calcium in particular from the bone depots with the onset of colostrum formation and thus compensates for the supply gap due to absorption from the intestine. That ensures that the metabolism is supplied with minerals throughout the en- tire lactation period, which is also necessary for high daily milk production. The box demonstrates how the DCAB can be calculated.
Fibre for breeding sows A great challenge in the feeding of high-performing breeding sows is how to ensure a sufficient supply of ‘crude fibre’. What is ‘crude fibre’, why does the sow need ‘fibre’ and are there better characteristics than ‘crude fibre’? The characteristic ‘crude fibre’ cannot be described precisely. What makes more sense is to use the terms Neutral Deter- gents Fibre (NDF) and Acid Detergents Fibre (ADF), as these quantities can be determined analytically. While the NDF con- tains all insoluble dietary fibres (insoluble hemicelluloses, cel- lulose and lignin), the ADF is part of the NDF and represents the cellulose and lignin (see Figure 2). Insoluble structural carbohydrates are used fermentatively in the large intestine of the breeding sow by the microbial pop- ulation. The resulting short-chain fatty acids have a direct or indirect positive influence on the stability of the microbial population in the intestine. In particular gram-positive bacte- ria such as Clostridia types are limited in their development.
On the other hand, these short-chain fatty acids – acetic acid, lactic acid, propionic acid, butyrate and other metabolites from fermentation – are available as energy sources in the breeding sow’s metabolism. Scientific studies show that adult monogastric animals such as breeding sows can receive 30% or more of their energy requirements from fermentation in the large intestine.
DCAB calculation
The DCAB (in meq per kg of feed) is calculated using the following equation: DCAB (meq/kg) = 43.5 × Na (g/kg) + 25.6 × K (g/kg) – 28.2 × Cl (g/kg) – 62.4 × S (g/kg)
Table 1 – Immunoglobulin content in colostrum.
Immuno- Hours after farrowing globulin
0 h
IgG, mg/mL IgA, mg/mL
6 h 11.4 12 h 24 h 48 h
64.6 59.8 34.7 10.3 5.7 13.1
72h 3.1
>72 h 1.0
9.3 5.0 3.8 4.1 4.0 IgM, mg/mL 8.4 7.3 4.8 3.5 2.7 3.1 1.6 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 35, No. 10, 2019 7
A highly produc- tive sow with her piglets on a farm in the Netherlands.
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