Rate of umbilical healing in newborn piglets: the influence of neonatal practices and birth weight

This study evaluated the effects of different umbilical cord care techniques in newborn piglets. A total of 212 piglets from 15 sows were allocated in a randomized block design. Treatments included: No Intervention (NI) – no intervention was performed in the cord at birth; Tying and Cutting (TC) – the cord was tied onto itself and cut below the knot; and String, Cutting, and Iodine (SCI) – the cord was tied with string, cut, and immersed in 10% iodine solution. The following variables were analyzed: colostrum intake, incidence of hemorrhage, healing time, incidence of umbilical hernias, growth performance and economic viability. No treatment effects were found among treatments for colostrum intake, performance, incidence of hemorrhage, or umbilical hernia occurrence. Piglets in the TC group showed a slightly shorter healing time than those in the NI and SCI groups (P = 0.035). Birth and weaning weights were negatively correlated with healing time—lighter piglets exhibited slower healing, whereas faster-healing piglets achieved higher weaning weights. In conclusion, additional umbilical care such as iodine application did not improve umbilical healing and performance. Under the conditions of this study, additional procedures such as iodine application did not prove extra benefits compared with a simple tying technique