Table 3.
List of clinical variables, showing significant deterioration during transportation in the 522 sows transported to slaughter under commercial Danish conditions.
| Clinical measure | Descriptiona | Unit or category | Farm | Slaughter plant | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superficial skin lesions, total (SSL_Total; frequency) | Elongated superficial skin lesions, restricted to dermis and longer than 5 cm. Counted separately for each body part (front, middle and, hind), and censored at 15 or more SSL_Total per body part | Median | 0 | 6 | P < 0.001 |
| IQR | [0, 1] | [2, 12] | |||
| Range | (0–45) | (0–45) | |||
| NA | 0 | 4.4 | |||
| Superficial skin lesions, front (SSL_Front, frequency) | Elongated superficial skin lesions on the front, restricted to dermis and longer than 5 cm. Censored at 15 or more SSL_Front per body part | Median | 0 | 3 | P < 0.001 |
| IQR | [0, 0] | [1, 7] | |||
| Range | (0–15) | (0–15) | |||
| NA | 0.4 | 4.4 | |||
| Wounds (frequency) | Skin lesions involving at least dermis and a diameter larger than 1 cm | Median | 1 | 2 | P < 0.001 |
| IQR | [0, 2] | [1, 3] | |||
| Range | (0–7) | (0–13) | |||
| NA | 0 | 2.5 | |||
| Redness and swelling (frequency) | Areas with redness and swelling | Median | 0 | 0 | P < 0.001 |
| IQR | [0, 0] | [0, 1] | |||
| Range | (0–4) | (0–5) | |||
| NA | 0.6 | 2.9 | |||
| Torn hoofs (% sows) | None | 98.7 | 95.2 | P = 0.01 | |
| >1 | 0.6 | 1.7 | |||
| NA | 0.8 | 3.1 | |||
| Vulva lesions (% sows) | Elongated superficial skin lesion and/or wounds on the udder (see definitions above) | None | 92.3 | 80.3 | P < 0.001 |
| >1 | 7.3 | 15.5 | |||
| NA | 0.4 | 4.2 | |||
| Udder lesions (frequency) | Elongated superficial skin lesion and/or wounds on the udder (see definitions above) | Median | 0 | 0 | P < 0.05 |
| IQR | [0, 1] | [0, 1] | |||
| Range | (0–7) | (0–8) | |||
| NA | 1.5 | 4.6 | |||
| Gait Score (% and score) | 0: Normal gait, symmetrical limb movement | 0 | 87.0 | 78.9 | P < 0.001b |
| 1: Normal gait, but compromised movement | 1 | 9.6 | 17.1 | ||
| 2: Moderately lame | 2 | 0.8 | 1.3 | ||
| 3: Severely lame, one or more non-weight bearing limbs (Not fit for transportation) | 3 | 0 | 0.2 | ||
| NA | 2.7 | 2.5 | |||
| Skin elasticity (seconds) | Quantified by pinching the skin carefully with two fingers and recording the time (seconds) until the skin has recoiled. | Median | 3 | 3 | P < 0.001 |
| IQR | [2, 3] | [3, 4] | |||
| Range | (1–6) | (1–9) | |||
| NA | 2.7 | 3.1 | |||
| Respiration rate (frequency) | Frequency per 30 s | Median | 16 | 18 | P < 0.001 |
| IQR | [13.5, 21] | [14, 23] | |||
| Range | (7–42) | (6–69) | |||
| NA | 2.7 | 4.4 | |||
| Respiration quality (% sows) | Forced: abdominal movement included Superficial: involving only thorax | Normal | 97.9 | 92.2 | P < 0.05 |
| Forced | 0.6 | 1.3 | |||
| Superfical | 0.8 | 1.9 | |||
| NA | 0.8 | 4.6 |
Values are given as either frequency per sow, percentage of sows or otherwise stated. Missing data (data not available, NA) are presented as percentage of sows. IQR: Interquartile range
a
For further details see Fogsgaard et al. (11).
b
Analyzed with Signed Rank Test, but shown as percentage of sows. Farm: Median, 0; IQR, [0, 0]; interval, (0–2), Slaughter plant: Median, 0; IQR, [0, 0]; Interval, (0–3).