PARTNER FEATURE ▶▶▶
Linking sow diets to piglet nutrition
A relatively new approach in piglet nutrition is to see what role sow diets can play in getting the young ones to eat faster. Sensory imprinting plays this role: If sow and weaner diets are linked by the same flavour, young piglets learn to start eating like a pig sooner.
BY DR PIETRO CELI AND DR LUIZ SOUZA, ADISSEO, SINGAPORE I
Lactation 23 days
Group 1 Control
Nursery 7 days
n=420
35 pigs/pen 12 reps
n=420
35 pigs/pen 12 reps
n=420
35 pigs/pen 12 reps
n=420
35 pigs/pen 12 reps
NT2 & NT4 - Starter feed + palatant for piglets** at 500 g/t NT1 & NT3 - Starter feed control – sweetener at 140 g/t
* Krave AP, Adisseo ** Delistart K-link, Adisseo
48 ▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 2, 2021
t is well recognised that weaning is the most stressful time in the life of a pig, with many factors having a nega- tive influence on performance and health. A primary con- tributing factor to problems during this period is poor
feed intake and its relationship to the health and welfare of the pig in terms of reduced nutrient intake compromising digestion and gastrointestinal functionality. While pig feeding behaviour has a recognised genetic com- ponent, it is also based on learning processes. In general, pigs consume new feed cautiously in small amounts to avoid the possibility of eating something harmful. That process is known as “feed neophobia” and plays an important role in the development of eating behaviour in piglets. Therefore, piglets need to be educated to eat their post-weaning (starter) feed before weaning, and thus the palatability of their pre-weaning (including sow diets) and
Figure 1 - Investigating the effects of flavour in diets of sows and piglets.
LT1 Control n=92 LT2 n=90
LT2 Lactation feed + Palatant for older pigs* at 500 g/t
Group 2 Palatant for piglets**
Group 3 Control
Group 4 Palatant for piglets**
post-weaning diets need to be matched. Feeding behav- iour of the young piglet is crucial to its health, and a better understanding may lead to development of a solution for mitigating the negative impact of weaning stress.
Depending on older family members Apart from dietary selection through a trial-and-error process of individual learning, young animals also rely on older, expe- rienced family members for information on what to include in their diet. When learning about novel feed, young animals may direct more attention towards their mother. In general, piglets can learn how to eat like a pig from the sow, during the postnatal stage. Studies that have examined how piglets react to new feed with or without the presence of their mother have revealed that the sow has a major influ- ence in the learning behaviour of the piglets, as her presence during exposure to novel feed items reduces neophobia. In commercial settings, piglets are in one pen with the sow in the farrowing rooms and are quite often exposed to feed spillage and the flavour of sow feed. Therefore, it is not unrea- sonable to assume that linking the same flavour in the feed of the weaning pig with the feed of their dams would result in a higher feed intake of the newly weaned pig as the flavour is already familiar to them. That effect is commonly referred to as sensory imprinting.
Palatability solutions Palatability solutions are commonly used in swine production to promote natural feeding behaviour and production perfor- mance. Those solutions often target a specific stage of the production cycle. As sow productivity has sharply increased over the last 20 years, energy requirements of lactating sows need to be reassessed to ensure optimal sow welfare and productivity on the one hand and litter health and growth on the other. High- ly prolific sows have large litter sizes, meaning that the de- mand for milk by the suckling piglets results in higher energy requirements by the sow. Therefore, optimal feed intake is critical to sow and litter performance, particularly during lac- tation, when inadequate sow feed intake can lead to poor lit- ter weights and thin sows at weaning. To that end, Adisseo developed Krave AP, a solution for adult pigs. This feed addi- tive improves feed palatability to ensure optimal feed intake
PHOTO: SIMON ESKINAZI, ADISSEO
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