Sow feed intake and its effect on litter uniformity


The modern hyperprolific sow has been bred to produce large litters of fast-growing piglets. However, consumer demand for lean meat has also led to the selection of a sow that carries less body reserves in the form of fat and often has an appetite insufficient to drive adequate feed intake to support sow and litter in the farrowing house.


BY SIMON ESKINAZI, GLOBAL SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL MANAGER PALATABILITY, ADISSEO


F Body weight weaning (kg)


Average daily feed intake (kg/d) Backfat thickness at weaning (mm) Body weight loss (%)


Weaning to Oestrus Interval (d) Milk production (kg/d)A


A


eed intake during lactation is critical to ensure the sow can satisfy the nutritional needs of her growing litter. On commercial units achieving adequate feed intakes during this period is often a challenge, par-


ticularly during the later stages of lactation when demand for milk by the growing litter is high or in situations of heat stress when feed intake is depressed. Insufficient sow feed intake in this period will result in less milk being produced leading to smaller litters of lighter pigs at weaning.


Supporting the piglet Achieving high weaning weight is crucial for productivity and


Table 1 – Performance parameters of sows fed a control diet or a diet with an appetite stimulant.


Control


214.0 5.1a 14.9 -7.8 4.3


8.59a Treatment


(500g/t Krave AP) 214.1 6.6b 14.9 -7.7 4.5


12.99b P-value ***


profit of a pig enterprise. Lighter piglets at weaning are more likely to eat less or not at all in the first days after weaning. This leads to detrimental effects that influence performance over the life of the pig. Starting with an increased likelihood of developing diarrhoea due to the negative effects of stress at weaning and the lack of feed intake on gut development and health. Weaning weight can also influence performance throughout the production cycle; several studies have shown, that a reduction in feed intake the first week to ten days after weaning can increase the time to slaughter weight by up to 10 days in severe cases. Many interventions to support the piglet during this period have been introduced to make up this nutritional deficit. Creep feeding and liquid milk replacers can provide the piglet with additional nutrition although these practices require careful attention to unit management and husbandry to avoid hygiene problems. It has also been observed that the larger piglets consume the most milk and tend to have a higher creep feed intake rather than the smaller undernourished pigs in the litter, who would benefit most.


***


Daily milk production calculated considering litter weight gain (DWG), litter size, and milk dry matter content (19%) applied to the equation of Noblet & Etienne (1989). MP (kg/d) = ([0.718×DWG − 4.9]×n. pig- lets)/0.19. a,b


values with different superscripts differ significantly (*** P<0.001) 34 ▶ WEANING | JUNE 2020


Supporting the sow For the sow there are several factors that can influence feed intake during lactation; body condition at farrowing and feed intake during gestation can influence feeding pattern at the start of lactation. The effects of heat stress are seen at temperatures over 22o


C with sows reducing feed intake to


limit the heat generated by the metabolic process of digestion. Water and feed availability, quality and presentation (pellets or meal, wet or dry) will all influence feed intake


PHOTO: ADISSEO


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