Removal of sows in Spanish breeding herds due to lameness: Incidence, related factors and reproductive performance of removed sows

•Lameness removal accounted for 4.3 % of 135,548 sows in 134 Spanish breeding herds.•Removal incidence was 33 times higher in week 5 after farrowing than in week 0.•The incidence was 5 times higher in weeks 4−5 after servicing than in weeks 0−1.•Re-serviced sows had 2 times higher removal incidence than first serviced sows.•Lame sows had delayed post-weaning estrus and smaller litter size than non-lame sows. Lameness is a major reason for sow removal in breeding herds. Increased removal occurrences for lameness decrease reproductive efficiency and increase welfare concerns. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to estimate the incidence rate of removal due to lameness, and to investigate the longevity and reproductive performance of sows removed due to lameness. Poisson regression models were applied to a cohort dataset of 137,907 sows in 134 herds located in Spain. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the performance of sows removed due to lameness and their controls in one-to-two matched case-control datasets. Removal due to lameness accounted for 4.3 % of all removed sows, and the incidence rate was 19.6 cases per 1000 sow-years (95 % confidence interval: 15.03, 25.51). The majority (70.4 %) of those removed were farrowed sows, whereas only 29.6 % were serviced sows. In farrowed sows, a higher incidence of removal due to lameness was associated with weeks 4–9 after farrowing, higher parity and winter farrowing (P