Gastric ulceration is of importance in the pig industry as it is highly prevalent (sows: 37.3%; growers: 30% to 90%) and it may cause some level of discomfort/pain in affected pigs, which is of animal welfare concern. Furthermore, gastric ulceration can affect the productivity and sustainability of the system (eg increased mortality, reduced weight gain).  

Even though there is a growing knowledge of the risk factors and therapeutic procedures for gastric ulceration, this condition is still present in the pig industry. One of the reasons might be the current lack of a low-cost, well-validated method to quickly and easily diagnose the condition in real-time (on farm and/or research settings) without having to euthanize the animal.  

We aimed to investigate two possible non-invasive measures of gastric ulcers: oral behaviour and salivary metabolites. Thirty-eight sows (due to be culled as part of farm management) were observed for oral behaviour and saliva samples taken. Stomachs were visually assessed post-mortem to assess gastric ulceration. Gastric ulcers are scored depending on severity.  

Our results showed that sow behaviour was not affected by stomach ulceration. However, we did find that salivary composition may be a potentially useful indicator of gastric ulceration in pigs since saliva changed with the type of stomach lesions and the progression of the condition. This study also confirms previous findings of the presence of gastric ulcers in adult female pigs and shows that they might be a much bigger problem than previously thought - even though the sows in this study were kept in group housing, stable groups, and given plenty of uncut straw (all of which are considered best practice when caring for pigs), 67.57% of sows still had a high level of ulcers. 

 This work was presented at: 

‘Diagnosing the hidden problem of gastric ulcers in pigs: can behaviour or salivary metabolites help?’ In: Society of Feed Technologist Annual Pig Conference, Birmingham, UK (Oral presentation) 

‘Investigating non-invasive methods of gastric ulcers detection in sows: Oral behaviours, and metabolomic analysis of saliva’ In: UFAW online Animal Welfare Conference 2023 (Poster presentation)