Prevalence of white line disease and the association with other claw defects in slaughter sows

Abstract

Claw defects are very common in the Netherlands, but are still an under investigated problem in sows. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of white line disease (WLD) and other claw defects (sole cracks, hemorrhages, wall cracks and heel overgrowth) in slaughter sows and the association between WLD and the other claw defects. Three hundred claws of slaughter sows were randomly collected in a slaughterhouse in Groenlo, the Netherlands. After visual scoring of the claw lesions, using a designed protocol, the claws were dissected and scored again on defects. The most common claw defects were heel overgrowth in both front and hind claws with a prevalence of 95,7 and 100% and hemorrhages with 100%, followed by sole cracks (97.1 and 96.6%), wall cracks (39.6 and 78.5%) and WLD (10.8 and 14.4%). Within WLD, the WLD which extended through the sole had a prevalence of 26.6% in the front claws and 45.6% in the hind claws. There was an association between WLD and whether the claws were front or hind claws (OR = 2.44, with a 95% CI of 1.49-3.92). The second one is the association between WLD and the presence of and in case of presence, the severity of a sole crack. (severe sole crack, OR = 8.28, with a 95% CI of 1.02-67.02). Furthermore, a notable result is the high prevalence of hemorrhages in the claws of slaughter sows. Recommendations for further research could include extra research about the prevalence and associations of claw defects. Other factors should be included, such as; type of floor, whether a claw is a left or a right claw, the clinical state of the animals and perchance the association between claw defects and lameness.