Description
Thin sow syndrome is a multifactorial condition in which sows loose a large proportion of their body weight during lactation and early pregnancy and fail to restore their condition post weaning. The weight loss is progressive leading to emaciation, poor fertility and death. The ethical and economical consequences are serious.
Signalment
The condition is usually sporadic but may also affect an unacceptionally high proportion of the herd. The cause is multifactorial, involving poor husbandry, inadequate feeding, parasites, and intestinal malabsorption which may be due to damage by parasites or another clinical disease.
Diagnosis
Clinical Signs
- Progressive weight loss
- Body condition score of 1 (out of 5)
- Pale mucosa
- Hypothermia
- Poor asppetite
- Low conception rates
- Infertility
A full clinical exam should be carried out to rule out other conditions. A faecal egg count should also be performed to determine whether parasites are part of the cause.
Pathology
Treatment
Once the weight loss is severe and the lack of body fat has forced the sow into a catatonic state treatment is not usually successful. Sows should be fed high qualily, high energy feed ad lib and kept warm in suitable housing. Culling affected animals and replacing stock is preferable inmany cases.
Focus should be on preventing the condition by adopting good management practices with individual feeding regimes, regular weight and condtion monitoring and effective parasite comntrol.
References
- Jackson, G.G. and Cockcroft, P.D. (2007) Handbook of Pig Medicine Saunders Elsevier
- Merck & Co (2008) The Merck Veterinary Manual (Eighth Edition) Merial
- Taylor, D.J. (2006) Pig Diseases (Eighth edition) St Edmunsdbury Press ltd
- It is associated with, but not caused by, Oesophagostomum.
- It is primarily a nutritional problem leading to the following sequence of events:
- if quantity of feed offered is inadequate for batch-fed sows, hungry individuals are more vulnerable to infection and likely to eat bedding (and infective larvae)
- acquire large worm burdens
- intestinal damage and large numbers of eggs excreted
- larger numbers of L3 in bedding
- downward spiral: more and more intestinal damage
- excessive loss of weight during lactation
- the thin sow syndrome.