Influence of biotin and folic acid on sow productivity, growth and livability of piglets

Abstract

Recently, many countries have tightened requirements for the quality of compound feed and its individual components including vitamins. However, the vitamins of grain and protein feed may not be available for assimilation by animals that have been destroyed or lost activity during storage. The purpose of this work was to provide scientific and practical substantiation of use in diets of sows biotin and folic acid to enhance their reproductive ability and improve the physiological state ensure, through the use of brooders, the best micro-climate in the area is received from off spring to enhance growth and the survival of piglets. The experimental part of the work has been performed at the pig breeding complex APC “Ovsyanka”, MAUE “Ovsyanka named after I. I. Melnik” in the Goretsky district in the Mogilev region in the Republic of Belarus. For the first time in the Republic of Belarus under the industrial technology of animal husbandry the use of biotin and folic acid additives in the diets of sows has been scientifically justified. The optimal doses of biotin and folic acid additives in the compound feed have been developed to increase reproductive ability and improve the physiological state of sows. The possibility of using cylindrical brooders with a truncated cone in combination with various sources of local heating in the piglets’ recreation area has been experimentally established. The economic feasibility of using biotin and folic acid additives in the diets of sows and brooders in the recreation area of their off spring has been proved.