Genetic analysis of sow udder treatments

Compromised udder health affects the performance and welfare of the sow and her piglets. Indicator traits for udder health, such as somatic cell count, are difficult to collect and record in sows. In the current study, on-farm udder treatment records were available which were used as an indicator trait for udder health. Genetic parameters were estimated using a threshold model for the udder treatment trait (0 = no udder treatment, 1 = udder treatment). Udder treatments were found to be lowly heritable 0.07 (95% confidence interval between 0.04 and 0.11), and therefore, udder treatment records captured routinely in the herd recording system could potentially be used to genetically improve udder health in sows and reduce sow medication on farms. It was also found that sows who were treated for udder-related conditions weaned half a piglet less per litter compared to sows who were not treated for udder reasons, which equates to $30 AUD / litter and shows the economic importance of improving udder health in sows. Future work could investigate the correlation between udder treatments and other traits, such as sow longevity to further support these findings.