Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T21:15:22.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The chemical composition of sows during their first lactation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

B. P. Mullan  and
I. H. Williams
B. P. Mullan
Affiliation:
Animal Science, School of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
I. H. Williams
Affiliation:
Animal Science, School of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
Get access

Abstract

It is common for sows in commercial practice to lose body weight during lactation and if the loss is excessive then performance may be impaired. However, there is little information on the composition of this loss of body weight. In a 2 × 2 factorial experiment gilts were given daily either 2·7 (H) or 1·5 (L) kg food during gestation and either a high (H) (mean intakes of 3·4 and 4·9 kg/day for the H-H and L-H groups, respectively) or low (L, 2·0 kg/day) food intakes during a 31-day lactation. Seventy-three animals were slaughtered at various stages over all treatments and body composition determined by chemical analysis. The content of lipid (Li, kg) and protein (Pr, kg) in the empty body were closely related to live weight (LW, kg) and depth of backfat measured by ultrasound (P2, mm); Li = 0·381 LW + 1·042 P2 - 31·099 (R = 0·95) and Pr = 0·11 LW - 013 P2 + 4·46 (R = 0·67). Prediction equations were used to predict the composition of animals from a previous experiment (Mullan and Williams, 1989). Increasing food intake prior to farrowing increased the amount of lipid (67 v. 38 kg), protein (20 v. 17 kg), water (73 v. 63 kg) and ash (5 v. 4 kg) in the empty body at farrowing. For sows given 2·0 kg/day food during lactation about half of the total loss of body weight was lipid (835 and 570 g/day for the H-L and L-L groups, respectively) and proportionately 0-10 was protein tissue (165 and 125 g/day, respectively). When sows were fed to appetite the heaviest animals lost both lipid (520 g/day) and protein (130 g/day) whereas animals in the L-H group maintained their lipid reserves but lost 65 g protein per day. This study demonstrates the considerable amounts of lipid and protein which may be mobilized by the sow during lactation to buffer the nutritional stress through a low intake of food. The body composition of the sow during the first lactation can be accurately predicted from live weight and depth of backfat.

Keywords

body compositionlactationlipidsproteinsows
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 51 , Issue 2 , October 1990 , pp. 375 - 387
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Research Council. 1981. The Nutrient Requirements of Pigs. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1975. Official Methods of Analysis. 12th ed. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Bailey, M. E. and Zobrisky, S. E. 1968. Changes in proteins during growth and development of animals. In Body Composition in Animals and Man (ed. Reid, J. T.), pp. 87–125. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Brendemuhl, J. H., Lewis, A. L. and Peo, E. R. 1989. Influence of energy and protein intake during lactation on body composition of primiparous sows. Journal of Animal Science 67: 1478–1488.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Etienne, M., Noblet, J. and Desmoulin, B. 1985. Mobilisation des reserves corporelles chez la truie primipare en lactation. Reproduction, Nutrition, Devetoppement 25: 341–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harker, A. J. 1986. Nutrition of the sow. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Nottingham.Google Scholar
King, R. H. 1987. Nutritional anoestrus in young sows. Pig News and Information 8: 15–22.Google Scholar
King, R. H. and Dunkin, A. C. 1986a. The effect of nutrition on the reproductive performance of first-litter sows. 3. The response to graded increases in food intake during lactation. Animal Production 42: 119–125.Google Scholar
King, R. H. and Dunkin, A. C. 1986b. The effect of nutrition on the reproductive performance of first-litter sows. 4. The relative effects of energy and protein intakes during lactation on the performance of sows and their piglets. Animal Production 43: 319–325.Google Scholar
King, R. H., Speirs, E. and Eckerman, P. 1986. A note on the estimation of the chemical body composition of sows. Animal Production 43: 167–170.Google Scholar
King, R. H. and Williams, I. H. 1984. The effect of nutrition on the reproductive performance of first-litter sows. 2. Protein and energy intakes during lactation. Animal Production 38: 249–256.Google Scholar
King, R. H., Williams, I. H. and Barker, I. 1982. Reproductive performance of first-litter sows in a commercial intensive piggery. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 14: 557–560.Google Scholar
Kotarbinska, M. 1983. Chemical body composition of gilts and sows. Pig News and Information 4: 275–278.Google Scholar
Lawes Agricultural Trust. 1980. Maximum Likelihood Program 3.06. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden.Google Scholar
Lawes Agricultural Trust. 1984. GENSTAT V, Mark 4-40B. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden.Google Scholar
Lee, P. A., Closk, W. H. and Wood, J. 1989. Longterm performance and body composition of sows given differing levels of food intake during pregnancy and lactation. Animal Production 48: 641–642 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Lynch, P. B. 1989. Voluntary food intake of sows and gilts. In The Voluntary Food Intake of Pigs (ed. Forbes, J. M., Varley, M. A. and Lawrence, T. L. J.). Occasional Publication, British Society of Animal Production No. 13, pp. 71–77.Google Scholar
Mullan, B. P. and Close, W. H. 1989a. The partition and utilization of energy and nitrogen by sows during their first lactation. Animal Production 48: 626–627 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Mullan, B. P. and Close, W. H. 1989B. The effect of dietary intake and litter size on the productivity of first-litter sows. Animal Production 48: 644–645 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Mullan, B. P., Close, W. H. and Cole, D. J. A. 1989. Predicting nutrient responses of the lactating sow. In Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition — 1989 (ed. Haresign, W. and Cole, D. J. A.), pp. 229–243. Butterworths, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mullan, B. P. and Williams, I. H. 1989. The effect of body reserves at farrowing on the reproductive performance of first-litter sows. Animal Production 48: 449–457.Google Scholar
Reese, D. E., Moser, B. D., Peo, E. R., Lewis, A. J., Zimmerman, D. R., Kinder, J. E. and Stroup, W. W. 1982. Influence of energy intake during lactation on the interval from weaning to first estrus in sows. Journal of Animal Science 55: 590–598.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shields, R. G., Mahan, D. C. and Maxson, P. F. 1985. Effect of dietary gestation and lactation protein levels on reproductive performance and body composition of first-litter female swine. Journal of Animal Science 60: 179–189.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whittemore, C. T., Franklin, M. F. and Pearce, B. S. 1980. Fat changes in breeding sows. Animal Production 31: 183–190.Google Scholar
Whittemore, C. T. and Yang, H. 1989. Physical and chemical composition of the body of breeding sows with differing body subcutaneous fat depth at parturition, differing nutrition during lactation and differing litter size. Animal Production 48: 203–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, H., Eastham, P. R., Phillips, P. and Whittemore, C. T. 1989. Reproductive performance, body weight and body condition of breeding sows with differing body fatness at parturition, differing nutrition during lactation, and differing litter size. Animal Production 48: 181–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar