PHOTO: TROUW NUTRITION


Sows that farrow litters without any stillborn piglets have been observed to maintain their blood calcium levels as farrowing approached.


Table 1 – Farms participating in the field study across Europe and North America.


What factors are responsible for maintaining blood calcium levels? This question remains a topic of debate and is inspir- ing additional research regarding the proper levels of calcium supplementation in the sow’s diet. The sow’s calcium require- ments for maternal and foetal growth in late gestation are 8–12 grams/day. Current lactation diets supply sows with two to three times these levels, even accounting for absorption losses. However, it is unclear how much the onset of colos- trum production and uterine contractions close to farrowing add to the sow’s calcium requirements. It is also unclear whether calcium supplementation actually helps the sow or prevents the sow from utilising her own skeletal calcium reserves – a function required once lactation begins.


Water additive to reduce stillbirth Findings from the research centre inspired researchers to develop a concept to support the preparturient sow and ultimately reduce stillbirths. Gestawean OxiLiv is a patented drinking water additive dosed in the sow’s drinking water from five days before farrowing until the sow has farrowed. Water application removes the need for manual labour asso- ciated with alternative products such as top dresses, while also ensuring consistent 24-hour delivery to the sow. This two-pronged strategy helps the additive support the sow in maintaining her calcium levels prior to farrowing and also improves oxygenation of her piglets during the farrowing process. A series of field trials conducted on commercial farms throughout Europe and in Canada show that the additive re- sulted in more piglets being born alive. The study farms in Ta- ble 1 included various genetics and showed a range in histori- cal performance for stillbirth. In all farms, half of the sows received the drinking water additive dosed on the water line, and the other half received normal drinking water in the days prior to farrowing. Farm technicians recorded the number of piglets born alive, stillborn piglets and any interventions performed during far- rowing (i.e. manual palpation and assistance or oxytocin in- jections).


TN1 75 10.2 TN2 73 10.0 NL2 544 ES1 510 ES2 543


Number of sows in the study Historical % stillborn Genetics Hypor Hypor


10.2 12.7 8.6


CAN 191 10.0 FRA1 244 10.1 FRA2 204 GER 833


14.0 7.8


9.3 8.3


ITA 1603 10.0 BEL 445 POL 807


Danbred Hyp/Dan Hyp/Dan Hypor


Danbred Axiom PIC -


Topigs20 Danbred


On average, the drinking water additive’s benefit was +0.4 extra piglet born alive per litter. However, some studies achieved 0.5–0.7 extra piglet born alive per litter. Researchers noted an overall relationship between historical performance and the drinking water additive’s benefit. Farms experiencing higher stillbirth rates saw a higher benefit from the product than their counterparts that had relatively low stillbirth rates historically. The nature of management practices on hyperprolific farms made other benefits more challenging to assess. For example, based on the product’s mode of action which improves oxy- genation of piglets, it was expected that piglets would show improved vitality with lower pre-wean mortality. However, the frequent cross-fostering practices widely applied on the hyperprolific farms made it challenging to assure piglet trace- ability across treatments. On select farms where assessment of pre-wean survival was accurate, researchers observed that an extra 0.2–0.4 piglet survived to weaning, an additional benefit above the benefit at farrowing.


Herd welfare and production efficiency As producers around the globe strive to optimise herd wel- fare and production efficiencies, the studies provide encour- agement that progress can be achieved. To that end, Trouw Nutrition continues to invest in research to understand the interrelated factors surrounding the peripartal period. The ul- timate win will be developing replicable strategies to increase the number of piglets born alive, and optimising pigs’ vitality across each life stage.


▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 7, 2020 27


Total born 15.6 15.2 17.5 16.6 15.1 14.8 19.7 15.4 15.7 13.5 17.4 15.7


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