Genetic parameters for urinalysis traits recorded on gestating sows

Abstract

Urinalysis can be used to detect sows that typically remain unidentified with health conditions such as urinary tract infection, and also provides data on physiological variables reflecting metabolic status (e.g. glucose, ketones). The urine was collected from gilts and sows (N=694) after animals were transferred to the farrowing shed. The traits were defined from the urinalysis test strip results, with additional subjective measurements of odour, colour and turbidity. Subsequently, a trait representing urinary tract infection was defined. Heritability estimates were in a range 0.08 to 0.36, except for the presence of blood (0.03). Strong genetic correlations were estimated between bilirubin and urobilinogen (0.78), but not other trait combinations. The study demonstrated that several urinalysis traits could be considered as selection criteria for increasing the health status of sows. However, alternative procedures to collect phenotypes are required to improve ease of data collection. The associations of urinalysis parameters with breeding objective traits requires further investigation.