Predicting leg soundness through biomechanical assessment of gait in pigs
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Research partners: Newcastle University
Sponsors: BPEX
Duration: October 2010 – September 2013
Lameness due to foot and leg problems is a persistent problem of the pig industry. The aim of this project is to develop objective methods of assessing locomotion in pigs which could help to identify at a relatively early stage those pigs likely to develop a foot or a leg problem later in life because of their conformation or structural development.
Common methods used by the industry to identify ‘good’ animals have drawn upon subjective scoring systems which involve the viewing and appraisal of the animal by a trained observer. Breeding companies have a particular interest in assessing their animals’ leg constitution, either to include foot and leg quality in the breeding scheme or to confirm the suitability of gilts and boars to be delivered to customers. With more producers now breeding their own replacement gilts, identification of pigs with sound locomotion has become more important on commercial farms. However, foot and leg problems continue to exist, causing both economic and welfare concerns.
Not only breeding animals, but also growing and finishing pigs may suffer from foot and leg problems. Some of the causes of the problem, such as poor conformation, are hereditary, while other causes, such as osteochondrosis, have a slow course and may be difficult to identify early by just viewing the animal when visible signs are lacking.
During this project biomechanical gait assessment (BGA) will be used to quantify aspects of gait in pigs. During the last decade many studies have used BGA to investigate locomotion in the horse and there have been successful applications of BGA for dairy cows; however, gait analysis of pigs is a new tool. Typically two basic approaches characterise biomechanical studies: the measurement of the forces involved in motion (kinetics) and the measurement of the positional changes of body parts in space over time without considering the causative forces (kinematics).
The project will develop through a series of steps to:
- Parameterise the normal gait of pigs through the use of motion capture technology
- Ascertain how gait changes with increasing age/weight of the pig
- Determine the effect floor surface on gait
- Ascertain the predictive power of early gait score measures to identify later predisposition to lameness.
Additionally, quick, simple BGA methods for commercial application will also be developed.
The potential benefits for the UK pig industry include the ability to “screen” replacement gilts for leg soundness using automated and objective methods of BGA. This allows for reassurance of the structural quality and longevity of the future breeding sow which could lead to reduced replacement rates and fewer sows being culled for leg problems. The same strategy could also allow breeding companies to improve selection criteria and thus leg soundness of slaughter generation pigs leading to improved growth rates and more pigs sold. The combined effect of this technology then would contribute to substantially greater annual meat output per sow.
Page last updated
11-May-2012