Hog farmers could take the temperature of their sows
by using an infrared camera, avoiding herd upsets and the work of using a
thermometer on each sow, says Danish researcher Dennis Dam Sørensen from the
Department of Animal Science at Aarhus University.
By detecting fevers early, farmers can provide prompt
treatment and reduce piglet mortality rates.
Sørensen says fever detection is particularly
important just after farrowing when piglet survival depends on the health of
the sow.
"A systematic or automatic monitoring of all sows
with an infrared camera would be very useful for detecting the sows that may
have problems, and then to follow this up with a more accurate measurement with
a thermometer," says Sørensen.
He also found that it’s important that the sow’s skin
is dry when the infrared camera is measuring temperature. Wet skin is cooler.
