Prevalence of constipation and its influence on post-parturient disorders in tropical sows

The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of constipation and its influence on farrowing duration and the evidence of post-parturient disorders in tropical sows and to evaluate the efficacy of a laxative supplementation during gestation and around farrowing on the incidence of constipation. Two experiments were performed in a commercial swine herd in Thailand. In experiment 1, the prevalence of constipation was determined in 96 gestating sows. Subsequently, 62 of them (64.6 %), with a severe to moderate degree of constipation, received 20 ml of a laxative for 3 days during gestation. In experiment 2, constipation score was determined in sows before, during, and after farrowing. A total of 98 sows were randomly allocated to one of two groups: the treatment group (n = 48) received 20 ml of a laxative for 3 days before farrowing, and the control group (n = 50) did not receive any laxative. Rectal temperature, appetite score, incidence of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS), and vaginal discharge score was determined for 4 days. In experiment 1, supplementation of laxative reduced the proportion of sows with moderate to severe constipation (P < 0.05). In experiment 2, sows with moderate to very severe constipation had a 28-min longer duration of farrowing than sows with normal faeces. Constipation in sows on the day of farrowing resulted in reduced appetite on day 1 postpartum (P = 0.008). The incidence of sows with fever on day 1 postpartum was two times higher in sows with constipation than in sows with normal faeces (36.2 and 16.7 %, respectively; P = 0.041).