PSXI-5 Effect of increasing feed intake during late gestation on piglet birth weight and weaning weight of low backfat thickness sows

Abstract This study investigated the effect of feed intake during late gestation on piglet birth weight and weaning weight of sows with the low backfat thickness (BF) at gestation 90 d. A total of 397 crossbred Landrance × Large White sows according to feed intakes were randomly allotted to three groups 2.8 kg/d (the energy requirement for sow maintenance), 3.6 kg/d and 4.0 kg/d from day 90 to day 110 of gestation. Sows were weighed and measured BF at 90 d and at 110 d of gestation and at weaning. Piglet performance at parturition and at weaning and wean-to-estrus of sows were recorded. Although sows had a tendency to increase BF at gestation 110 d (P = 0.09) and had more BF gain during late gestation with higher feed intake (P < 0.01), there was no evidence for differences in piglet birth weight, within-litter birth weight variation and weak piglet rate, and the number of total born, born alive and stillborn. During lactation, sows fed with high feed intake in late gestation increased body weight loss (P < 0.01). And no differences were observed in piglet performance at weaning and wean-to-estrus interval of sows. In conclusion, during late gestation, sows fed with feed intake more than energy requirement for maintenance had no effect on piglet birth weight or weaning weight.

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27 Defining a robust sow: swine nutrition perspective on reproduction and lactation

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skz122.023 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 13-13

Author(s):

Joel M DeRouchey ◽

Mike D Tokach ◽

Robert D Goodband ◽

Jason C Woodworth ◽

Steve S Dritz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Milk Production ◽

Body Condition ◽

Fetal Growth ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Energy Requirement ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Mammary Development ◽

Late Gestation ◽

Embryo Survival

Abstract Improvements in modern sow prolificacy have markedly increased the number of pigs weaned, thus the ability of sows to provide nutrients to support fetal growth and milk production has been enhanced. The goals of the gestation nutrition program consist of meeting the nutrient requirements for maintenance and growth and for adequate conceptus development, while managing body condition. Early gestation represents the best opportunity for replenishing body reserves, whereas in late gestation, both estimated protein deposition and energy requirement are exponentially increased and directed towards fetal growth and mammary development. Increased feed intake after breeding has been presumed to be detrimental to embryo survival; however, data with modern line sows demonstrates to feed thin sows to recover body condition as quickly as possible while avoiding feed deprivation immediately after breeding. Importance of body condition scoring remains unchanged: feed thin sows to bring back to adequate body condition and prevent over-conditioned sows at farrowing. A recent meta-analysis showed increasing late gestation feed intake seems to modestly improve piglet birth weight by 28 g per piglet in gilts and sows. Also, recent findings in gestating sows suggest modern genotypes have improved feed efficiency and propensity for growth. Therefore, increasing energy intake during late gestation has a modest effect on piglet birth weight and a negative effect on stillborn rate. Historically, lactation catabolism impacted subsequent reproductive performance of sows, particularly in first-parity. However, contemporary sows appear to be increasingly resistant to the negative effects of lactational catabolism. Even so, continued emphasis on maximizing lactation feed intake is critical to support milk production and prevent excessive lean tissue mobilization. Research data suggests that ad libitum feeding and offering lactation diets during the wean-to-estrus interval is not needed. Modern genetic sow lines appear to be more robust from a nutritional perspective than in the past.

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Interactions between weaning age, weaning weight, sex, and enzyme supplementation on growth performance of pigs

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar01197 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 53 (8) ◽

pp. 939 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

F. R. Dunshea ◽

D. K. Kerton ◽

P. D. Cranwell ◽

R. G. Campbell ◽

B. P. Mullan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Feed Intake ◽

Feed Conversion ◽

Large White ◽

Weaning Weight ◽

Exogenous Enzyme ◽

The Third ◽

Main Effect ◽

Weaning Age ◽

Enzyme Supplementation ◽

Daily Gain

Digestive capacity of early-weaned pigs may be insufficient to fully digest many ingredients currently used in weaner diets. The aim of this experiment was to determine whether an exogenous enzyme preparation with broad carbohydrase activity could benefit pigs that developmentally might be immature at weaning, especially with regard to gastrointestinal development. Eighty Large White × Landrace pigs were used in a 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment with the factors being: weaning age (14 or 24 days), weaning weight (heavy or light), sex (boar or gilt), and dietary Biofeed Plus CT (0 or 500 μg/g) which contained fungal xylanases, pentosanases and β-glucanases. Pigs were housed individually and given a wheat-based (550 g/kg) diet containing 15.0 MJ DE and 15.9 g lysine/kg on an ad libitum basis for 21 days. The diet also contained 50 g/kg of soybean meal and 50 g/kg of lupin (Lupinus�angustifolius) kernels. The liveweights of heavy (H) pigs weaned at 24 or 14 days and light pigs (L) weaned at 24 or 14 days were 7.9 and 5.3 and 5.2 and 3.9 kg, respectively. Pigs weaned at 14 days grew slower (157 v. 345 g/day) than those weaned at 24 days, although there was a suggestion of an interaction between age and weight at weaning (P = 0.081). Thus, H and L pigs weaned at 14 days grew at 148 and 166 g/day, whereas H and L pigs weaned at 24 days grew at 374 and 315 g/day, respectively. Although there was no main effect of enzymes on daily gain (248 v. 254 g/day, P = 0.80), feed intake (278 v. 284 g/day, P = 0.79), or feed conversion ratio (1.19 v. 1.25, P�=�0.35), there were interactions with weaning age on daily gain (P = 0.050) and feed intake (P = 0.060). Pigs weaned at 14 days grew slower (176 v. 138 g/day) and ate less (206 v. 174 g/day), whereas pigs weaned at 24 days grew faster (321 v. 369 g/day) and ate more (351 v. 394 g/day), when supplemented with enzymes. During the third week after weaning there were interactions between dietary enzymes and sex (P = 0.060) and dietary enzymes and age (P = 0.023) on daily gain. Thus, pigs weaned at 24 days and supplemented with Biofeed Plus CT grew more quickly during the third week (559 v. 460 g/day), whereas the converse was true for pigs weaned at 14 days (286 v. 334 g/day). Also, enzyme-supplemented boars grew better over this period (457 v. 371 g/day), whereas the converse was true for gilts (388 v. 423 g/day). In conclusion, these data clearly indicate that the greatest determinant of post-weaning performance under the present conditions was the age of the pigs at weaning. Dietary enzyme supplementation appeared most efficacious in boars weaned at an older age, although benefits did not become apparent until 2 weeks after weaning.

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Effects of cooling on the reproductive performance of gilts

Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management ◽

10.4314/jasem.v20i2.17 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 357-361

Author(s):

J.O. Oyedeji ◽

G.O. Imagbenikaro

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Litter Size ◽

Reproductive Performance ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Cooling System ◽

Large White ◽

Feed Cost ◽

Randomized Design ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Level Of Significance

The study examined the effect of cooling on the reproductive performance of gilts using 27 Large White Experimental Gilts on a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 systems of cooling, namely Wallow Cooling (WC), Sprinkler Cooling (SC) and Zero Cooling (ZC). Gilts were weighed at the commencement of the experiment and thereafter fed ad libitum from service to farrowing. Feed intake till farrow, feed cost, gilt weight at farrow, date of farrow, litter size and weight were recorded. The feed/piglet weight, feed intake/litter, feed cost/litter and birth weight/piglet were derived. The results showed that feed intake per litter and feed per piglet weight were highest for gilts placed on WC(P< 0.05), followed by SC and least for sow placed on ZC; gilt weight before farrow was highest for sow placed on SC (69.78±0.92), followed by ZC (69.33±0.94) and least for gilts placed on WC (67.33±0.87); litter sizes of gilts placed under the WC and SC systems were similar (5.6±0.41) while that under the ZC system was comparatively smaller (5.4±0.40);while the date of farrow was lowest in the ZC system (113.8±0.32) followed by SC (114.0±0.33) and highest under the WC (114.1±0.33). However, the feed intake per litter, feed per piglet weight, litter sizes of gilts, birth weight per piglet of gilts and the average date of farrow among gilts placed on WC, SC and ZC were not statistically different at 5% level of significance. Though, there is no significant difference in the performance among gilts placed on WC, SC and ZC, temperature regulation through provision of efficient cooling system in piggery would help to increase litter size, improve feed intake per litter and reduce the average cost of feeding gilt per day in maximizing reproductive performances in pigs.Keywords: Cooling, gilts, service, farrow, piggery, litter size, piglet and birth weight

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Comparative farrowing to weaning performance in Meishan and Large White pigs and their crosses

Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s1357729800008432 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 60 (2) ◽

pp. 269-280 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

G. J. Lee ◽

C. S. Haley

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Standard Deviation ◽

Litter Size ◽

Large White ◽

Weaning Weight ◽

Growth And Survival ◽

Probability Of Survival ◽

Litter Weight ◽

Litter Traits ◽

Breed Differences

AbstractGrowth and survival from birth to weaning were monitored during three generations of crossbreeding between British Large White (LW) and Chinese Meishan (MS) pigs. The design allowed comparisons between sow genotypes ranging from zero to all MS genes, which were mated toLWor MS boars, to produce progeny with proportions of 0·0 to 0·5 or 0·5 to 1·0 MS genes, respectively. Crossbreeding parameters of both maternal and direct piglet performance were estimated for the first two parities using restricted maximum likelihood (REML) methods for litter traits (litter weight at birth, litter mean and within litter standard deviation of piglet weight at birth, proportion surviving to weaning, litter size and weight at weaning and litter mean piglet weight at weaning) and for traits of the piglet (birth weight, probability of survival and weaning weight). For litter traits, the estimated contribution of the additive maternal effect to the breed differences (MS-LW) was significant for litter mean piglet birth weight (–0·46 (s.e. 0·04) kg), survival to weaning (0·15 (s.e. 0·02)), litter size at weaning (1·6 (s.e. 0·16) piglets), litter weaning weight (–11·2 (s.e. 3·8) kg) and litter mean piglet weaning weight (2·54 (s.e. 0·24) kg). Adding litter size and litter mean piglet birth weight to the model removed the additive maternal contribution to the breed differences in survival, and litter size and reduced that for litter mean piglet weaning weight. The contribution of the direct additive effect to the breed difference (MS-LW) was significant for the within litter standard deviation in birth weight (0·018 (s.e. 0·006)), survival to weaning (0·12 (s.e. 0·02)) and litter size (1·12 (s.e. 0·64)) and weight (11·6 (s.e. 4·0) kg) at weaning, but not for piglet weight at birth or weaning. Fitting litter size and litter mean birth weight had comparatively little impact on the direct additive effects. There were significant maternal heterosis effects for litter weight at birth and litter size and weight at weaning, the estimated deviation of the F1 from the midpoint of the two purebreds 3·22 (s.e. 0·55) kg, 2·20 (s.e. 0·47) piglets, and 20·1 (s.e. 3·3) kg respectively, but none for survival or piglet weights. There were direct heterosis effects for litter weight and litter mean piglet weights, the estimated deviation of the Fjfrom the mid point of the two purebreds being 1·16 (s.e. 0·41) kg and 0·14 (s.e. 0·02) kg, for survival to weaning (0·04 (s.e. 0·02)) and for litter weight (11·2 (s.e. 2·5) kg) and litter mean piglet weight (0·96 (s.e. 0·17) kg) at weaning. Fitting litter size and litter mean piglet birth weight removed or reduced both maternal and direct heterosis effects. Individual piglet analyses gave similar results to analyses of the equivalent sow trait. It was concluded that in litters born to MS cows, the lower piglet survival and lower weaning weights were related to the larger litter sizes and lower piglet birth weights. For their birth weight, however, MS piglets have a greater ability to survive and thrive. The large direct and maternal heterosis effects observed for litter and mean piglet weight at weaning werepartly associated with the heavier birth weight of the crossbred piglet.

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SEVERE FEED RESTRICTION OF THE SOW DURING LATE PREGNANCY

Canadian Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.4141/cjas78-006 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 43-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. I. ELLIOT ◽

G. A. LODGE

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Weight Change ◽

Inverse Relationship ◽

Late Pregnancy ◽

Late Gestation ◽

Feed Restriction ◽

Weight Changes ◽

Lactation Performance ◽

Short Term

Thirty-two Yorkshire sows were given either 0.45 or 2.27 kg feed/day from day 100 of gestation to farrowing to determine whether short-term restriction of feed intake during late gestation affected either the reproduction or lactation performance of the sows. Level of feeding from day 100 of gestation significantly affected prefarrowing weight change (P <.01) and the net weight change from day 100 to immediately postfarrowing (P <.01). An inverse relationship in the pattern of prefarrowing and lactation weight changes was observed. Restriction of prefarrowing feed intake did not significantly affect litter size, birth weight or weaning weight of the piglets. However, reduced intake prefarrowing was counterbalanced by increased intake postfarrowing with no overall saving in feed.

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Effects of feeding rice gruel based milk replacer on growth, carcass characteristics and rumen development of goat kids

Bangladesh Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.3329/bjas.v48i1.44560 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 57-66

Author(s):

MA Islam ◽

MB Sarker ◽

A Khatun ◽

MR Amin ◽

M Moniruzzaman

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Milk Yield ◽

Late Pregnancy ◽

Late Gestation ◽

Weaning Weight ◽

Concentrate Supplementation ◽

Randomized Design ◽

Time Period ◽

Rumen Development ◽

Completely Randomized Design

Supplementation of concentrate feed during late pregnancy of doe is an approach to improve milk yield and kid performance after kidding. The experiment was conducted to find out appropriate level and duration of supplementation to the pregnant doe. The data of the experiment were analyzed applying Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with factorial arrangements with three replications. First factor used in the experiment was the duration of concentrate feeding (15 days, 30 days, 45 days and 60 days) and second was amount of concentrate supplemented (2.00%, 1.75%, 1.50% and 1.25% of their body weight). Birth weight, weaning weight, milk yield and kid mortality in different groups were recorded. Birth weight and weaning weight were found higher in 60 days supplemented group i.e. 2.3±0.23 kg and 10.94±0.41 kg, respectively. Both birth weight and weaning weight were also found higher with 2 percent concentrate feeding group than others i.e. 2.1±0.23 kg and 9.64±0.42 kg, respectively. Milk yield recorded for fourth week shows that higher milk yields were found in 2 percent concentrate supplemented group with 60 days time period. The result showed that by increasing the level of concentrate during late gestation period of does increased the birth weight, weaning weight of kids and increased milk yield of does. So the higher level of concentrate supplementation is required during 45 to 60 days of late gestation in does. Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2019. 48 (1): 57-66

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Effect of backfat thickness during late gestation on farrowing duration, piglet birth weight, colostrum yield, milk yield and reproductive performance of sows

Livestock Science ◽

10.1016/j.livsci.2020.103983 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 234 ◽

pp. 103983 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Suphadtra Thongkhuy ◽

SH. Boonnithi Chuaychu ◽

Pitchaya Burarnrak ◽

Puritchaya Ruangjoy ◽

Pattawan Juthamanee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Milk Yield ◽

Reproductive Performance ◽

Late Gestation ◽

Backfat Thickness

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Effect of selection for leanness on overall reproductive performance in Large White sows

Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s1357729800014144 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 561-564 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

J. B. Gaughan ◽

R. D. A. Cameron ◽

G. McL. Dryden ◽

M. J. Josey

Keyword(s):

Birth Weight ◽

Reproductive Performance ◽

Live Weight ◽

The Other ◽

Large White ◽

Weaning Weight ◽

Weaned Piglet ◽

Selection For ◽

Weight Number ◽

M 14

AbstractReproductive records from 1072 Large White sows (3589 litters) were used to examine the effect ofbackfat depth (Bd) and live weight (Lw) at selection on first litter and lifetime reproductive performance. The variables investigated included mating age, total piglets born, total born alive, piglet birth weight, number weaned, piglet weaning weight, weaning to remating period and number of litters produced. Using backfat depth, sows were categorized into three groups: L, 9 to 13 mm; M, 14 to 16 mm; and F, ≥17 mm. Bd had no significant effect (P > 0·05) on the measured traits for the sows grouped by fat at first parity. When lifetime reproductive data were analysed, the L group had fewer litters (P < 0·05), and weaned fewer pigs (P < 0·01) than either the M or F group. The birth weight for piglets from L sows were significantly higher (P < 0·05) than for piglets from the other groups. The data suggest that the reproductive performance of L sows is not as good as that of M or F sows.

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Effect of backfat loss during lactation on weaning-to-oestrus interval of sows at gonadotropin application

Archives Animal Breeding ◽

10.5194/aab-51-560-2008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 51 (6) ◽

pp. 560-571

Author(s):

D. Škorjanc ◽

M. Hohler ◽

M. Brus

Keyword(s):

Single Injection ◽

Significant Loss ◽

Conception Rate ◽

Late Gestation ◽

Backfat Thickness ◽

Large White ◽

Pig Farm ◽

Lower Loss

Abstract. A total of 984 primiparous and multiparous crossbred sows (Swedish Landrace × Large White) housed on a commercial pig farm were used to study the effect of the decrease in backfat thickness during lactation and the level of backfat at weaning on weaning-to-oestrus interval and conception rate of sows. Primiparous sows (n=213) received a single injection of 400 IU eCG + 200 IU hCG (PG600®, Intervet) at weaning and approximately 30 % of sows did not respond to the first treatment. First-farrowing sows produced significantly fewer live-born piglets, had markedly thinner backfat in late gestation, showed significant loss of backfat thickness during lactation and showed thinner backfat at weaning than sows with a greater number of parities. Primiparous sows with backfat thinner than 18 mm at weaning lost an average of 21 % of backfat during lactation and had a significantly longer weaning-to-oestrus interval (31.75 ± 2.22 days), even after a second treatment with PG600®, than both primiparous sows which responded to the first treatment (5.95 ± 0.16 days) and multiparous sows which were not treated (5.19 ± 0.12 days). The primiparous and multiparous sows with thicker backfat at farrowing also had thicker backfat at weaning (r=0.874 and r=0.938 for primiparous and multiparous sows, respectively). Sows with thicker backfat at weaning showed a shorter weaning-to-oestrus interval and this correlation was higher for primiparous than for multiparous sows (r=−0.192 and r=−0.100, respectively). Thicker backfat of the sows at weaning was moderately but significantly correlated with lower loss of backfat during lactation (r=−0.179 and r=−0.273 for primiparous and multiparous sows, respectively). The present study showed that monitoring of backfat thickness and loss of backfat during lactation represents a useful tool to decrease non-productive days and improve the efficiency of high-producing pig herds.

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Artificial Insemination Training Program for Smallholder Pig Farms in Gauteng Province, South Africa

Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.5539/jas.v12n12p89 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (12) ◽

pp. 89

Author(s):

Richard Netshirovha Thivhilaheli ◽

Mammikele Tsatsimpe ◽

Thabo Muller ◽

Fhulufhelo Vincent Ramukhithi ◽

Masindi Lotus Mphaphathi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Artificial Insemination ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Learning By Doing ◽

Gauteng Province ◽

Large White ◽

Weaning Weight ◽

Pig Production ◽

Smallholder Pig Production

The aim of this study was to facilitate artificial insemination training to enhance sustainable pig production within the developing smallholder pig production sector in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Eighteen smallholder pig farmers with requisite structures (pig house, pens), pigs (large white, landrace duroc or South African indigenous) and management (feeding, cleaning and record keeping) capacity were trained on routine pig management and artificial insemination procedures in a “learning by doing” on-farm supervised programme administered by Agricultural Research Council, Animal Production pig training team. Following estrus detection, 96 sows were artificially inseminated and 31 naturally served (NS). Farrowing rates (FR), total born (TB) and born alive (BA) piglets were recorded. The occurrence ccurrence of mummified fetuses (0.019 vs. 0.022%) and weak piglets (0.038 vs. 0.049%) did not differ between artificially inseminated sows and naturally mated sows. Born alive, birth weight and weaning weight were higher for artificial inseminated sows. The average litter size was 15± and 13±, birth weight 1.98±0.79 kg and 1.48±0.58 kg and weaning weight 9.89±0.87 kg and 7.23±0.71 kg for the AI and NS litters, respectively. Farmer demographic factors (age, gender and educational level) had no effect on farrowing rate, total born and piglets born alive. Therefore, implementation of artificial insemination techniques and pig production training was feasible under a smallholder pig production system.

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