The 229 piglets which died on an outdoor unit during a period of eight months were examined post mortem to determine the cause of death. The majority of the deaths (72 per cent) had occurred by the time that the litter was first inspected and of these 27 per cent had uninflated lungs and 53 per cent of the piglets born alive had no food in the stomach. Seventeen per cent of the stillborn pigs were of type I and 83 per cent were of type II. It was impossible to identify stillborn piglets reliably from their external appearance alone. At all ages, crushing was the most common cause of death (72 per cent of liveborn piglets). Six per cent of the corpses of the piglets had been damaged by birds, and attacks on live piglets occurred in the later stages of the study.
Grass silage provides an alternative feed for extensively kept sows, but previous experiments have indicated very variable intake and utilisation, dependant on silage quality. ‘Maxgrass’ silage additive (BP Nutrition) is a blend of compounds including ammonium hexamethanoate, ammonium hexapropanoate and octanoic acid. It is designed to modify fermentation, so that the resulting silage retains a higher proportion of water soluble carbohydrates. This should improve the nutritive value for pigs.The experiment comprised two parts: an intake/growth study and a separate digestibility study. The same two experimental silages, either treated with Maxgrass or an untreated control, were offered to groups of pregnant sows in a randomised block experimental design in each experiment. Second cut, mainly perennial ryegrass herbage was cut by mower conditioner and direct ensiled. Alternate loads were left untreated or treated with Maxgrass at a mean rate of 6.04 litres/tonne.
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