NUTRITION ▶▶▶
A new boost of oxygen to sow productivity
Numbers of piglets per litter continue to grow from year to year. Yet it is also known that the more piglets born per litter, the longer the farrowing duration and greater the risk of stillbirths. Is there a way to make farrowing easier for sows and piglets?
BY MONIEK VAN DEN BOSCH, MARC DECOUX AND YANNICK LECHEVESTRIER, CAR- GILL ANIMAL NUTRITION AND HEALTH
T 39.0
38.0 37.0 36.0
35.0 34.0 33.0 32.0 31.0
pCO2 Blood gasses Source: Van den Bosch, unpublished. pO2
he selection for increased litter size is strategic for improving pig production efficiency. However, larg- er litters means longer farrowing, leading to higher risk of stillbirth and decreased piglet vitality. High
piglet vitality is crucial to significantly decrease pre-weaning mortality. Vital piglets are more likely to receive enough ener- gy through colostrum. This leads to a reduction of mortality due to crushing or hypothermia. Strong uterine contractions at farrowing can cause high pres- sure on the piglets in utero, as well as on the placenta and the umbilical cord. This directly leads to reduced blood flow, which can be aggravated through umbilical cord ruptures or placenta detachment. When severe enough, the lack of oxygen can induce a higher number of stillbirths or lower piglet vitality at birth. This results again in higher pre-weaning mortality. Figures 1A and 1B show the partial CO2
and O2
Figure 1A and 1B - Partial carbon dioxide (pCO2) and oxygen (pO2) pressure (A) and lactate levels (B) in umbilical cord blood of piglets
that died or survived until weaning. Survivors Pre-weaning mortality 5.50
5.00 4.50 4.00 3.50 3.00
lactate
Blood samples of umbilical cord blood give insight into how the farrowing process went for a piglet.
44 ▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 4, 2020
as lactate values of umbilical cord blood samples from piglets that either died at birth or survived until weaning. Results show that live-born piglets suffering hypoxia during their journey through the birth canal have more CO2
and lactate in
their blood at birth and a higher likelihood of dying before weaning. In short, how a piglet is born determines its chances of pre-weaning survival.
How farrowing duration is increased Research carried out by Cargill in the Netherlands estimates that, per piglet added to a litter, farrowing duration will in- crease by about ten minutes leading to an increase of 0.8% in incidence of stillbirth and a 1.7% increase in incidence of mortality.
Nutrition is one of many factors, besides litter size, affecting the duration of farrowing. Little is known about how much energy is required by the sow for farrowing, but it is likely comparable to heavy physical exercise. At the same time, sows are often left without feed for the sev- eral hours before farrowing. Recent work carried out by Takele Feyera at Aarhus University, Denmark, showed that the longer the time between the last meal of a sow and the onset of farrowing, the lower the glucose level in sow bloo, and the
pressure as well
mmHg
mmol/L
PHOTO: CARGILL
PHOTO: HANS PRINSEN
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