Infrared Thermography of the Mammary Gland in Sows with Regard to Health and Performance
Stephan Rosengart,
Bussarakam Chuppava,
Dana Carina Schubert,
Lea-Sophie Trost,
Hubert Henne,
Jens Tetens,
Imke Traulsen,
Ansgar Deermann,
Christian Visscher,
Michael Wendt
Affiliations
Stephan Rosengart
Clinic for Swine and Small Ruminants, Forensic Medicine and Ambulatory Service, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Bussarakam Chuppava
Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Dana Carina Schubert
Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Lea-Sophie Trost
Department of Animal Sciences, Livestock Systems, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany
Hubert Henne
BHZP GmbH, An der Wassermühle 8, D-21368 Dahlenburg-Ellingen, Germany
Jens Tetens
Department of Animal Sciences, University of Göttingen, Burckhardtweg 2, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Imke Traulsen
Department of Animal Sciences, Livestock Systems, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 3, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany
Ansgar Deermann
EVH Select GmbH, An der Feuerwache 14, D-49716 Meppen, Germany
Christian Visscher
Institute for Animal Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Michael Wendt
Clinic for Swine and Small Ruminants, Forensic Medicine and Ambulatory Service, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, D-30173 Hannover, Germany
Monitoring of sows’ health is the key to preventing and controlling diseases in sows, and it guarantees optimal rearing conditions for piglets. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the health status of sows shortly after parturition, and to analyze thermographic images of the mammary gland and the sows’ performance. Clinical examination of a total of 513 db.Viktoria hybrid sows was bundled individually using a modified score system. According to this, animals were divided into three health classes: healthy, clinically suspicious, and diseased. Simultaneously, the mammary glands were investigated by infrared thermography. Total born piglets (TBP), number of piglets born alive (NBA), and the daily weight gain of the piglets were significantly lower in the diseased group (p p < 0.05). The results of this study show that thermography of the mammary gland at birth contains information that can help to identify diseased animals whose disease has negative effects on their piglets.
