scholarly journals Drenching Bovine Colostrum, Quercetin or Fructo-Oligosaccharides Has No Effect on Health or Survival of Low Birth Weight Piglets

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 55
Author(s):  
Kevin Van Tichelen ◽  
Sara Prims ◽  
Miriam Ayuso ◽  
Céline Van Kerschaver ◽  
Mario Vandaele ◽  
...  

The introduction of hyperprolific sows has resulted in more low birth weight (LBW) piglets, accompanied by higher mortality. A possible strategy to enhance the resilience and survival of LBW piglets is oral supplementation (drenching) of bioactive substances. This study evaluated the supplementation of bovine colostrum, short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) or quercetin that were dissolved separately in a milk replacer. The study was divided into two sub-experiments. First, the milk replacer was compared with a sham drenched group. Secondly, each dissolved compound was compared with the milk replacer. The LBW piglets, defined as weighing between (mean litter birth weight −1*SD) and (mean litter birth weight −2.5*SD), were randomly allocated to the different treatments and drenched once a day for seven days. On day 1, 3, 9, 24 and 38, piglets were weighed and scored for skin lesions. Blood samples were collected on day 9 and 38 and analyzed to determine glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, urea, immunoglobulin G, insulin-like growth factor 1, and a standard blood panel test. There was no difference between sham drenched piglets and piglets that were drenched with milk replacer regarding any of the parameters. No effect was observed between the milk replacer group and any of the bioactive compounds either, except a higher mortality within the scFOS group. In conclusion, this study showed that drenching the evaluated bioactive compounds, in the used dosages, did not improve LBW piglets’ resilience or survival and more research is required to determine the effect of scFOS on small piglets.

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 404
Author(s):  
Kevin Van Tichelen ◽  
Sara Prims ◽  
Miriam Ayuso ◽  
Céline Van Kerschaver ◽  
Mario Vandaele ◽  
...  

The increase in litter sizes in recent years has resulted in more low birth weight (LBW) piglets, accompanied by a higher mortality. A potential intervention to overcome this is drenching bioactive substances. However, if the act of drenching provokes additional stress in LBW piglets, it might counteract the supplement’s effect and be detrimental for the piglet’s survival. To study the effect of the drenching act, piglets from 67 sows were weighed within 4 h after birth. The mean litter birth weight (MLBW) and standard deviation (SD) were calculated. LBW piglets (n = 76) were defined as weighing between (MLBW-1*SD) and (MLBW-2.5*SD). They were randomly allocated to two treatments: “sham” (conducting the act of drenching by inserting an empty 2.5 mL syringe in the mouth during 20 s, once a day, d1 till d7; n = 37) or “no treatment” (no handling; n = 39). On day 1, 3, 9, 24 and 38, piglets were weighed and scored for skin lesions. Blood samples were collected on day 9 and 38 and analyzed to determine glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), urea, immunoglobulin G (IgG), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and a standard blood panel test. There was no difference between sham drenched and untreated piglets regarding any of the parameters. In conclusion, this study showed that drenching does not impose a significant risk to LBW piglets and can be applied safely during the first 7 days after birth.


1985 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 355A-355A
Author(s):  
Patricia Meal ◽  
Pat Erickson ◽  
John Baenziger ◽  
John Olson ◽  
James A Lemons

2009 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 1828-1835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole Rougé ◽  
Hugues Piloquet ◽  
Marie-José Butel ◽  
Bernard Berger ◽  
Florence Rochat ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 351-358
Author(s):  
V. Viehmann ◽  
C. Unterweger ◽  
M. Ganter ◽  
B.U. Metzler-Zebeli ◽  
M. Ritzmann ◽  
...  

Supplementation of bovine colostrum (BC) has shown to improve growth performance, intestinal development, and immune response in early-weaned pigs. Little is known about whether BC may have similar effects in neonatal piglets. In the present study, the effect of BC supplementation on mortality, growth performance, and blood parameters (plasma proteins and white blood count) of suckling piglets in the first 10 days of life was investigated under practical conditions with special emphasis on low birth weight piglets. In total, 258 newborn piglets from 30 multiparous sows in a commercial breeding unit were randomly assigned to two different treatment groups. Piglets received either 1 ml of BC orally on days 1–3 of life (group BC, n = 128) or 1 ml of saline (0.9%) (control (CON) group; n = 130). Body weight was measured on days 1, 4, and 10 of life. Blood was collected on days 1 and 4 from 60 piglets per group. No differences in mortality, body weight, and average daily weight gain were observed between treatment groups in days 1–10. However, compared to CON, particularly in low birth weight piglets the administration of BC supported (P < 0.01) their survival. Group BC exhibited lower plasma total protein (P = 0.03) and beta-globulin (P = 0.02) concentrations compared to group CON. In conclusion, BC improved low and normal birth weight piglets’ survival during their first 10 days of life. Further research is needed to clarify whether the survival rate is related to earlier gut closure indicated by lower plasma protein levels, which might be beneficial due to a lower uptake of potential antigenic substances.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Raquel da Silva Santos ◽  
Sofia Soares Fatela de Sousa Moeda ◽  
Ana Sofia Medeiros Esteireiro ◽  
Raquel Alexandra Barbosa de Nunes Gouveia Lopes ◽  
Maria da Graca Rocha Oliveira

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