PIGLET FEEDING ▶▶▶ A piglet is being given a yellow ear tag.


the teat order that the piglets established when with the first sow (before movement) was disturbed even by the transfer onto the nurse sow. This highlights again that piglets should be moved as little as possible.


The ones that are left behind Dr Schmitt also observed the piglets that were left behind on the mother sow after the extra ones were moved to a nurse sow. She used sows that had more than 14 piglets born alive, and 24 hours after birth moved enough piglets so that only 12 were left behind with the mother. Here we found benefits for the piglets that were left behind; these performed fewer teat changes after the extra piglets were taken away. We moved the larger piglets from each litter, because these ones would be better able to adjust to moving to a new sow. By the time of weaning, the small piglets that had been left with the mother sow had caught up with the bigger piglets that were moved, so that their weights were the same. This is an obvious advantage at weaning, as it makes it easier to form groups of similarly sized pigs.


Cross-fostering throughout lactation In the nurse sow studies, cross-fostering after 24 hours was only carried out if there was a piglet starving or at risk of dy- ing. After these piglets were moved, their growth continued to be monitored until weaning. Piglets that were very light at birth (in the lightest 20%) were cross-fostered on average about ten days into lactation, whereas for the rest it was about 17 days in. Average daily gain (ADG) for the very light piglets did not im- prove after cross-fostering, and in fact about 30% of them died anyway. However, for piglets that were heavier at birth, average daily gain improved after cross-fostering and only 13% died. This shows that for piglets that are born a normal weight, but for some reason do not thrive in early lactation, there is a benefit in moving them to a new sow. However, for the lighter piglets, the benefit is not as obvious. Besides the work with nurse sows, Teagasc has also carried out work on commercial farms where cross-fostering was carried out routinely by farm staff. In this situation piglets


were not necessarily cross-fostered due to starvation or risk of dying, but the focus was also on evening up litters and matching piglet sizes. From one study, the Teagasc team found that nearly 20% of pigs were cross-fostered more than once, and that that was associated with a greater risk of pre- and post-weaning mor- tality, pericarditis and heart condemnations. These are likely related to ongoing fighting and exposure to new pathogens at every move. In another commercial study the team investigated how cross-fostering affects growth. On that farm 44% of piglets were fostered at least once, and these were representative of all birthweights. ADG was reduced by 21g/day for cross-fos- tered piglets, resulting in them being about 550g lighter than non-fostered piglets at weaning. Worryingly, these differenc- es were greatest in piglets that were the heavy ones at birth. For the lightest 20% of piglets, cross-fostering had no effect, positive or negative, on ADG or weaning weight.


Take-home points • Movement of piglets should ideally be carried out only once, after the piglet has had colostrum from the mother; • Cross-fostering medium to heavy piglets is associated with lower ADG and weaning weights. Thus it should only be car- ried out if the litter is too large for the mother to rear herself, or if the piglet is at risk of starvation; • Tagging very light piglets at birth, and any piglet that is moved, will aid in identifying them later on. If there’s a small/ light piglet with a tag in a litter, producers will know it was al- ways small, so unless it looks like it is starving there’s no ben- efit to moving it. If it has no tag, producers will know it was born a normal weight, so is experiencing a growth check and may benefit from being moved.


This article is a summary of a webinar given in the Tonisity series during the digital EuroTier 2021, held in February 2021. The webinar can be viewed on the company’s website.


The lightweight piglets at birth can easily be recognised by a differently coloured ear tag.


▶ PIG PROGRESS | Volume 37, No. 3, 2021


31


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