Anna Valros

Claudio Oliviero

Jukka Heikkonen

KR White

Mari Heinonen

Matti Pastell

Olli Peltoniemi

Outi Vainio

PR English

RH Bradshaw

SA Edwards

TG Hartsock

WF Hendrix

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

English

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BioMed CentralActa Veterinaria Scandinavica
ssOpen AcceOral presentation
Modern technology in supervision of parturition to prevent piglet 
mortality
Claudio Oliviero*1, Mari Heinonen1, Matti Pastell2, Jukka Heikkonen3, 
Anna Valros4, Outi Vainio5 and Olli Peltoniemi1
Address: 1University of Helsinki, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Department of Production Animal Medicine, 04920 Saarentaus, Finland, 
2University of Helsinki – Department of Agrotechnology, 00014 Helsinki, Finland, 3Helsinki University of Technology – Laboratory of 
Computational Engineering, 02150 Espoo, Finland, 4University of Helsinki, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Research Centre for Animal Welfare, 
Department of Production Animal Medicine, 00014 Helsinki, Finland and 5University of Helsinki, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine – Department 
of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Email: Claudio Oliviero* - claudio.oliviero@helsinki.fi
* Corresponding author    
Introduction
Perinatal mortality in the pig is still an unsolved problem.
Causes of mortality in this phase are not always well
known due to unreliability of the diagnosis made by a
farmer. However, valuable scientific data are available
from previous research. Crushing has been found to be an
important cause of perinatal death, but often it is only the
last event of a series of previous causal effects, as some
studies have demonstrated [1,2]. Hypothermia and star-
vation are usually underestimated, but frequently they are
the direct, or the main predisposing cause of perinatal
mortality.
Human supervision at farrowing can halve the piglets'
perinatal mortality [3]. However this would heavily affect
the economy of the herd, due to high costs of workers. In
the near future, modern technology could be used to bet-
ter supervise farrowing and reduce the piglet mortality,
without being too costly. Predictive signs of farrowing are
the increase of sow's body temperature [4] and, specially,
the increase of sow's activity due to nest-building behav-
iour [5,6].
In the "Sikatekno project" (Helsinki University – Faculty
of Veterinary Medicine) we are testing sensors for measur-
ing movement in order to predict the beginning of farrow-
ing and thus alert the farmer for supervision. We are
investigating also the use of thermal cameras aimed to dis-
cover piglets suffering of hypothermia in the first days
after farrowing. This would allow a prompt and appropri-
ate treatment of weak newborn piglets, improving their
chances of survival.
Materials and methods
Photocell sensors were used to detect movements of 8
sows in crates (from 5 days before farrowing to 3 days
after). The sensors were placed so that each time the sow
was standing, the photocell's beam was intercepted and
the signal acquired by a datalogger and measurement soft-
ware (Biopac System Inc, USA). Additionally, an elastic
electret film sensor (Emfit Oy, Finland) was placed on the
floor under the sows (n = 4). Any movements of the sows
produced a physical stress of the sensor, which generated
a corresponding electrical signal recorded by the con-
nected datalogger and software (Biopac System Inc, USA).
We investigated also the pre-farrowing rise of sows' body
temperature, using a thermal camera (IR Flex Cam, Infra-
red Solutions Inc, USA). Repeated pictures of the sows'
head were obtained daily from 5 days before farrowing.
Average skin temperature of the area around the eyes was
from Perinatal Death In Domestic Animals: The 20th Symposium of the Nordic Committee for Veterinary Scientific Cooperation (NKVet)
Reykjavik, Iceland. 26–27 April 2007
Published: 12 December 2007
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 2007, 49(Suppl 1):S12 doi:10.1186/1751-0147-49-S1-S12
<supplement> <title> <p>Perinatal Death In Domestic Animals: The 20th Symposium of the Nordic Committee for Veterinary Scientific Cooperation (NKVet)</p> </title> <note>Meeting abstracts – A single PDF containing all abstracts in this Supplement is available <a href="http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1751-0147-49-S1-full.pdf">here</a>.</note> <url>http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/files/pdf/1751-0147-49-S1-info.pdf</url> </supplement>
This abstract is available from: http://www.actavetscand.com/content/49/S1/S12
© 2007 Oliviero et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Page 1 of 2
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obtained with the thermal camera software (Flex View,
Infrared Solutions Inc, USA).
Moreover, the thermal camera was used to compare total-
body skin temperature of weak newborn piglets to healthy
ones.
All the results were subjected to analysis of variance with
repeated measurements (GLM repeated measurements).
Results
The average of minutes/hour spent by sows standing was
significantly higher in the 24 h before farrowing than all
the other periods monitored (p < 0.001; n = 8).
The elastic electret film sensor recorded a significantly
higher amount of peaks in the 24 h before farrowing than
all the other periods monitored (p < 0.001; n = 4).
Skin temperature of the area around the eyes increased by
0.98 ± 0.31°C (mean ± SD; n = 4) from day -5 to day 0.
Weak piglets, showing difficulties to move and with poor
response to external stimuli, had an average total-body
skin temperature lower than healthy piglets (p < 0.001; n
= 14).
Discussion
Our preliminary findings show the possibility of develop-
ing a sensor-software system that could be used to predict
the beginning of farrowing. This system could be inte-
grated with more sophisticated devices, like thermal cam-
era, to facilitate the detection of weak piglets suffering
from hypothermia in the first hours of life.
References
1. Edwards SA: Perinatal mortality in the pig: environmental or
physiological solutions?  Liv Reprod Sci 2002, 78:3-12.
2. English PR: Mortality and variation in growth of piglets: a study
of predisposing factors with particular reference to sow and
piglet behaviour.  In PhD thesis University of Aberdeen; 1969. 
3. White KR, Anderson DM, Bate LA: Increasing piglet survival
through an improved farrowing management protocol.  Can
J Anim Sci 1996, 76:491-495.
4. Hendrix WF, Kelley KW, Gaskins CT, Bendel RB: Changes in res-
piratory rate and rectal temperature of swine near parturi-
tion.  J Anim Sci 1978, 47:188-191.
5. Bradshaw RH, Broom DM: A comparison of the behaviour and
performance of sows and piglets in crates and oval pens.  Anim
Sci 1999, 69:327-333.
6. Hartsock TG, Barczewski RA: Prepartum behavior in swine:
effects of pen size.  J Anim Sci 1997, 75:2899-2904.Page 2 of 2
(page number not for citation purposes)


Modern technology in supervision of parturition to prevent piglet mortality

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Modern technology in supervision of parturition to prevent piglet mortality

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