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The performance of group-housed sows offered a high fibre diet ad libitum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2016

X. Whittaker ,
S. A. Edwards ,
H. A. M. Spoolder ,
S. Corning  and
A. B. Lawrence
X. Whittaker
Affiliation:
ADAS Terrington, Terrington St Clement, King’s Lynn PE34 4PW Animal Biology Division, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG
S. A. Edwards*
Affiliation:
Animal Biology Division, SAC, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA
H. A. M. Spoolder*
Affiliation:
ADAS Terrington, Terrington St Clement, King’s Lynn PE34 4PW
S. Corning*
Affiliation:
ADAS Terrington, Terrington St Clement, King’s Lynn PE34 4PW
A. B. Lawrence
Affiliation:
Animal Biology Division, Scottish Agricultural College, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG
*
†Present address: Department of Agriculture, University of Aberdeen, MacRobert Building, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB24 5UA (corresponding author)
‡Praktijkonderzoek Varkenshouderij, Postbus 83, 5240 AB Rosmalen, The Netherlands.
§PIC UK, Fyfield Wick, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX13 5NA.
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Abstract

As a part of a study investigating the extent to which ad libitum feeding of a high fibre diet could mitigate behavioural problems associated with food restriction, the performance of sows given food at restricted or ad libitum levels was compared. Ten subgroups of five were allocated to each of the restricted (R) and ad libitum (A) feeding regimes. Five weeks after service, subgroups were introduced into one of two dynamic groups of sows housed in adjacent straw-bedded pens. R sows received a fixed daily ration (parity 1: 2·2 kg; parity 2: 2·4 kg) of a conventional pregnancy diet (13·1 MJ digestible energy per kg) from an electronic sow feeder. Sows on the A regime had unrestricted access to five single-space hoppers dispensing a high fibre diet (containing 600 g unmolassed sugar beet pulp per kg). Subgroups were maintained on these gestation feeding regimes for two consecutive parities. During both parities, A sows were heavier by day 50 of gestation (parity 1: P < 0·05; parity 2: P < 0·01) and at farrowing (parity 1: P < 0·001; parity 2: P < 0·001) than R sows. No difference was found between feeding regime in sow weight at weaning, due to a greater weight loss during lactation of A (parity 1: P < 0·001; parity 2: P < 0·001) than R sows. No difference was found between feeding regime in sow backfat thickness, sow reproductive performance or litter performance in either parity. This suggests that unmolassed sugar beet pulp diets may be used to feed sows on an ad libitum basis during gestation without compromising productivity. However, food intakes may be too high (estimated at 4·1 kg per sow per day) to make ad libitum feeding of pregnant sows an attractive option for producers.

Keywords

feedingfibrepigsreproductive performance
Type
Non-ruminant nutrition, behaviour and production
Information
Animal Science , Volume 70 , Issue 1 , February 2000 , pp. 85 - 93
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2000

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