{"id":57013,"date":"2019-10-10T22:00:32","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T22:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zinpro.com\/using-performance-trace-minerals-to-reduce-sow-lameness-infertility\/"},"modified":"2024-09-09T12:41:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-09T17:41:13","slug":"using-performance-trace-minerals-to-reduce-sow-lameness-infertility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zinpro.com\/en_na\/resource-center\/blog\/using-performance-trace-minerals-to-reduce-sow-lameness-infertility\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Performance Trace Minerals to Reduce Sow Lameness & Infertility"},"content":{"rendered":"

When sows are culled at a younger age, it is often due to lameness<\/a>. Research has been conducted to examine the relationship between lameness and its effects on reproductive performance and sow longevity. The results of these studies show that lame sows had litters of smaller size along with a smaller number of pigs born alive. Additionally, sows had a lower survival rate after reports of lameness and spent fewer days in the herd. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Industry research has also shown that greater than 88% of sows have at least one claw lesion, yet not all lesions are an indication of lameness. The lesions of greatest concern are those which penetrate the horn wall into the corium of the foot causing an inflammatory response (sidewall cracks or white line lesions), as these lesions cause pain and locomotion problems for sows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inflammation and Sow Lameness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Inflammation is one of the most apparent\nconsequences of lameness and is an often-misunderstood condition that can have\nserious animal-wellness consequences. Inflammation is a vital\npart of the body\u2019s immune response \u2026 it\u2019s the body\u2019s attempt to heal itself\nafter an injury (lameness); defend itself against foreign invaders, such as\nviruses and bacteria; and repair damaged\ntissue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inflammation is a double-edged\nsword. It\u2019s beneficial when it\u2019s doing the job it needs to do to protect the\nanimal, but it can also cause decreases in productivity, growth, feed\nefficiency, reproduction and lactation. In the case of lameness, when inflammation or the\nimmune system is activated to help the body heal itself, it uses more energy to\nfight inflammation, taking away energy that would have been distributed to the\nreproductive system, thus having a negative impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in the presence of lameness and inflammation, feed intake will likely decrease and the sow will not receive an adequate amount of energy and protein. This decrease in feed intake will also reduce the amount of nutrients available for reproduction by decreasing brain signals, hormone output and reproductive performance. Maintaining feed intake and nutritional balance is crucial to sow wellness and overall performance \u2014 the key is the supplementation of performance trace minerals into the diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trace Minerals and Their Impact on Reproductive Success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Feeding Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn) and Copper (Cu) as amino acid complexes have shown a decrease in claw lesions of sows<\/a> housed in gestation crates. In a recent study, sows were fed gestation and lactation diets that were identical except for the source of Zn, Mn and Cu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n