[Stress reactions in sows during difficult births and after transport]

Reactions during dystocia and after transport were studied in 66 sows (including 47 sows of German Landrace and 11 of German Large White) by examination of clinical parameters and blood constituents. 15 sows (group 1) died within 24 hours after investigation (7 had to be slaughtered before surgery and 8 died afterwards). 51 sows (group 2) survived dystocia or caesarean section respectively. A small chance of survival was correlated with fetal death, insufficiency of the peripheral circulatory system, lactacidaemia and metabolic acidosis, associated with increased respiratory and heart rates, as well as muscle degeneration with elevated plasma levels of creatine kinase (CK). The investigation showed, that reactions to stress of dystocia chiefly depend on individual stress susceptibility, but less on duration of birth, fetal death and toxaemia.