You measure sow longevity, but are you measuring what drives it?

DEPEW, N.Y. — Keeping sows productive through additional parities helps spread gilt development costs, maximize lifetime pigs weaned and improve overall herd profitability.

But while longevity is one of the industry’s most important performance indicators, many operations may overlook an early factor influencing whether a sow ever reaches her full productive potential.

“Longevity is already a main key performance indicator for most producers,” said Lucas Rodrigues, swine technical manager with Zinpro, of key performance indicators.

“The opportunity isn’t just focusing on longevity. It’s recognizing the factors that determine whether a sow stays in the herd long enough to reach her genetic potential.”

Rodrigues said he believes operations benefit from paying closer attention to claw health as a KPI because it can provide an earlier indication of future performance.

Most producers already monitor longevity and production metrics such as conception rate, farrowing rate and pigs weaned. Claw health information helps provide a more complete management picture.

Longevity Issues Start Early

Most involuntary removals don’t happen overnight. They’re often the result of issues that begin months, or even years, before a sow is ultimately culled.

“Lameness is still one of the primary reasons sows leave the herd,” Rodrigues said. “But when you start investigating why a sow became lame, you’ll often find the process started much earlier with claw lesions that developed over time.”

Research has shown claw quality established as early as parity one can influence productivity throughout a sow’s lifetime.

Sows entering production with poor claw quality consistently produced fewer piglets across multiple parities and experienced higher stillborn rates than sows with healthier claws.

“If a sow starts her productive life with poor claw quality, that concern often continues throughout her lifetime,” Rodrigues said. “Lesions don’t just affect mobility later on. We’ve also seen associations with farrowing performance and overall productivity.”

Trace Mineral Nutrition Aids Claw Health

While management practices such as housing, flooring and stocking density all influence claw health, trace mineral nutrition plays a critical role in supporting claw integrity over time.

Trace minerals are essential for the formation and maintenance of keratinized tissues, including the hoof. When trace mineral nutrition is optimized, it supports stronger claw structure, improved tissue integrity and greater resilience to the daily stressed.

Rodrigues noted that while claw lesions develop gradually, trace mineral nutrition is one of the tools producers can use proactively to influence claw quality before problems become visible.

“Nutrition is one of the most proactive tools producers have,” he said. “Using bioeffective trace minerals helps ensure those nutrients are utilized where they’re needed to support claw health before problems become visible.”

Rodrigues recalled one operation where routine claw evaluations prompted changes to the farm’s trace mineral program and management practices.

Within several months, claw lesion scores began improving alongside production performance. Later, after the trace mineral program was reversed, claw lesion scores and performance gradually declined again.

“It reinforced that claw health isn’t something you fix once,” Rodrigues said. “It’s something you continue managing throughout the sow’s productive life.”

The Productivity Challenge Producers May Not See

Unlike a lame sow, which is easy to identify, early claw lesions can be subtle.

“When you see a lame sow, everyone knows there’s a problem,” Rodrigues said. “The harder part is recognizing mild claw lesions that may become lameness if nothing changes.”

He described claw lesions as a “silent problem” because they can quietly affect productivity while the sow otherwise appears healthy.

“A sow can still produce reasonably well while carrying claw lesions,” he said. “That’s why they can be overlooked. But over time those lesions can worsen, reducing productivity and eventually contributing to removal from the herd.”

The greatest opportunity is supporting claw health before lesions become a bigger problem. Regular claw evaluations paired with targeted trace mineral nutrition can help maintain claw integrity and reduce lesion risk throughout a sow’s productive life.

“The earlier we can identify changes in claw health, the more opportunities we have to support that sow,” Rodrigues said. “Small adjustments made early can help keep her productive for longer.”

Why This Conversation Matters Now

While claw health has always influenced sow longevity, Rodrigues said he believes today’s production systems make proactive management even more important.

“As more U.S. producers move toward group housing systems, we expect claw health to become an even bigger consideration,” he said.

Group housing allows greater freedom of movement, but it also increases interactions among sows as they establish hierarchy. More movement and more competition can place additional stress on claws.

“Group housing itself isn’t the problem,” Rodrigues said. “It just means we need to pay closer attention to how we’re managing those sows and how we support them nutritionally to handle that added stress.”

Measure What Drives Your Most Important KPI

By measuring not only longevity, but also the factors that drive it — and by proactively supporting claw strength through targeted trace mineral nutrition — producers can better support healthier sows that stay in the herd longer.

“Claw lesion prevalence should become another KPI producers consider because these data tell us something about where that sow may be heading,” Rodrigues said.