Body condition

It refers to the physical condition of the animal, in other words if it is thin, fat or normal. It is expressed as a score from 1 (thinner) to 5 (fatter).

• Subjective evaluation: observation and palpation of the sows at the base of the tail, hip bone, ribs and scoring from 1 to 5.
• Objective evaluation: using ultrasound; measuring backfat at the last rib.