Paul D Matzat

also the light weight piglets at birth are slowing growing (even at the same BW) and are less feed efficient (based on thousands of pigs with individual feed intake data). Light weight pigs less than 1.1 kg at birth can be 20 to 30 US dollars less profitable per pig than pigs with birth weights above 1.1 kg.. Light birth weight gilts in multiplier herds have lower probabiiity of research puberty ...

Genetic part of the equation. Birth weight is highly heritable, from the maternal side: some sow families give heavy piglets, others light. Heritable also means repeatable, sorting sows based on first and/or second litter birth weights will definitely create difference in third or later parity. Service sire, father of the piglets has very little to do with birth weight.Within litter standard devia ...

We have found that later BW's (168 d) or days to constant BW's (120 or 130 kg) to have linear-quadratic relationships with both birth and weaning weights. Also the BW gain the first two weeks after weaning is important. After birth, any management to increase the growth of the lightest pigs in the group can reduce variation. Each stress - disease - heat - social interactions from mixing etc, i ...