Pictorial Depiction of the Lying-down Behavior of Lame and Non-lame Multiparous Gestating Sows

This study was designed to pictorially depict and compare the lying-down sequence (i.e. postures adopted and movements during the process) in non-lame versus lame gestating sows. Ten multiparous sows (average parity 3.5 ± 1.6) with different degrees of lameness (lameness assessed on a 6 point scale where 0 =normal to 5 = severely lame, will not stand/move) were video recorded in a gestation pen during one lying-down event to identify the postures and movements adopted during the lying-down sequence. There was no difference among lameness scores in the postures or movements during the lying-down sequence of the observed sows except for the sow classified as severely lame (i.e. lameness score = 4) that showed uncontrolled lying-down behavior and finished the lying-down sequence on a “dog sitting” position. Results suggest that lameness score does not greatly affect the lying-down sequence when space restriction is not an issue. However, this could be due to the limited sample size and/or that lameness recorded in this study was not severe enough to affect lying-down behavior