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Increasing food intake in late gestation improved sow condition throughout lactation but did not affect piglet viability or growth rate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2016

H. M. Miller ,
G. R. Foxcroft  and
F. X. Aherne
H. M. Miller
Affiliation:
Centre for Animal Sciences, LIBA, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
G. R. Foxcroft
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
F. X. Aherne
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Abstract

Increasing sow food intake in late gestation prevents loss of sow fatness prior to farrowing. However, this may result in reduced food intake and greater overall fat loss during lactation and has also been associated with increased incidence of agalactia. In this experiment 78 Camborough sows (parities 1 to 3) were given food at one of two levels: either 1·15 × maintenance energy (normal-N sows, 2·3 (s.e. 0·03) kg/day) or 2·00 × maintenance energy (high-H sows, 3·9 (s.e. 0·04) kg/day) from day 100 of gestation until farrowing. Lactation food intake, changes in sow live weight and backfat thickness and piglet growth rates were then measured. Diet digestibility in early lactation was measured using a chromium III oxide marker in the food. There was no change in backfat thickness in late gestation in H sows (0·2 (s.e. 0·25) mm), whereas N sows lost backfat during this period (1·6 (s.e. 0·23) mm, P <; 0·001). There was no difference in lactation food intake between the two groups (6·5 (s.e. 0·13) kg/day) and differences in backfat thickness at parturition were maintained through to weaning. H sows did not show increased incidence of agalactia compared with N sows. There was no difference in diet digestibility between the two treatment groups. Food intake level in late gestation did not affect piglet birth weights, growth rates or mortality. It is concluded that the main benefit of increasing sow food intake in late gestation was to reduce sow backfat loss during the reproductive cycle.

Keywords

food intakelactationpregnancysows
Type
Non-ruminant nutrition, behaviour and production
Information
Animal Science , Volume 71 , Issue 1 , August 2000 , pp. 141 - 148
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2000

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