalloo, Laurence; Díaz, Julia Adriana Calderón
• Is Part Of: Veterinary record. Volume 188:Number 8(2021)
• Page Start: no
• Page End: no
• Publication Date: 2021-01-16
• Subjects: animal welfare -- average daily gain -- pig production systems -- profit -- whole‐farm stochastic budgeting; Veterinary medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine vétérinaire -- Périodiques; Veterinary medicine; Veterinary Medicine; Periodicals; Periodical; Electronic journals; 636.089
• DOI: 10.1002/vetr.13
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0042-4900

Abstract

Abstract: Objectives : We investigated the financial impact of different prevalence levels of severe tail lesions (STL) during the finisher stage associated with changes in average daily gain (ADG) in farrow‐to‐finish pig farms. Methods : Prevalence of STL was estimated for 31 farrow‐to‐finish pig farms. Regression tree analysis was used to identify a threshold for STL associated with differences in ADG. Then, a financial analysis was carried using the Teagasc Pig Production model. Results : A threshold of ≥0.86% prevalence of STL was associated with a 4.8% decrease in ADG which translated into pigs requiring 7 days more to reach target slaughter weight than in farms below the threshold. Reduced ADG meant that farms with higher prevalence of STL used 3.6% more weaner and 1.4% more finisher feed per year increasing feed costs by 1.5%. This reduced mean annual farm profit by 15.1% in farms with higher prevalence of STL. Conclusions : Our results provide an indication of the financial effects of STL in intensive pig production systems. The identified threshold for the prevalence of STL could provide a tangible target for farmers to focus on in developing strategies to reduce tail lesions and allow farmers to complete a cost benefit analysis of controlling STL.