Intermittent suckling with or without co-mingling of non-littermate piglets before weaning improves piglet performance in the immediate post-weaning period when compared with conventional weaning

Abstract

BackgroundIn this experiment, intermittent suckling (IS) with or without the co-mingling (CoM) of piglets was studied as a method to stimulate solid feed intake and reduce post-weaning stress.MethodsThree weaning regimes using 30 multiparous sows were compared: (1) conventional weaning (CW) (n = 10 litters), where piglets had continuous access to the sow until weaning (d 0, farrowing = d −25 relative to weaning); (2) intermittent suckling (IS) (n = 10 litters), where piglets were separated from the sow for 8 h/d starting at d −7 (relative to weaning); and (3) intermittent suckling with co-mingling (ISCo) (n = 10 litters) where IS started at d −7 and two litters were housed together during separation and then returned to their original sow. Ad libitum creep feed was available from d −17. At weaning pigs were housed in pens of 11 pigs, 27 pens in total. The ISCo treatment was divided in half to examine effects of different mixing strategies after weaning. Half of the ISCo litters were kept in familiar groups (ISCoF, familiar, n = 4) and the other half were mixed within treatment resulting in groups of unfamiliar pigs (ISCoNF, not familiar, n = 5), the same as IS (n = 9) and CW (n = 9) treatments.ResultsThe ISCo piglets ate more creep feed in the week before weaning (P < 0.01), but also showed more aggressive and manipulative behaviour on first day of CoM compared with CW piglets (P < 0.05). IS with or without CoM increased exploratory and play behaviour on the first day of treatment intervention (P < 0.001) and increased sleeping behaviour on the last day of treatment intervention compared with CW (P < 0.001). Mixing strategy at weaning had an effect on performance data with the highest growth and feed intake seen in ISCoF pigs 2 to 8 d after weaning (P <0.001). IS and ISCoNF pigs also grew faster and ate more than CW pigs 2 to 8 d after weaning (P < 0.001). Post-weaning injury scores suggested reduced aggression in ISCo as evidenced by reduced redness (skin irritation) (P < 0.05), and a tendency for ISCo to have less scratches than CW (P < 0.1). The IS pigs slept the most and displayed less manipulative behaviours on the day of weaning and plasma haptoglobin levels remained low in IS pigs after weaning (P ≤ 0.01).ConclusionsBoth intermittent suckling techniques improved production indices in the immediate post-weaning period. However, the addition of co-mingling before weaning in combination with grouping familiar pigs together after weaning improved performance in an additive manner.

Effects of Activated Charcoal-Herb Extractum Complex on Antioxidant Status, Lipid Metabolites and Safety of Excess Supplementation in Weaned Piglets

“…Weaning is the most critical period in the life of young piglets. Nutrition, environment and social factors impact weaned piglets in ways that contribute to accumulated oxidative stress [15]. Early weaning stress is associated with oxidative indicators [16] such as elevated plasma MDA and free radicals and impaired cellular antioxidant defense systems in piglets [17].…”

Gastrointestinal tract (gut) health in the young pig

“…Similar in concept to sow controlled housing, intermittent suckling (IS) involves the daily separation of sows and piglets for a specified period of time during the last part of lactation. Intermittent suckling regimens have traditionally been examined for their potential to induce an oestrus in lactation, allowing for possible mating ( Downing, 2015 , Gerritsen et al., 2008 ), however studies have also highlighted welfare benefits for the piglets as evidenced by improvements in post-weaning performance ( Berkeveld et al., 2009 , Kuller et al., 2004 , Kuller et al., 2007b , Turpin et al., 2017a , Turpin et al., 2017b ) and behaviour ( de Ruyter et al., 2017 ). In contrast, there is a concern that enforced, repeated episodes of sow-piglet separation are detrimental to piglet and sow welfare with possible implications for post-weaning gut health.…”

“…A difference in weaning age in these studies (16 to 18 days) than in the former study (>24 days of age) may have been responsible for this difference. Furthermore, no behavioural patterns indicative of piglet distress during IS have been reported ( Berkeveld et al., 2007a ; Kearns et al., 2011 ; Turpin et al., 2017a , Turpin et al., 2017b ).…”

Health and welfare in organic livestock production systems—a systematic mapping of current knowledge

“…When piglets were separated from the sow for 8 h/day 1 week prior to weaning, piglet feed consumption and growth in the immediate post-weaning period were improved. In combination with comingling with another litter, it also increased the creep feed intake and reduced the aggression level after weaning (Turpin et al 2017). Mixing of piglets during lactation was beneficial for piglets' social development, their adaptation to postweaning situations and post-weaning performance (van Nieuwamerongen et al 2014(van Nieuwamerongen et al , 2015Verdon et al 2016Verdon et al , 2019.…”