Porcine Health Management - A proposal of a fecal scoring system based on physicochemical analyses of suckling pig feces

Oct 13, 2026

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Digestive disorders are a major health problem in suckling piglets, and accurate visual identification of feces is essential for diagnosing enteric diseases. This observational study analyzed physicochemical properties of feces from piglets aged 0–21 days, including color and consistency, fecal dry matter (FDM), and pH. A total of 482 samples were categorized into six visual groups, and FDM was measured by oven and microwave drying to compare methods. Statistical agreement was assessed using duplicates and correlation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time4 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Results

Conclusion

Background

Digestive disorders and feces identification

Challenges in feces analysis

Existing fecal scoring approaches

Pons et al. Porcine Health Management (2025) 11:5 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s40813-024-00417-2](https://doi.org/10.1186/s40813-024-00417-2) Porcine Health Management RESEARCH Open Access A proposal of a fecal scoring system based on physicochemical analyses of suckling pig feces Ana Maria Pons 1,2, Blanca González3, Joan Pujols4,5,6, Jordi Serratosa7, Joaquim Segalés2,5,6, Ernesto A. Gómez8 and Jorge Martínez2,4,5* Abstract Background Digestive disorders are one of the main health problems in suckling piglets. The correct visual identification of feces in suckling piglets is an important tool for the diagnosis of enteric diseases. The aim of the present observational study was to analyze different physicochemical parameters of the feces of suckling piglets aged 0 to 21 days: visual appearance (color and consistency), fecal dry matter (FDM) content and pH. A total of 482 fecal samples were collected and visually classified into six categories: meconium, colostrum stage feces and 4 further scores according to the degree of consistency: 0 = form; 1 = pasty; 2 = liquid; and 3 = watery feces. The percentage of FDM was estimated by two drying methods, oven and microwave, doing duplicates in each one to evaluate methods, and both were compared. Results The most frequent colors of each feces category were dark green or dark brown for meconium; orange for colostrum; formed feces were mostly ocher and for the rest ofthe feces, the colors varied predominantly cream and ocher. Regarding FDM, liquid and watery categories had no statistically significant differences between them; meconiumand colostrum feces FDM were not statistically different from pasty feces. The correlation coefficient between the FDM values ofthe duplicate analyses of the samples by both methods (oven and microwave) was very high (> 0.988). Importantly, no differences were found while comparing the results between both methods (p = 0.078), and the correlation coefficient between all samples analyzed with both methods was very high (> 0.98). Meconium was the only one that differed significantly from the rest in terms of pH. Conclusion The physicochemical study of the feces of suckling piglets including color, FDM and pH allowed the establishment ofan objective fecal score to characterize the stools in this age group. Keywords Pig, Score, Dry-matter, pH, Neonatal, Lactating, Diarrhea *Correspondence: Jorge Martínez [Jorge.Martinez.Martinez@uab.cat](Jorge.Martinez.Martinez@uab.cat) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[http://creativeco](http://creativeco)[mmons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/](mmons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Pons et al. Porcine Health Management (2025) 11:5 Background One o

FAQs

What was the aim of the observational study?

To analyze multiple physicochemical parameters of suckling pig feces and support an objective fecal scoring approach for diagnosing enteric disease.

How were feces samples visually classified in the study?

A total of 482 samples were classified into six categories, including meconium, a colostrum stage, and four further consistency-based scores (0–3).

How did the two drying methods compare for measuring fecal dry matter (FDM)?

FDM values from oven and microwave duplicates showed very high correlation (>0.988), and no statistically significant differences were found between the methods (p = 0.078).

What did the study conclude about establishing a fecal score?

By combining color, FDM, and pH measurements, the study enabled the establishment of an objective fecal score to characterize stools in this age group.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Angel