On-Farm Claw Scoring in Sows Using a Novel Mobile Device.

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Veterinary Medicine
• Agricultural Engineering

Background:

• Claw lesions and lameness in sows significantly impact animal welfare and cause economic losses in the swine industry.
• Current scoring techniques for sow claw lesions have limitations in data collection across reproductive phases and recording all claws.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, develop, and validate a novel Mobile Claw Scoring Device (MCSD) to address limitations in current sow claw lesion assessment.
• To evaluate the efficacy of the MCSD as an alternative tool for on-farm claw scoring.

Main Methods:

• Development of a final MCSD prototype featuring two cameras with LED lights in an aluminium apparatus with tempered glass plates.
• The MCSD system captures video images of sow claws as it slides underneath.
• Validation involved comparing MCSD scores for soiled claws against the Feet First© sow chute (gold standard) in 20 hybrid sows.

Main Results:

• The MCSD demonstrated potential as an alternative for on-farm claw scoring, distinguishing itself from other techniques.
• Fifty percent of scores differed between the MCSD and the gold standard, primarily in medial claw digits, deemed biologically irrelevant.
• Further optimization is required to enhance the concordance between MCSD scores and the gold standard.

Conclusions:

• The Mobile Claw Scoring Device (MCSD) presents a viable alternative for on-farm sow claw lesion and lameness assessment.
• While the MCSD shows promise, further refinement is necessary to achieve higher similarity with established scoring methods.