Extended nursing and/or increased starter diet allowances for low weaning weight pigs

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the use of nurse sows and post-weaning nutrition strategies for low wean weight (WW) pigs on lifetime growth and efficiency.Methods: Animals (n = 270) were assigned to one of five treatments at 28 d. Low WW pigs (<6 kg) were either weaned and offered a special dietary regime recommended for low WW pigs (WEAN) or placed on a nurse sow (NURSE) and weaned at 49 d. Normal WW pigs (9 kg) (NORM) were also weaned at 28 d. After weaning, NORM and NURSE pigs were offered either a ‘high’ (4 kg/pig of starter 1 diet followed by 8 kg/pig of starter 2 diet) or ‘low’ (8 kg/pig of starter 2 diet) starter diet allowance in a 2×2 factorial arrangement. A typical grower diet was then offered, followed by a typical finisher diet until 147 d of age.Results: NORM pigs where heavier throughout their life compared to NURSE pigs (91.4 kg vs 76.2 kg at 147 d; p<0.001). WEAN pigs were heavier at 70 d compared to NURSE pigs (23.9 kg vs 21.0 kg; p<0.001), but there was no significant difference at 147 d between NURSE and WEAN treatments. NURSE pigs had reduced feed intake throughout the finishing period (1.6 kg/d; p<0.001) compared to WEAN (2.0 kg/d) and NORM (1.9 kg/d) pigs. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) of NURSE (2.20) was lower than NORM and WEAN during the finishing period (2.40 and 2.79, respectively).Conclusion: Extended (up to 49 d) nursing for low WW pigs resulted in improved FCR during the finishing period, but no overall improvement in growth rate compared to low WW pigs weaned at 28 d and offered a specialised starter regime. Normal WW pigs where significantly heavier than low WW pigs throughout the study.

The nurse sow system ‒ A natural process of handling large litters: A review

“…The main goal of the nurse sow method is to maximize pre-weaning survival while also benefiting the piglets. Similar to this, using nurse sows significantly increases piglet average daily gain and weight at weaning (Rezac et al 2023), it is related to improved gut immunity in piglets (Berkeveld et al 2009) and boosts the overall worth of low birth https://doi.org/10.17221/158/2023-CJAS weight piglets (Craig et al 2020). However, possible negative effects could be observed on piglet performance.…”

Fucoidan Supplementation Improves Antioxidant Capacity via Regulating the Keap1/Nrf2 Signaling Pathway and Mitochondrial Function in Low-Weaning Weight Piglets

“…However, a consequence of this practice is the surge in the number of low-weaning weight piglets. The digestive system of these low-weaning weight piglets is not fully mature, the growth rate is relatively slow, the resistance to external stimuli is poor, and the diarrhea incidence and mortality rate are often high [3][4][5]. Early weaning would trigger a series of complex physiological and psychological reactions in piglets, including changing eating habits and adapting to the new social environment, which may lead to their physiological and immune function abnormalities, causing serious oxidative stress [6,7].…”