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Effects of level of feeding after mating on ‘fat’ and ‘thin’ sows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2017

N. Walker
N. Walker*
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down. BT26 6DP
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Extract

Pregnant sows in poor body condition require a high feed intake to restore body fat reserves. However, a high intake in the period following conception may increase embryo losses. The first objective of this experiment was to determine whether a high feed allowance after conception has any effect on litter size compared with a normal allowance. The second objective was to investigate the effects of body condition at conception and feed rate in early pregnancy on the components of maternal gain.

Multiparous cross-bred sows of Large White and Landrace lineage were classified subjectively at farrowing according to body condition as either fat (F) or thin (T). A single diet containing 12.5 MJ DE/kg and 150 g CP/kg was fed throughout the experiment. The fat sows were fed more generously than the thin sows during the 28 day lactation with mean intakes of 5.3 and 4.8 kg/day. This was to maintain the differential in body condition between the two groups. After weaning all sows were fed 3 kg per day until mating. Within the fat and thin groups sows were allocated at random to either 4 or 2 kg of feed per day for 30 days after mating.

Type
Pig Production
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1986 , March 1986 , pp. 118
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1986

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References

Williams, I.H., Close, W.H. and Cole, D.J.A. (1985). Strategies for sow nutrition: predicting the response of pregnant animals to protein and energy intake. In ‘Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition - 1985' pp. 133–147. Ed. Haresign, W. and Cole, D.J.A.. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar