Claw and leg lesions in preweaning piglets : a comparative study of piglets reared on structured polyurethane coating and piglets reared on concrete floors

Abstract: Floor surface in pig facilities can have an impact on animal welfare and pig health, as it can cause the pig physical damage and thereby increased risk of infectious diseases and lameness. The development of pig housing systems has resulted in a decreased use of bedding. It seems hard to find the optimal floor in farrowing pens, as it must suit both the sow and piglets. The floor friction needs to be adequate to avoid slips and at the same time should the floor be non-abrasive. Abrasions and lesions caused by the floor are not only causing the animal suffering, but are also negative from an economical aspect. A soft polyurethane coating with a profile in pens with nursing piglets was tested and compared with a concrete floor, as the soft floor theoretically should be gentler toward piglets’ claws and legs. To avoid injuries caused by slips, a structured surface profile to increase the friction and floor grip of the polyurethane material was added. Damage scoring was done on preweaning piglets and in total 247 piglets was examined. Piglets reared on polyurethane material did have soles that were sharp edged, while concrete gave rounded soles (p<0.01), but besides that, no significant differences in prevalence of damaged soles and soft heels could be detected. The polyurethane material gave however the lowest damage scores on hocks (p<0.05). The scores of knee damage were similar regardless which floor material the piglet was reared on. Laboratory and field studies were done on the different floor materials to obtain technical values of friction and floor abrasiveness. The abrasive test resulted in the conclusion that concrete is more abrasive than polyurethane, regardless structure of the polyurethane coating. The friction test gave the conclusion that the polyurethane material in this study has the static friction coefficient (SCOF) and dynamic friction coefficient (DCOF) means similar to those of concrete.