feeding strategy for piglets

The Univesity of Floridas Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences recommends the following Table 9. Protein Content, Feed Intake and Daily Gain Expected for Growing and Finishing Pigs Pig Size Protein Content of Ration ([percent]) Average Daily Feed Intake (lb) Expected Daily Gain Creep feed (suckling), 5 to 40 lb 22 .5 0.70 Nursery diet (weaned), 10 to 20 lb. 22 0.30 Pig Starter (weaned), 20 to 40 lb 18 - 20 1.00 0.90 Grower, 40 to 125 lb 16 4.25 1.50 Finisher, 125 to 240 lb 13 - 14 7.00 1.80 From personal experience Ive found that from creep (5lbs) to grower (100lbs) 16[percent] protein is sufficient since above that scour control becomes an issue. Lets face it the best feed in the world will do no good to the animal if it passes thru the system before it can be absorbed. This also raises the issue what benifit are we providing the animal if we make sick it just to give it an antidote. How do we in good conscience tell a farmer or future farmer (child with a show pig) an ultra high protein feed will make champions if they dont mind the added time and expense in man hours and medications involved in caring for a sick pig.

Milk replacer will never replace the sow.

Dr Taylor, I agree with Henry Rosolowski from Manitoba, Canadas assessment that piglet nutrition begins during gestation. Factors including total pigs born, pigs born live, stillborn pigs, piglet uniformity,and piglet wt as well as the piglet tissue composition, energy status, and immune status may all be influenced proir to parturation through sow nutrition. Then sow nutrition also greatly effects milk composition and the piglets preformance. I believe we are asking an amazing task for sows to milk enough to produce 275-300 lbs of piglet at weaning per litter. The sow may never be replaced, but it is also hard to find those perfect sows. Numerous things get in the way os a sow being the perfect rearing machine. There is nearly always a place for strategic milk use. Sow deathloss with no where to transfer piglets, sows with fevers resulting in milk composition changes or reduced production, as well as for use with a genetically valuable sows who may have udder problems, but still farrow a laarge number born live. From there one must look at the economics of Helping those sows and the return on that investment. Dan L. McDermott

Dear colleagues, Thank you very much for your considerations. I agree with Dan and Henry on the point that nutrition begins in gestation. Dan brought up an interesting issue about sow vs. milk replacer. What do you think? Sows are unpredictable: diseases, mortality…Is it worth the risk? Which are the economical figures? Can we find a perfect milk replacer? Chuck, that table is very useful, thank you. Pablo, you highlighted very important issues. Greetings Dr Mike Taylor

Dear Dr Taylor: Id like to make a comment for your consideration as regards to feeding strategies for piglets. My comment refers to the use of rheological clays, in paticular rheological sepiolite, in the nutrition of the very young piglet. Weve some practical experience offering free choice a pure micronised rheological sepiolite, without any additional product added, to newborn piglets. They have quite an interesting behaviour tasting or mouthing it when they are about 7d old. We estimate an intake around 5g/p/d at beginig raising to 10g/p/d after 2 wks. Even though piglets like it, we dont want them to overeat the product and it seems to be a good way to get the piglets to drink water faster and this helps reducing GI disorders, diarrhoea, competition while suckling... at the end what we gaet is a healthier and cleaner piglet that is able to get better profit from the prestarter feed. The product is offered in Rotecna type dishes twice a day to minimise spoilage of the product. Some farmers also use directly on the warm matt at around 50g/d, until piglets learn how to eat from the dish. Water holding capacity of this rheological clay is greater than 600[percent] and we think that this is of physiological relevance for the nutrition of the very young piglet. Wed like to learn about the relevance of the water for digestion but theres very little scientific/technical information regarding this point when piglets start eating significant amonuts of dry feed alternatively to the maternal milk. Maybe youd be able to inlcude in your research protocols some of these ideas. Thanks for shearing with us your research motivation and objectives. Sincerely Fernando Escribano PhD Animal Nutrition. Dr. Agricultural Engineering Animal Nutrition Manager Dep of R&D Tolsa - Madrid Spain

Thanks for the discussion forum. It was useful. I own a small PIG farm in India. I am in the process of regulating the feed to the Tropical conditions with available resources. About feeding piglets, we remove the piglets from parent on 14th day and allow them for milking for few times only.(say 3 or 4 times in a day) On same day we start feeding them with Peanut oil cake (which is a byproduct in Peanut oil production). We mix enough water with peanut oil cake, wait for about 4 hours. By this time it becomes half solid and half liquid. With this mixture we add mineral mixture and a tonic and then feed in small bowls. All the piglets start eating the feed. They get chance to take mothers milk as well. Then we add high protein grains with this as they grow more. Growth rate is ok and this has helped us in weaning losses. Piglets are removed from the mother permanently on 30th day.As it was mentioned in your previous discussions, it is a race from the beginning, similar to Poultry broiler growth. We are yet to achieve the full results because we have to wait few more months to see the results. Thanks again for the Discussion forum. G.Ponraj, 27/12/2009

I agreed with the two who said that it would start with the sow diets. Proper geatating and lactating feed would able to produce bigger and stronger piglets. A good start is a better finisher. However proper piglet nutriton should be followed based on young gut nutrition and immunity aspect. This would include proper choices of raw materials and processes. Using other feed additives to enhance growth and immunity is a key. Take note also the quality of water and management.

Dr. Taylor and others In reply to Dr. Taylors question on economics of milk replacer usage. If we use an assumed production level of 12.3 pigs born live and 10.9 pigs weaned, there is the birth to wean deathloss opportunity of 1.4 piglets (11.3[percent] birth to wean deathloss). The day 1-2 deathloss will not be effected by milk application. Starve-outs, laid-ons, and the effects of bad milk composition from sows (as when with a fever, or toxins from grain) can be reduced. My practical experience ( thousands of sows, in multiple production systems, with various feeding equipment) has lead to a birth to wean deathloss reduction rule of thumb of about 50[percent]. The greater the born live and prewean deathloss numbers are, the greater the [percent] pigs saved by applying milk. As these averages increase industry wide, the need to assist the sow with milk becomes greater. For example, if we assign a fixed cost to each live piglet at birth of $12.50 (includes gilt/sow, their maintainance, equipment, and buildings, utilities, etc.), . 10.9 pigs weaned * 12.50 fixed cost [equal] $131.25/weaned litter cost without milk usage. If we reduce prewean mortality by 50[percent], thats .7 more pigs weaned with the same fixed cost/litter. $131.25/litter weaned divided by 11.6 equals $11.31 fixed cost/pig. Thats a fixed cost reduction of $1.19 per pig at weaning. Who wouldnt want to reduce production costs/pig by over a dollar. We also should generate additional income (6.4[percent] more) from the .7 extra pigs/litter sold less any costs for that additional piglet (vaccines, medications, etc). If we assume a $25/pig value for the additional pigs. That equals an additional $17.50/litter income (.7pigs/litter x $25 pig value). $17.50 additional income / 11.6 pigs weaned $1.51 per pig weaned from increased revenue per litter. We can add the cost per pig reduction and the increased revenue per pig for a total of $2.70 increased profit per pig! The cost of applying milk replacer should easily be under $2.00/ pig leaving a net profit of approximately $.70/pig. This revenue will vary based on ownership vs. sold pigs, contracted sales price and delivered wt., etc. The cost of milk feeding will also vary dependent on feeding strategy used, sow genetic milking ability, nutrition levels of lactating sows, and health status of the herd. This is where specific production system economics and strategies must be evaluated and implemented. It is not a question of if milk feeding should be used, but one of when and how should milk be used. Thank you for you consideration, Dan L. McDermott DLM_Mkting Bringing Nutrition Technologies to Practice

Bonjour,......sorry for my English! Ive been invited to participate at the discussion but Im lost in ideas! Isnt the question about birth to reproduction? So I understand management of our future sows (gilts), right? In this case you shouldnt get anything about adding milk or other product to get these piglets to grow faster. This animal (female or male) must grow as naturally as possible to ensure the better choice at selection. And those good rustic female will become nice and strong sow in production…simple no? The main idea for the piglet life (birth to wean) is to drink as much as possible milk which is the best product he can have to get good starts in life. On the other hand high milk production by sow will increase body condition of the sow at weaning (mean she will have work a lot so she wont be too fat and especially first farrow sow will have been trained to produce milk at the next parity). At this is not questioning at all, YES piglet’s quality start during gestation, by sow and feed management. This gestation management is also the moment where the sow is getting ready for the following farrowing and 21 or 28 days of lactation! So not too fat to farrowed easily and not to thin to produce and support high level milk period. As we all known (people who work in farm) water quality is always an issue so its good to not be in the rush to have piglets at the water nipples! This can reduce risk of diarrhea. The best practice in production still good process of adoption and splitting piglets during the first 48 hours of their life. For it, people must be able to recognize good milking sow of the group to place on her all small one then to count working teats by sow to place adequately number by sow. We known also some “prolific” genetic that increase numbers born alive but decrease average weight by piglet born. Here is even more important to calibrate properly each litter to ensure also that each individual get access to colostrums! Then high number by sow are usually pushing producer to early wean part of each litter. Today this early wean practice is easily done with 5 to 7 days old piglets and it work quite well by following basics process: warm, dry, clean area warm, clean diet…different good feed are available on the market to succeed BUT still, the producer “talent” will do the best! As we do have several units over 30 piglets wean by sow by year, it’s easy to understand that they do need early weaning! For large scale herd, producer should prefer good, rustic genetic, to avoid risk of this early wean management as it’s almost impossible to stabilize results (low level of professionalism, turn over…) So during lactation priority MUST be given to sow milk. Crape feed can be given after 10 days essentially to get piglet ready to dry feed in nursery. This crape feed must be given on very small quantity but very often during the day (5 to 7 times by day) to increase freshness of the feed in the draught. Also more often you give feed more often they will come the feeder to play and eat some feed at the same time…basics! :) Then piglet quality and growth will depend on the length of lactation. At 21 days or 28 days old for weaning ,difficulties are not the same in nursery! In the nursery too: feeder and water quality, producer or employee quality, ventilation or building quality will make differences! for the story: I had to managed different unit (5000 to 2500 sows ) then we had 2 nursery of 8000 places each which was getting same piglets, same feed, had same building… but huge differences in death rate and growth… The only problem was the manager! As wean is a multiplication of stress (cut of the milk so lost of milk heat and mother heat as well, new building, new piglets in pen… is very important to find right tunes as soon as possible to not lost too much time in growth. The management is the more difficult tool in producing pigs in general and even more difficult during the first 3-4 week of nursery. • Lot’s of nutritionist know what good for the pig and we find huge possibilities on the feed market today, • We also known troubles around water quality and here too lot’s of possibilities available on the market, depending on the situation (PH, iron…) BUT only the producer has the final choice and the evaluation must be done unit by unit and not because of the neighbor choice! :) Feeding program is a big chapter because is the most expensive part of pig production expenses, so everyone always come with the “best” formula!...but like some of you remind it, economic is essential in the practice. By experience “on field” we are lots to agree that the following program is working: NURSERY 3 steps [equal] starter, first age, second age. FINISHER 2 steps: grower, finisher. Then each unit or nutritionist will adapt regarding genetic, building, feeding system, raw material, part of the world…etc. I personally like the idea to reduce as much as possible feed stage during the growing period as it’s resolving lot’s of troubles in management so automatically in production results. I hope this will help and hope that I was in the right subject…merci. Jean-Jacques Simon BOTAM-fr Technique & management www.botam-fr.e-monsite.com

I read from this that no one is using a nursery pen for sows and little pigs. I shift the sows with piglets at ten days of age to a pen that has feed for the sows water for the sows. Outside the fence there is a creep and water for pthe piglets. They can get to the creep by walking though the fence in to the feed area. I find that the piglets learn to socialise, and the sows socialise with the other sows. Feeding is organised amongst the sows to happen all at once. This prevents the piglets from stealing from the ohters sows organisation of the farrowing pens is good as it allows them to sit for a week with nothing in them and they they are refilled. I like to have my piglets very mobile before weaning so do thins is a good idea. The pecking order of the piglets is sorted out while they are in the pen with their mums as well. They play together in and out of the pen. I wean at 21 days of age. Pigs are doing fine, they are on feed and water and also have friends.