Measurement of pig claw pressure distribution

Recent major improvements in pig rearing have mostly been concerned with welfare concepts and improvements in housing to provide improved environmental conditions. However, changes to increase pig production can cause the animal to stand on inadequate flooring, which often results in the development of hoof defects. The objective of this research was to simulate in laboratory static claw pressure distributions using a piezoelectric sensing device to correlate the regions of the claw under most stress to the defects frequently found in commercial pig production. Measurements were made on hard and rubber floorings. Validation was carried out by testing their effects in the field, using live animals under normal gait. The resulting force on the inner claw was larger than in the outer claw, though not significantly different (p = 0.06). Results also showed that the rear legs of pigs apply a greater amount of force on the outer claw compared to the inner claw, however this trend was not observed on the front claws as the load is more concentrated on the inner claws when compared to the outer claws. Different thicknesses of rubber mat (1 mm, 3 mm, 5 mm-resistant based foam) were tested in order to assess the ability to improve cushioning and pressure relief on the claws. Results comparing the mats showed that the 3 mm and 5 mm-resistant based foam showed major improvements in pressure relief when compared to the bare sensor and the 1 mm rubber mat (p = 0.014 and 0.001, respectively).