Effect of gestation management system on gilt and piglet performance

Abstract

Individual gestation housing of pregnant sows in stalls from four weeks after mating is banned in the EU. Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of two gestation management and housing systems (STALL: gilts housed in stalls and PEN: gilts loose-housed in pens with increased feed ratio) on gilt and piglet performance during lactation. Thirty-seven PEN and 33 STALL gilts were used. Backfat, litter pre-weaning mortality and total feed intake (TFI) during lactation were recorded in gilts. Weight and rectal temperature was recorded in piglets. In Exp 1 the behaviour of a subsample of gilts was videotaped during lactation. In Exp 2 saliva cortisol in gilts, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and T4 hormones in piglet blood were measured. PEN gilts had more backfat when moved to the farrowing stalls. PEN gilts tended to have higher cortisol concentration 24 h after entering the farrowing stall and to spend more time sitting or standing up one day before parturition than STALL gilts. PEN piglets had higher bodyweight (BW) on day 0 (Exp 2) and lower T4 concentration than STALL piglets. However, STALL piglets showed higher rectal temperature 60 min after birth and lower mortality at day 2. In Exp 2, STALL piglets also had higher BW and average daily gain at weaning. During lactation, PEN gilts lost more backfat and weaned less piglets. Gilts loose-housed with increased feed ratio during gestation might be more stressed when housed in farrowing stalls than those kept in stalls during gestation, thus compromising their offsprings’ thermoregulatory capacity and growth however, from our results, it is difficult to differentiate the effect of feed level from the effect of allocation during gestation.

High environmental temperature around farrowing induced heat stress in crated sows

“…Sows stressed before farrowing are more prone to prolonged farrowing duration (Oliviero et al, 2008;Muns et al, 2014). The HEAT sows in the present experiment showed an increased farrowing duration (168 min) compared to CONTROL sows.…”

“…Although we did not find significant differences between groups for back fat thickness at farrowing, our results could suggest that 10 sows per group was not enough to detect differences between groups. Other studies have found similar differences in back fat level (4.4 mm) to be significant when comparing more than 30 sows per treatment (Muns et al, 2014). Different authors have observed that sows with higher BW and back fat at the end of gestation would lose more BW and back fat during lactation with no reduction in feed intake (Eissen et al, 2000;van der Peet-Schwering et al, 2004); however, no differences in BW or back fat loss during lactation were observed in our experiment, which is consistent with the lack of difference between groups for back fat thickness at farrowing.…”

Evaluation of high nutrient diets on litter performance of heat-stressed lactating sows

“…Insignificant results might be attributed to low number of sows, which was only 20 sows per group. Muns et al [ 2 ] found significant differences on backfat thickness when the number of sows were over than 30 sows per treatment. The total ADFI in a high energy level diet may decrease but the total energy intake increase [ 11 ].…”

“…High ambient temperatures during lactation above the evaporative critical temperature (i.e., 22°C; 1), reduces average daily feed intake (ADFI) with negative consequences on farrowing rates and reproductive performance in lactating sows due to their high nutrient requirements [ 1 , 2 ]. The reduction in ADFI may be a natural mechanism to decrease metabolic heat production associated with digestion and metabolism [ 2 – 4 ]. This decreased voluntary intake leads to increased body reserves mobilization, increased weight loss at weaning, and reproductive performance of the lactating sows in subsequent parity as well [ 5 ].…”

Evaluation of high nutrient diets and additional dextrose on reproductive performance and litter performance of heat‐stressed lactating sows

“…High ambient temperature during lactation is one of the most serious environmental issues, which adversely affects average daily feed intake (ADFI) and thereby reproductive performance in lactating sows (Choi et al, ; Muns, Manzanilla, & Manteca, ; Wegner, Lambertz, Das, Reiner, & Gauly, ). The decreased ADFI may be a natural mechanism to reduce metabolic heat production from digestion and metabolism (Muns et al, ; Williams et al, ). An increase in the nutrient density may improve total nutrient intake of lactating sows.…”