These indicators could be used as follows, for example:
the piggery attendant could identify a compromised pig according to its BCS, then the pig’s hairiness, glucose,
and rectal temperature would be scored/measured;
if all were indicating the pig was compromised, it should
be allocated to a hospital pen for treatment; if none of
these parameters improved within 48 h, euthanasia is
considered to be an appropriate next step to alleviate the
pig’s suffering. As this is only a preliminary study, this
is not a recommendation; however, using a variety of
measures like these 3, it may be appropriate in the future
to aid management decisions for euthanasia. Further
research on this topic should include an assessment of
specificity and sensitivity, which could be effectively
done with a larger study and greater sample size.