Better Options Needed to Handle Non-Ambulatory Swine
When livestock can’t walk due to illness or injury, it’s not only stressful on the pig, but it’s also concerning from a worker safety standpoint. Researchers at Iowa State University explored handling tools for non-ambulatory swine and released their findings in two new ISU Animal Industry Reports.
National standards for humane management of swine require sick or injured non-ambulatory pigs to be moved with a drag mat in most situations, explains a university release. Not only does it reduce risk and stress to pigs, but it also makes moving an animal safer and less stressful for swine producers.
However, finding an effective and practical drag mat isn’t easy.
The National Pork Board guidance on humane swine handling through the Pork Quality Assurance® Plus certification and educational programs sets criteria swine caretakers and producers must use if they want certification through the Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA). The 2014 rules prohibit “dragging of conscious animals by any part of their body except in the rare case where a non-ambulatory animal must be moved for a life-threatening situation,” and indicate that non-ambulatory pigs may be moved by using a drag mat, the release says.
“These guidelines sound straightforward,” Anna Johnson, professor of farm animal behavior and welfare in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State, said in the release. “But producers have been telling us that to meet the requirements, they need better tools that are economically feasible, pig safe and worker safe.”
Johnson has been working with Ella Akin, an animal science graduate student, to research the problem. Akin, now a health and animal care associate for a pig production company in Nebraska, led the study for her master’s thesis, in cooperation with other team members. They recently reviewed the experience of workers in a pork production facility using four different types of handling tools.
Akin observed caretakers using rubber weaning mats during preliminary work. “We found that these rubber mats really are not satisfactory drag mats for finisher pigs,” she said in the release. “The mats were too heavy, tore easily and pigs kept sliding off. They also were difficult for caretakers to handle.”
So the team tested other options. Adapting other types of handling tools for on-farm use, they developed three modifications to test: a sked (from an HMH sked rescue system), a sled, and a deer sled modified from the type that hunters use (see images). Five swine facility employees evaluated the handling tools on a commercial swine facility site in central Iowa.
The employees moved three sizes of market-weight pigs (cadavers, about 130, 201 and 216 pounds) in two controlled experiments. Employees used each handling tool to move all sizes of pig over a distance representing a typical length from a home pen to a hospital pen, the release said.
In addition, employees had to roll, position and reposition the pigs. The researchers rated the handling tools’ effectiveness based on employee heart rate, force, handling tool duration and durability. They also looked at cost and employees’ satisfaction with using the handling tools.
The winner? The sked was considered the easiest tool to use overall, in part because of its convenient buckle-type restraints that helped keep the cadavers in place, the release said.
The sled was ranked as more difficult or neutral, as it took longer to secure string-type restraints. The modified deer sled was considered very easy to use due to its size and weight, but not preferred without restraint straps.
“It is important to look at handling tools that are CSIA compliant,” Johnson said in the release. “The stakes are pretty high. We need better solutions. This is a good start and gives us an idea of what isn’t working and what might work better. But these options still need more testing in different situations.”
This research can be found in two new ISU Animal Industry Reports, Employee Survey to Determine Movement Ease for Grow-Finish Pig Cadavers on-Farm using a Sked, Deer Sled and Modified Deer Sled and Movement Ease for Grow-Finish Pig Cadavers On-Farm using a Sked, Deer Sled, and Modified Dear Sled. Other authors include animal science professors Jason W. Ross and Kenneth J. Stalder; Suzanne T. Millman, professor of veterinary medicine; and Dr. Cassandra Jass and John Stinn, with Iowa Select Farms.
This research was supported by the Iowa Pork Producers Association, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State and the USDA, with in-kind assistance from Iowa Select Farms.
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