1. American Association of Swine Veterinarians 267
Poster 4
Hypocalcemia and calcium gluconate use
in sows at ­parturition
Alexander S. Hintz1
; Melissa Farber Billing2
, DVM
1
University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary ­Medicine; 2
Murphy-Brown LLC, Rose Hill, ­North Carolina
Introduction
Swine producers across the United
States administer calcium gluconate
to sows in the peri-parturient period
to prevent problems associated with
hypocalcemia, or low blood calcium
levels. Hypocalcemia is thought to
lead to uterine inertia during parturi-
tion, especially in multiparous sows,
resulting in increased stillborn rate.1
Calcium is also important through-
out lactation.2
However, the industry
lacks references that demonstrate the
prevalence of hypocalcemia within
the postpartum sow population; and
also lacks data proving the effective-
ness of supplementary calcium glu-
conate administration. In addition
to the cost of the therapy, producers
risk the loss of animals from broken
needles, infections, and abscesses
without the knowledge of the effec-
tiveness of the supplementation. To
explore the prevalence of hypocal-
cemia within the farrowing herd, as
well as to determine the effectiveness
of calcium gluconate supplementa-
tion post-farrowing, the following
objectives were ­proposed:
Objectives
1) Determine if hypocalcemia is
a problem in the selected herd. 2)
Examine the prevalence of hypocal-
cemia immediately post-farrowing
within the chosen herd. 3) Deter-
mine the effectiveness of a 23% calci-
um gluconate solution administered
intramuscularly to sows immediately
­post-farrowing.
Materials and ­methods
1) Sixty sows of differing parities
between 60 and 70 days in gestation
were properly restrained and blood
was collected via the external jugular
vein.3
Blood was processed for serum
analysis and serum calcium levels were
analyzed by a veterinary diagnostic
laboratory. 2 and 3) Sixty-one sows of
differing parities were separated into
two treatment groups. Each sow from
each treatment group was properly
restrained and bled three times: less
than 4 hours post-farrowing, 16 hours
post-farrowing, and 24 hours post-far-
rowing. The samples were processed
and analyzed as in part 1. The Treat-
ment Group (TM) included 32 sows
administered a veterinarian-prescribed
20cc dose of a 23% calcium gluconate
solution intramuscularly immediately
following the first blood collection.
The Control Group (CON) included
30 sows not administered calcium
­gluconate.
Results
1) The average serum calcium level
in the mid-gestation sows was 10.14
mg/dL, with 95% Confidence In-
terval (CI) of ± 0.06 mg/dL. The
established normal range for serum
calcium levels in sows is 9.0-13.0
mg/dL.4
Therefore hypocalcemia
is not a problem in the gestating
herd. 2 and 3) The average serum
calcium level from the first post
farrowing collection in the 61
sows was 9.76 mg/dl with a 95%
CI of ± 0.16 mg/dL. These results
were within the established serum
calcium levels for sows. Moreover,
there was no significant difference
in serum calcium levels between
sows of different parities at the first
collection. 1st
, 2nd
and 3rd
, and 4th
+
parity sows averaged 9.84, 9.93, and
9.7 mg/dL, respectively, all within
the established normal range. TM
serum calcium from the three timed
collections averaged 9.76 mg/dL,
9.62 mg/dL, and 9.56 mg/dL, re-
spectively. CON serum calcium from
the three timed collections aver-
aged 9.81 mg/dL, 9.83 mg/dL, and
9.85 mg/dL, respectively. (Table 1)
These results all fall within the es-
tablished normal serum calcium
levels. Therefore, the 20cc dose of
calcium gluconate had no significant
effect on serum calcium levels. These
results can be utilized by industry
veterinarians and professionals to see
that hypocalcemia is not a significant
problem immediately post-farrowing
in sows of all parities and that intra-
muscular administration of calcium
gluconate does not significantly alter
serum calcium levels in postpartum
­sows.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Drs.
Glen Almond and Geoffrey Smith,
NCSU-CVM, the veterinary team
at Murphy-Brown LLC, and the
employees of Farm 27021 for their
assistance with this ­project

2. American Association of Swine Veterinarians268
2013 AASV Annual Meeting: Purpose-Inspired Practice
Table 1: Serum calcium results by parity
Test group First collection
average serum
Ca (mg/dL)
Second collection
average serum
Ca (mg/dL)
Third collection
average serum
Ca (mg/dL)
P-Values (comparing 1st and
2nd and 1st and 3rd
collections, respectively)
Parity 1 TM
(n = 9)
9.93 9.59 9.29 .30 .15
Parity 2-3 TM
(n = 10)
9.93 9.64 9.93 .28 1.00
Parity 4+ TM
(n = 12)
9.58 9.66 9.47 .72 .68
Parity 1 CON
(n = 7)
9.73 9.68 9.57 .94 .79
Parity 2-3 CON
(n = 9)
9.93 10.09 10.14 .50 .31
Parity 4+ CON
(n = 14)
9.76 9.74 9.8 .91 .84
References
1. Miller, Dale. “Sow and Pig Care-Birth to
Weaning.” National Hog Farmer. N.p., n.d. ­Web.
2.Cromwell, Gary L. “Calcium and Phosphorus
- Two Important Minerals for Pigs.” (n.d.): n.
pag. University of Kentucky Animal ­Science.
3.”Blood Sampling.” Diseases of Swine. Ed.
Barbara E. Straw, Jeffery J. Zimmerman, Sylvie
D’Allaire, and David J. Taylor. Ames, IA: Black-
well Pub., 2006. N. pag. ­Print.
4. Miller, M. B., T. G. Hartsock, B. Erez, L.
Douglass, and B. Alston-Mills. “Effect of Di-
etary Calcium Concentrations during Gestation
and Lactation in the Sow on Milk Composition
and Litter Growth.” Journal of Animal Science
(1994): 1315–319. ­Print.