Correlation between anaemia, haemoglobin and growth As a swine producer, it is crucial to understand the negative growth impact of having an anaemic herd. A study from 2015 investigated the association between haematological parame- ters at weaning and post-weaning weight gain in piglets. Five well-managed conventional herds with an average herd size of 1,000 sows were selected. All herds were provided a single injectable iron supplementation from different commercial products at 3-4 days of life. 99 piglets were randomly selected, and blood samples were taken from them at 1–3 days before weaning. The associations between each measured haemato- logical parameter and the average daily gain (ADG) of piglets in a three-week period were tested. This study showed a positive association between haemoglobin and ADG in the three-week period, and also, red blood cells and haematocrit had a positive association with ADG. An increase in 10 g haemoglobin/l blood corresponded to a weight gain improvement of 17.2 g daily weight gain in the three weeks post-weaning period (Figure 2). During the first weeks after weaning, the regulation of intestinal absorption may not be fully functional, which could partly explain the importance of improved haematological status at weaning for the improved post-weaning growth in piglets.
Haemoglobin levels with additional iron supplementation If a herd is anaemic, how is it possible to correct the haemoglo- bin levels to achieve optimal growth results? Earlier studies have shown that an additional iron injection resulted in greater growth post-weaning in piglets. This may be due to improved oxygen transport, immune function, vitality, metabolism, and intestinal health in the piglets as haemoglobin levels increase. A well-recognised study from 2008 investigated whether pig- lets supplemented with iron through an injection of 200 mg of iron dextran, the product Uniferon from Pharmacosmos, at day 3 and a 2nd
injection of 200 mg iron dextran at day 20 of
life (trial group 2) would develop a higher haemoglobin con- tent at weaning and grow faster from life day 20 to 34 (weaning age) and from life day 34 to day 50. The trial was set up in a 500 sow production unit, and blood samples were taken at day 20 and day 34 (at weaning) to measure content of haemoglo- bin. Weighing was performed at day 0, 20, 34 and 50 after birth. 236 piglets were included. They all showed a high poten- tial for growth and performed well until weaning except 14 piglets that were excluded. The study showed a significantly higher growth rate post- weaning and significantly higher content of haemoglobin at weaning in pigs from trial group 2 (iron supplemented at day 3 and day 20) compared to trial group 1 (iron supplemented at day 3) (see Table 1). The iron content in both groups was con- sidered adequate, but this trial showed a higher average growth after weaning if there was a higher average haemoglobin, thus indicating that piglets’ growth rate would increase after wean- ing if they were supplemented with an extra injection of the iron dextran product.
Iron is beneficial for all pigs Earlier trials have shown that iron supplementation was indi- cated only for the largest half of a piglet population. This study could not find a difference when separating in large and small
Figure 1 - Comparison of the percentage of anaemic piglets on a commercial swine farm at weaning and 14 days post-weaning. All pigs were given iron dextran (200mg) at processing. At weaning, Active Group 1 was given iron dextran (200 mg) and the Control Group 2 was given saline (1 cc). 25%
Weaning
20% 15% 10% 5%
–5% 0%
14 Days Post-Weaning
Active Group 1 (2×200mg)
Control Group 2 (1×200mg) Treatment Group
Figure 2 - Association between haemoglobin concentr- ation at weaning and average daily gain (ADG) three weeks post-weaning in piglets. ADG was calculated with 6 kg of weaning weight.
300
250 200 150 100
50 0 70 80 90 100 110 120 Haemoglobin, g/I 130 140 150
pools of pigs, but on the contrary, found that all pigs on aver- age would benefit from an extra injection. This may be due to the fact that all pigs were growing very well, due to high birth weight, and the study confirmed the assumption that fast growing and healthy pigs need to be supplemented with more iron than the usual 200 mg used at day 1-4 of life. In short, Haemoglobin levels and growth are closely related, and there is an unexploited potential in assessing and correct- ing haemoglobin levels in piglets even on well-managed farms. To this end, a second injectable iron injection has proven effec- tive in order to reach the growth potential within the herd.
References and SPC available upon request.
Table 1 – Trial results from additonal iron supplementation. Parameter
Difference group 1-2
Difference in gain d. 34-50 +20.10 Difference in HGB g/ltr
+10.02 95% CI
+4.51 + 35.7 +7.86 + 12.20
P-value 0.012
< 0.0001 PIGLETS - JULY/AUGUST 2016 35
PHOTO: PHARMACOSMOS
Estimated ADG, g/day
No. of Piglets with Anaemia (%)
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
