Pig tail length is associated with the prevalence of tail malformations but not with inflammation of the tail.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Assuming that tail length is associated with the prevalence of tail biting, attempts are being made to shorten tails by genetic selection in order to avoid the painful procedure of docking. However, undesirable side effects such as kinky tails and inflammatory changes may occur. The aim of the present study was to clinically quantify in a population with known segregation of tail length, i) its variability, ii) possible associations with kinked tails and iii) possible associations of tail length and kinks with inflammation of the tail using 348 piglets at day 3 (undocked) and 39 (docked tails) of life.

Results

The relative tail length (tail tip to tail base/tail tip to ear base × 100) varied between 20.3 and 31.3%. A reduced tail length was associated with kinked

SUBMITTER: Egerer C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11863879 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature