metabolism, and intestinal health in the piglets as haemoglo- bin levels increase. Therefore, to maintain peak performance in modern piglets, injectable iron must be properly utilised during the suckling period to maintain blood haemoglobin levels conducive to our desired level of performance.


Additional iron supplementation If a herd is anaemic because they have outgrown their first in- jection of iron, how is it possible to correct the haemoglobin levels to achieve optimal growth results? Recently, a large-scale study took place on a commercial sow farm in the USA. This study evaluated the impact a second 200 mg injection of Unif- eron given early in a piglet’s life had on wean-finish growth performance. 3,081 piglets were sorted by weight within litter, individually weighed and allotted to a treatment group within 24 hours of birth. Group A (n=1,544) received 200mg of iron dextran (Uniferon) and group B (n=1,537) received 200mg of Uniferon at the time of allotment and 200 mg at processing. Blood haemoglobin was measured in 100 piglets per treatment group at weaning. All 3,081 piglets were individually weighed at allotment, weaning, 8 weeks post-weaning (WPW) and 18 WPW. Only 8% of piglets that received a single 200 mg injec- tion of the iron supplement had optimal blood haemoglobin stores at weaning, while 66% of those receiving two 200 mg doses did. Haemoglobin status at weaning significantly im- pacted wean-finish growth with pigs who had optimal haemo- globin at weaning outgaining those with deficient haemoglo- bin by 4.46 kg (Table 1). When looking at weight gain by treatment group, the group that received two 200 mg doses of the product outgained the control group which only received a single 200 mg dose by 1.44 kg at the end of the study (Table 2). These results build


on previous research that supported improved ADG in the early post-weaning period. This improved growth early in a piglet’s life leads to improved growth performance all the way through finishing. This can result in a significant econom- ic advantage for pork producers even after factoring the cost of product and labour associated with a second iron injection. Data presented at a recent conference reported that these losses in ADG associated with sub-clinical or full-scale iron deficiency anaemia are costing pork producers > € 530 mil- lion in lost opportunity in the European Union, and > $ 340 million USD in the United States.


References available on request


Table 1 – Blood haemoglobin results. Anemia prevalence by group (%)


Hb status at weaning 200mg Uniferon 400mg Uniferon Deficient: < 90 g/L


Sub-clinical: 90-110 g/L Optimal: > 110 g/L


26 67 8


5


29 66


Table 2 – Effect on weight gain. Treatment


Weight (kg) 200mg Uniferon


Allotment 1.55 Weaning 5.41 8 WPW 18 WPW


29.21 97.34


400mg Uniferon 1.54 5.59


30.04 98.78


▶ WEANING | JUNE 2020


Live weight (kg)


8-WPW* 18-WPW* 29.41a 31.14b 32.91c


98.68a


100.32b 103.14b


P-value* 0.07


<0.001 0.001 0.02


11


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