Group suckling in organic sow units

Group suckling - a combined system of single and group housing of lactating sows - appears a suitable system for organic pig production. The aim of the study was to describe the status quo of group suckling in organic farms. 31 organic sow units in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were investigated. Stockmen were interviewed, stables were inspected and animals were examined during three visits on each farm enterprise, respectively. The majority of farms kept three sows with piglets in one group suckling unit. 76 % of the group suckling sows (n=192) were in a good nutritional condition, 18 % were considered thin and 8 % of sows were too fat. Relatively few sows showed skin lesions caused by poor housing conditions. Only 18 of 203 sows behaved anxiously or aggressively. On average 9.1 piglets per sow and litter were weaned. Amongst the investigated farms, none was optimally managed. However, no plausible correlations between biological performance, animal health, human-animal relationship on the one hand and farm-specific production conditions (housing, management, feeding, watering) on the other hand were determined. It can therefore be deduced that the “success” or “failure” of the study farms can be attributed to the interaction of different factors rather than to individual production factors

Medicinal plants - prophylactic and therapeutic options for gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in calves and piglets? A systematic review.

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in calves and piglets lead to significant economic losses in livestock husbandry. A high morbidity has been reported for diarrhea (calves ≤ 35 %; piglets ≤ 50 %) and for respiratory diseases (calves ≤ 80 %; piglets ≤ 40 %). Despite a highly diverse etiology and pathophysiology of these diseases, treatment with antimicrobials is often the first-line therapy. Multi-antimicrobial resistance in pathogens results in international accordance to strengthen the research in novel treatment options. Medicinal plants bear a potential as alternative or additional treatment. Based on the versatile effects of their plant specific multi-component-compositions, medicinal plants can potentially act as 'multi-target drugs'. Regarding the plurality of medicinal plants, the aim of this systematic review was to identify potential medicinal plant species for prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases and for modulation of the immune system and inflammation in calves and piglets. RESULTS Based on nine initial sources including standard textbooks and European ethnoveterinary studies, a total of 223 medicinal plant species related to the treatment of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases was identified. A defined search strategy was established using the PRISMA statement to evaluate 30 medicinal plant species starting from 20'000 peer-reviewed articles published in the last 20 years (1994-2014). This strategy led to 418 references (257 in vitro, 84 in vivo and 77 clinical trials, thereof 48 clinical trials in veterinary medicine) to evaluate effects of medicinal plants and their efficacy in detail. The findings indicate that the most promising candidates for gastrointestinal diseases are Allium sativum L., Mentha x piperita L. and Salvia officinalis L.; for diseases of the respiratory tract Echinacea purpurea (L.) MOENCH, Thymus vulgaris L. and Althea officinalis L. were found most promising, and Echinacea purpurea (L.) MOENCH, Camellia sinensis (L.) KUNTZE, Glycyrrhiza glabra L. and Origanum vulgare L. were identified as best candidates for modulation of the immune system and inflammation. CONCLUSIONS Several medicinal plants bear a potential for novel treatment strategies for young livestock. There is a need for further research focused on gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases in calves and piglets, and the findings of this review provide a basis on plant selection for future studies