481 Current Knowledge Gaps in Swine Production Management

Recently I’ve started questioning everything I thought I knew about common management practices in the swine industry. As a scientist I’m trained to trust the science and use the data, but when the science contradicts common knowledge, do I question the science or question the common knowledge? Perhaps both, which has led me down a path to scientifically reevaluate the basic management principles of hog production; or taking it back to the basics. Management practices that were implemented 30 years ago are still being commonly used; however, over the years those practices have been altered to make them simpler or cheaper. By altering these fundamental principles, we may have unintentionally disrupted the overall intent of the principle and caused accidental consequences to production. For example, it is common knowledge that newborn pigs need to be dried at birth to improve the chance of survival. Originally these pigs were picked up and thoroughly dried and rubbed to stimulate the muscles and then strategically placed at the teat and encouraged to suckle. Over the years this practice has been altered; sprinkling drying agent over the litter instead of picking them up and using cheaper drying agents that may not be intended for this purpose, and placing the pigs down at the back of the crate. Robust and replicated science is needed to identify which components of these fundamental management processes are beneficial, serve a purpose, and therefore should not be adulterated. Therefore, prioritizing research back to the basics of fundamental management practices.

Perosomus Elumbis in Piglets: Pathological, Radiological and Cytogenetic Findings

Perosomus elumbis (PE) is a rare congenital condition characterized by agenesis of the lumbar, sacral and coccygeal vertebrae. Perosomus elumbis has rarely been reported in literature as morphological description of singles or few cases. Here we report the first extensive description of eight cases of PE detected in two consecutive litters from the same parents of Casertana pig breed. In August 2018, eight piglets were investigated for multiple malformations. All malformed animals, but one, died in the first day of life. The survivor piglet died at 23 days of age. Pathological, radiological and cytogenetic examination was performed. Furthermore, a farm epidemiological investigation was carried out to investigate the percentage of piglets born dead or with malformations in 2018. The radiological and pathological exams showed skeletal abnormalities at the spinal cord level and visceral malformations. Cytogenetic investigations showed a normal chromosome arrangement. Finally, epidemiological investigation revealed a low prevalence of malformations in newborn pigs, equal to 0.5% of the total birth rate of the farm. Our findings report the first extensive description of PE cases in pigs and suggest an underestimation of this malformation in veterinary medicine. Our findings also suggest a specific genetic etiological basis as cause of PE in pigs and exclude chromosomal abnormalities. Further studies will be performed to confirm this hypothesis.

Effects of iron injection timing on suckling and subsequent nursery and growing-finishing performance and hematological criteria

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of Fe injection timing after birth on suckling and subsequent nursery and growing-finishing pig performance. The injectable Fe source used in both experiments was GleptoForte (Ceva Animal Health, LLC., Lenexa, KS). GleptoForte contains gleptoferron which is a Fe macro-molecule complex. In Exp. 1, a total of 324 newborn pigs [DNA 241 × 600, initially 1.6 ± 0.04 kg body weight (BW)] within 27 litters were used. Two days after birth, all piglets were weighed, and six barrows and six gilts per litter were allotted to 1 of 6 treatments consisting of no Fe injection or 200 mg of injectable Fe provided in a single injection on d 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 of age. Pigs were weaned (~21 d of age) and allotted to nursery pens with all pigs in each pen having received the same Fe treatment. In Exp. 2, a total of 1,892 newborn pigs (PIC 359 × C40; initially 1.5 ± 0.02 kg BW) within 172 litters were used. One day after birth, piglets were weighed, and 11 pigs within each litter were allotted to 1 of 6 treatments consisting of no Fe injection or 200 mg of injectable Fe provided on d 1, 3, 5, or 7 of age, or 200 mg on d 1 plus 200 mg on d 12 of age. Pigs were weaned (19 d of age) and placed in a commercial wean-to-finish facility in a total of 15 pens with equal representation of treatments in each pen. In both experiments, not providing an Fe injection after birth decreased (P < 0.05) preweaning average daily gain (ADG), weaning weight, and hemoglobin and hematocrit values compared to all other treatments. In Exp. 1, increasing the age that piglets received an Fe injection until 4 or 6 d after birth provided marginal evidence for an improvement (quadratic; P = 0.070) in preweaning ADG. For the nursery period, increasing the age that piglets received an Fe injection improved (quadratic; P = 0.013) d 80 BW, but there was no evidence of a difference (P > 0.10) in d 173 BW at the end of the grow-finish period. In Exp. 2, increasing the age that piglets received a 200 mg Fe injection showed no evidence of difference (P > 0.10) for subsequent nursery and growing-finishing ADG. In both experiments, hemoglobin and hematocrit values were decreased (linear; P < 0.05) at weaning with increasing age when pigs received an Fe injection. These experiments suggest that providing a 200 mg Fe injection within 7 d after farrowing is sufficient for optimizing preweaning and subsequent growth performance.

260 Effects of iron administration timing on pre-weaning performance and hematological criteria in pigs

Newborn pigs (n=1,892; 1.5 kg BW) were used in a 20-d study evaluating the effects of Fe injection timing after birth on preweaned pig performance and blood criteria. A total of 172 litters were used. One d after farrowing, piglets were weighed, and 11 pigs within each litter were allotted to 1 of 6 treatments in a CRD. Treatments consisted of pigs receiving no Fe injection or 200-mg of injectable Fe (GleptoForte, Ceva Animal Health, Lenexa, KS) provided on d 1, 3, 5, or 7 of age, or 200-mg on d 1 plus 200-mg on d 12. 1 pig/litter received no Fe injection and 2 pigs/litter were placed on all other treatments. Piglets were weighed on d 1 and 20 after birth to determine growth performance and bled on d 20 to determine Fe status. Increasing the age that piglets received the Fe injection tended to decrease (linear; P=0.080) ADG. Not providing an Fe injection decreased (P=0.0001) overall ADG and d 20 BW compared to all other treatments. Hemoglobin and Hct decreased (linear; P< 0.05) with increasing age when pigs received an Fe injection. There was no evidence of differences (P >0.10) between the pigs receiving a 200-mg injection on d 1 and d 12 compared to those receiving the Fe on d 1 only. Pigs not provided an Fe injection had decreased (P=0.0001) Hb and Hct values compared to pigs receiving an Fe injection. Pigs receiving the 200-mg injection on d 1 and 12 had increased (P=0.0001) Hb and Hct values compared to pigs receiving 200-mg on d 1 only. Results suggest that providing a 200-mg Fe injection within 7 d after farrowing is sufficient for optimizing preweaning growth performance. The additional 200-mg Fe injection at d 12 did not influence growth performance but does increase Hb and Hct at weaning.

Effects of increasing Fe dosage in newborn pigs on suckling and subsequent nursery performance and hematological and immunological criteria

A total of 336 newborn pigs (DNA 241 × 600, initially 1.75 ± 0.05 kg bodyweight [BW]) from 28 litters were used in a 63-d study evaluating the effects of increasing injectable Fe dose on suckling and subsequent nursery pig performance and blood Fe status. GleptoForte (Ceva Animal Health, LLC, Lenexa, KS) contains gleptoferron which is an Fe macromolecule complex that is commercially used as an injectable Fe source for suckling piglets. On the day of processing (day 3 after birth), all piglets were weighed and 6 barrows and 6 gilts per litter were allotted within sex to 1 of 6 treatments in a completely randomized design. Treatments consisted of a negative control receiving no Fe injection and increasing injectable Fe to achieve either 50, 100, 150, 200 mg, or 200 mg plus a 100 mg injection on day 11 after birth. Pigs were weaned (~21 d of age) and allotted to nursery pens based on BW and corresponding treatment in a completely randomized design. During lactation, increasing injectable Fe up to 100 mg improved (quadratic; P < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) and day 21 BW with no further improvement thereafter. There was no evidence of differences (P > 0.10) observed between the 200 mg and 200 mg + 100 mg treatments for growth. For the nursery period, increasing Fe dosage increased (linear; P < 0.05) ADG, average daily feed intake, and day 42 BW. There was no evidence of differences (P > 0.10) between the 200 mg and 200 mg + 100 mg treatments for nursery growth. For blood criteria, significant treatment × day interactions (P = 0.001) were observed for hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct). The interactions occurred because pigs that had <150 mg of injectable Fe had decreased values to day 21 and then increased to day 63 while pigs with 150 or 200 mg of injectable Fe had increased values to day 21 then stayed relatively constant to day 63. In summary, piglet performance during lactation was maximized at 100 mg while nursery growth performance and blood Fe status were maximized with a 200 mg Fe injection at processing. Providing an additional 100 mg of Fe on day 11 of age increased Hb, and Hct values at weaning and 14 d into the nursery but did not provide a growth performance benefit in lactation or nursery. These results indicate that providing 200 mg of injectable Fe provided from GleptoForte is sufficient to optimize lactation and subsequent nursery growth performance and blood Fe status.