Metabolic state of the sow, nursing behaviour and milk production

Piglet birth weight and litter uniformity are important for piglet survival. Insulin-stimulating sow diets before mating may improve subsequent piglet birth weights and litter uniformity, but the physiological mechanisms involved are not clear. This study evaluated effects of different levels of insulin-stimulating feed components (dextrose plus starch; fed twice daily) during the weaningto-estrus interval (WEI) on plasma insulin and IGF-1 concentrations, and on follicle development and subsequent luteal, fetal and placental development and uniformity at days 42 to 43 of pregnancy. During WEI, multiparous sows were isocalorically fed diets supplemented with 375 g/day dextrose plus 375 g/day corn starch (INS-H), with 172 g/day dextrose plus 172 g/day corn starch and 144 g/day animal fat (INS-L), or with 263 g/day animal fat (CON). Jugular vein catheters were inserted through the ear vein at 1.5 days before weaning to asses plasma insulin and IGF-1 concentrations. After estrus, all sows received a standard gestation diet until slaughter at days 42 to 43 of pregnancy. The dextrose plus starch-diets enhanced the postprandial insulin response in a dose-dependent manner (e.g. at day 2 insulin area under the curve was 4516 mU/444 min for CON, 8197 mU/444 min for INS-L and 10 894 mU/444 min for INS-H; s.e.m. 5 694; P , 0.001), but did not affect plasma IGF-1 concentrations during the first 3 days of WEI. Follicle development and subsequent luteal, fetal and placental development and uniformity were not affected by the dietary treatments, nor related to plasma insulin and IGF-1 concentrations during WEI. Pre-weaning plasma insulin and IGF-1 concentrations were negatively related to sow body condition loss during lactation, but were not related to subsequent reproduction characteristics. This study shows that dietary dextrose plus starch are effective in stimulating insulin secretion (both postprandial peak and long-term concentration), but not IGF-1 secretion during the first 3 days after weaning in multiparous sows. The extreme insulin-stimulating diets during WEI did, however, not improve follicle development, or subsequent development and uniformity of fetuses and placentas in these high-prolific sows (27.0 6 0.6 ovulations; 18.6 6 0.6 vital fetuses).

supporting

confidence: 75%

Insulin-stimulating diets during the weaning-to-estrus interval do not improve fetal and placental development and uniformity in high-prolific multiparous sows

Wientjes

Soede

Laurenssen

et al. 2013

“…On adventures out of the nest, piglets will follow their mother during foraging bouts. Sows will increase these foraging bouts as lactation progresses and the energy demands become more intense, causing sows to mobilise their body reserves (Quesnel and Prunier, 1995) and switch from an anabolic to a catabolic state (Valros et al, 2003). Milk production then peaks by the 3rd week in lactation, before gradually declining (Elsley, 1971).…”

Section: Nest Departure and Social Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative farrowing systems: design criteria for farrowing systems based on the biological needs of sows and piglets

Baxter

Lawrence

Edwards

2011

114

112

The construction of a suitable farrowing environment is a continuing dilemma: the piglet's needs must be matched with those of the sow and the farmer during the main phases that constitute farrowing: nest building, parturition and lactation. Difficulties exist in resolving the various conflicts of interest between and within these three parties (e.g. sow v. farmer: space needed for nest building v. space needed to maximise the amount of farrowing accommodation, or sow v. sow: ensuring the survival of the current litter v. maintaining condition for future litters). Thus, the challenge is to resolve these conflicts and design a system that maximises sow and piglet welfare while maintaining an economically efficient and sustainable enterprise. In order to successfully design a farrowing and lactation environment, it is necessary to consider the biological needs of both the sow and her litter. The natural behaviour of the sow has been well documented and very little variation exists between reports of peri-parturient behaviour observed in extensively kept domestic sows and their wild counterparts. The failure for domestication to significantly alter these behavioural patterns provides evidence that they are biologically significant and that the commercial farrowing environment should attempt to accommodate this behavioural repertoire. In addition, the behavioural needs of the piglets, as well as the physiological needs of both sows and their offspring should be considered. This article aims to review the considerable body of literature detailing the behavioural repertoire of sows and their offspring during the different phases of farrowing, and the accompanying physiological processes. The focus is on identifying biological needs of the animals involved in order to synthesise the appropriate design criteria for farrowing and lactation systems, which should optimise both welfare and animal production.

“…This is lower than the correlation reported by Grandinson et al (2005), who estimated the genetic correlation between loss in body weight during lactation and piglet growth to 20.85 using data from a research herd. Milk production is costly for the sow and a large, heavy litter can result in poor sow body condition as a consequence of the sow utilizing body tissue reserves (Valros et al, 2003;Grandinson et al, 2005). The genetic correlation between shoulder ulcers and sow body condition was also negative (20.59).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Heritability of shoulder ulcers and genetic correlations with mean piglet weight and sow body condition

Lundgren

Zumbach

Lundeheim

et al. 2012

Self Cite

The objective of this paper was to estimate the heritability for shoulder ulcers and the genetic correlations between shoulder ulcers, mean piglet weight and sow body condition. The analyses were based on information on 5549 Norwegian Landrace sows and their 7614 purebred litters. The genetic analysis was performed using the Gibbs sampling method. Shoulder ulcers were analyzed as a threshold trait. Sow body condition and mean piglet weight were analyzed as linear traits. The heritability of shoulder ulcers was estimated at 0.25 (s.d. 5 0.03). The heritability for sow body condition was estimated at 0.14 (s.d. 5 0.02) and that for mean piglet weight at 0.23 (s.d. 5 0.02). The genetic correlation between shoulder ulcers and sow body condition was negative (20.59, s.d. 5 0.09). The genetic correlation between shoulder ulcers and mean piglet weight was positive (0.23, s.d. 5 0.10) and the genetic correlation between sow body condition and mean piglet weight was negative (20.24, s.d. 5 0.10).