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Sow feeding management
An essential part of any strategy to optimize sow reproductive performance, increase efficiency of feed usage and lower culling rate, is to control weight and backfat gain during gestation and weight and backfat loss in lactation. This is best achieved by individually feeding each sow a well balanced diet, and basing daily feed allowances according to an estimate of sow bodyweight and backfat thickness.
A well-designed feeding program can help meet operational goals for sow farm efficiency and profit by minimizing feed waste and maximizing sow productivity. An effective sow feeding program starts with breeding gilts within the right window of weight and feeding them according to recommendations during their first gestation. This can help maximize the number of sows in ideal condition at first farrowing.
Additionally, knowing and maintaining an ideal sow body condition score is a key strategic area for long-term success. The body condition of sows in the barn is closely related to the profitability of the sow farm because it impacts sow longevity and reproductive performance. Keeping sows in the ideal body condition – not too fat and not too thin – is essential. A successful feeding program includes recording data and linking body condition to feeding so you can correctly adjust each sow’s feed ration.
Steve Pollmann (independent consultant, DSP Consulting) discusses spacing, summer weight loss, castration and feed costs, in this Engormix interview....
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Steve Pollmann (independent consultant, DSP Consulting) discusses housing, weaning age, heat stress and sow mortality rates, among other aspects, in this Engormix interview....
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Katherine Vande Pol (University of Illinois) talked about her research on spacing alternatives during gestation and how it impacts the feeding system, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
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Tom Weber (AB Vista) commented on the advantages of using fiber in the diets of gestating sows, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
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Tom Weber (AB Vista) shared his insights on the formulation and intake of lactating sows, during this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
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Mike Tokach (Kansas State University) shared his insights on sow feeds and feeders, in this Swine It interview with host Laura Greiner....
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Introduction: In a swine breeding, the piglets are those which require more nutritional care due to their physiologic immaturity and the enzymatic changes that take place in these first stages of life. The objective of this experiment was to assess the effect of the nutritional supplement VIUSID vet on the productive behavior of lactating sows and their piglets. Materials and Methods: For this work 54 Yorkshire lactating sows and 548 piglets were...
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Introduction: Modern pig farming is still associated with a high pre-weaning mortality, which is partly caused by a slow progress of piglet expulsion. Most of the deaths occur around the time of farrowing and therefore farrowing is the most critical phase in pig production. The impact of farrowing includes not only the litter survival and subsequent health of the piglets, but also the feed intake and fertility of the sows. So farrowing rate is a main factor for consistent pig...
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Introduction: The loss of backfat thickness in sows during lactation period is commonly observed in swine commercial herds under tropical climate. High backfat loss in lactating sows contribute to increase weaning-to-estrus interval. However, increasing the amount of feed during late gestation may cause high backfat thickness at farrowing, and lead to dystocia. Arginine is a precursor for nitric oxide synthesis, an important part for protein, fat and hormone synthesis. Arginine...
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Introduction The continuous increase in the area cultivated with genetically modified (GM) crops [1] and consequently their ubiquitous presence makes it increasingly difficult for consumers to avoid GM products. However, the dispute regarding the safety of GM crops is far from resolved [2] and consumer opinions vary over time and from country to country [3,4]. Bt MON810 maize is resistant to attack by Lepidopterae pests, as it expresses the Cry1Ab protein [5]. This protein is...
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1. Introduction Commercial mixed feeds are a basic element in modern animal production. They contain mixtures of home grown cereals and imported commodities among other ingredients. The use of such ingredients inevitably leads to the contamination of the final mixed feed with fungi [1]. Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites associated with severe toxic effects to vertebrates and produced by important phytopathogenic spoilage fungi including Aspergillus ,...
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Introduction: Phosphorus (P) is an important component in several processes and the main component of the inorganic bone matrix together with calcium (Ca).The minerals can be released from the bones to the blood by the bone turnover processes associated also breaking down the organic matrix of the bone. For reproducing sows, the physiological demand for nutrients covers the supply to the growing fetuses and eventually for milk production. If the dietary supply of P and...
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Introduction: Animal welfare, has been traditionally evaluated by measuring level of aggression and stress parameters. However, feeding behavior can also provide a valuable indication of comfort or stress for gestating sows in large groups, when fed with ESF systems. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted at Albesa-Ramadera a 3300 sow, Site 1 farm, based in Catalonia, Spain. The farm has large group gestation (128 to 175 sows per group) and utilizes...
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Introduction: Tail necrosis in neonatal piglets was reported in several conventional pig herds in Belgium. The primary cause remains unclear. Mycotoxins are frequently mentioned to be involved, although a causal relationship has not been established yet. This case-control study aimed to investigate the involvement of feed-mycotoxins on the prevalence of tail necrosis in neonatal piglets. Materials and Methods: Ten conventional pig herds with and ten...
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Introduction: Zearalenone (ZEA) is a mycotoxin with estrogenic effects, swine being the most sensitive animals, particularly gilts which develop vulvovaginitis and enlargement of mammary glands and the reproductive tract. The objective of this study was to evaluate the toxic effects in gilts that result after consuming 500 µg/kg of ZEA, and the ability of two commercial antimycotoxin agents to reduce the bioavailability of this toxin during a period of 35 days. The...
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Introduction: Liquid feed is the main feeding practice for finishing pigs in Northern Italy and is increasingly becoming a reference for sows and piglets (Lizardo, 2003). The objective of this field survey was to characterize the fermentative profile of different liquid feeds according to the main ingredients used in Northern Italy. Materials and Methods: In order to monitor the fermentation profile of different types of liquid feeds used in fattening pigs in...
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Introduction: Recent research has demonstrated that maternal dietary supplementation of LactoShield® (seaweed extract) had beneficial effects on the growth performance, immune status and gastrointestinal health of weanling pigs. The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of maternal dietary LactoShield® inclusion on the reproductive performance of sows and the piglet during the suckling period. Materials and Methods: The farm...
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Introduction: Sow body condition is a critical factor in all stages of the production cycle affecting health, welfare, performance and longevity. Additionally, the direct economic impact on annual costs of unoptimized feeding can be substantial. Therefore, it is important to monitor sows throughout their lifetime to ensure well-being, maximize production efficiency, optimize culling decisions and determine the adequacy of the feeding management practices. Multiple tools are...
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Introduction Pigs suffer high rates of embryonic mortality, especially during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy [1, 2] when embryos elongate rapidly, signal for pregnancy recognition, and attach to the uterine wall [3, 4]. Maternal nutrition plays an important role in the development and subsequent survival of conceptuses (embryo/fetus and its extra-embryonic membranes), especially the maternal dietary intake of amino acids (AAs) [5–7]. Both low and high...
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Introduction On average, piglet livability in Europe is 83%, ranging from 70% to 90%. It is determined by the number of still births and pre-weaning mortality in a given litter. With the increasing litter size, piglet survival is a persistent challenge to pig producers. This calls for a feeding and management strategy to improve nutrition and wellbeing of the sow in the transition phase covering late gestation, farrowing, lactation and breeding. The transition period...
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