Intermittent Suckling in Combination with an Older Weaning Age Improves Growth, Feed Intake and Aspects of Gastrointestinal Tract Carbohydrate Absorption in Pigs after Weaning

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe weaning of piglets involves abrupt changes that often cause reduced production and predisposition to gastrointestinal tract dysfunction. Increasing the weaning age or using gradual weaning are techniques that can improve post-weaning performance. In this study, it is shown that an older weaning age (day 35) in combination with intermittent suckling (daily separation of piglets from the sow for 8 h in the week before weaning) improved growth rate, feed intake and aspects of gastrointestinal tract carbohydrate absorption after weaning. However, intermittent suckling and weaning at 28 days did not seem to improve post-weaning performance in this study.AbstractThis study tested the hypothesis that intermittent suckling (IS) with or without an older weaning age would improve post-weaning gastrointestinal tract (GIT) carbohydrate absorptive capacity in pigs while reducing post-weaning stress and aspects of the inflammatory response. Three weaning regimes using primiparous sows were compared: (1) conventional weaning (CW28) (n = 22), where piglets were weaned conventionally at day 28; (2) IS28 (n = 21), where IS started at day 21 until weaning at day 28; and (3) IS35 (n = 21), where IS started at day 28 until weaning at day 35. Sugar absorption tests (10% mannitol or 10% galactose) were used to measure GIT absorptive capacity. All measured parameters were compared in relation to weaning across treatments (i.e., different physiological ages were compared). The IS35 pigs grew fastest in the 12 days after weaning (p < 0.01) and had the highest solid feed intake before and after weaning (p < 0.05). Irrespective of treatment, pre-weaning mannitol levels were higher than post-weaning levels (p < 0.01), whereas post-weaning galactose levels were highest in IS35 pigs (p < 0.01). Cytokine data did not show any treatment effects. In conclusion, these data suggest that IS in combination with an older weaning age (day 35) improved post-weaning adaptation as evidenced by improvements in performance measures and galactose absorption. However, IS28 did not improve post-weaning performance.

Persistent Zika virus infection in porcine conceptuses is associated with elevated in utero cortisol levels

“…Next, cortisol levels were measured in AF and maternal plasma (collected at the day of fetal sampling) with Cortisol ELISA Kit (ADI-900-071, Enzo Life Sciences, Farmingdale, NY, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The kit has been validated by the manufacturer for compatibility with porcine samples and has been previously used in pig research [22][23][24][25]. The assay detection limit was 56.7 pg/ml.…”

Development of pigs raised in a group housing system for lactating sows and their litters

“…If so, post-weaning mannitol levels are expected to be lower than pre-weaning levels, as a reflection of a decreased intestinal surface area resulting from weaning. This seems to be in line with the numerically lower levels of mannitol after weaning compared with before weaning in our study, and similar results were found by Turpin et al (2016). However, this does not provide a satisfactory explanation for the lower plasma concentrations of mannitol (-46%) on day 5 after weaning in MS piglets compared with FC piglets, as MS piglets seemed to perform better between days 2 to 5 in terms of feed utilisation.…”

“…However, studies in which forced IS was combined with an extended lactation showed that piglets displayed more eating behaviour before weaning and showed an improved transition to the post-weaning phase, indicated by a higher feed intake, reduced growth check, improved intestinal function, and reduced aggression and damaging oral manipulation Turpin et al, 2016), compared with conventionally weaned piglets. Similarly, studies providing a piglet-free area for the sows found a higher pre-weaning feed intake, a higher post- weaning feed intake, a higher post-weaning weight gain , and more post-weaning eating behaviour (Rantzer et al, 1995) than in piglets reared with individually housed sows.…”

“…A score of 0 was given if no faeces was present, score 1 if pasty faeces was present, and score 2 if watery faeces was present. Furthermore, piglets were subjected to a sugar absorption test using a protocol based on Turpin et al (2016) on day 5 before weaning and day 5 after weaning. Piglets were fasted for 3 hours, during which they had access to drinking water but not to solid feed or milk.…”

Long‐term survival of full‐thickness corneal xenografts from α1,3‐galactosyltransferase gene‐knockout miniature pigs in non‐human primates

“…Donors <2‐4 years of age are usually not accepted for human corneal allotransplantation . The puberty onset age of pigs is approximately 4‐5 months . Corneas from younger‐aged (<3 months) pigs were extremely soft and were more pliable than corneas from older pigs .…”