The Health Monitoring of

The Animal Science 483 “Swine Management ” course at the University of Tennessee directly worked with a group of swine from the final few weeks of pregnancy through the rebreeding process. As the university used a different provider of pregnant sows this year than in the past years, it was questionable as to how the naïve, currently unvaccinated sows would react to the very seasoned facility, “JARTU ” (Johnson Animal Research and Teaching Unit). The sows came from the University of Kentucky and arrived on September 3, 2013. They stayed on site for seven weeks, and they were scheduled to farrow September 18-20 but actually farrowed September 19-21. Because of the health concerns regarding stress and possible contraction of ailment from the sows ’ new environment, Sara Nash and Rebecca Kocak daily (with the exception of a few days) monitored the health of the sows from the day they arrived in their new facility. The following measurements were taken: rectal temperature, heart rate, and respiratory sounds (also known as lung scores). The respiratory sounds were monitored with an electronic veterinary stethoscope, “Whisper”, and its ability to identify respiratory issue