The effect of various diet nutrient densities and electrolyte balances on sow and litter performance during two seasons of the year

Electronically controlled cooling pads can improve litter growth performance and indirect measures of milk production in heat-stressed lactating sows

Heat stress (HS) decreases lactation output in sows due to an attempt to reduce metabolic heat production. However, this negatively affects litter growth performance. Therefore, the study objective was to determine whether electronically controlled cooling pads (ECP) would improve indirect measures of lactation output (e.g., total heat production; THP) and litter growth performance in HS exposed sows. Over two repetitions, 12 multiparous (2.69 ± 0.85) lactating sows [265.4 ± 26.1 kg body weight (BW)] and litters were assigned to either an ECP (n = 3/repetition) or a non-functional ECP (NECP; n = 3/repetition) and placed into farrowing crates within indirect calorimeters from d 3.7 ± 0.5 to d 18.7 ± 0.5 of lactation. Litters were standardized across all sows (11.4 ± 0.7 piglets/litter), and sows were provided ad libitum feed and water. All sows were exposed to cyclical HS (28.27 ± 0.26°C nighttime to 33.09 ± 0.19°C daytime). On d 4, 8, 14, and 18 of lactation, indirect calorimetry was performed on each individual sow and litter to determine THP and THP/kg BW 0.75. Body temperature (TB) was measured hourly using vaginal implants, and respiration rate [RR; breaths per minute (bpm)] was measured daily at 0700, 1100, 1300, 1500, and 1900 hrs. Sow feed intake (FI) was assessed daily. Litter weights were obtained at birth, on d 4, 8, 14, and 18 of lactation, and at weaning. Data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX with sow and/or litter as the experimental unit. An overall decrease (P < 0.01; 25 bpm) in RR and maximum daily TB (P = 0.02; 0.40°C) was observed in ECP versus NECP sows. An increase in THP (P < 0.01; 20.4%) and THP/kg BW 0.75 (P < 0.01; 23.1%) was observed for ECP when compared to NECP sows and litters. Litter average daily gain and weaning weight was increased (P < 0.05; 25.0 and 19.2%, respectively) for ECP versus NECP litters. No FI differences were observed (P = 0.40) when comparing ECP (5.66 ± 0.31 kg/d) and NECP (5.28 ± 0.31 kg/d) sows. In summary, ECPs improve litter growth, thermoregulatory measures, and bioenergetic parameters associated with greater milk production in lactating sows exposed to cyclical HS.

Effect of Oral Administration with Lactobacillus plantarum CAM6 Strain on Sows during Gestation-Lactation and the Derived Impact on Their Progeny Performance

Background

To evaluate the biological response of the sows and their offspring with oral administration of Lactobacillus plantarum CAM6 in breeding sows, a total of 20 Pietrain breeding sows with three farrowings and their descendants were used, randomly divided into two groups of 10 sows each. Treatments included a basal diet (T0) and basal diet +10 mL biological agent containing 10⁹ CFU/mL L. plantarum CAM6 (T1). No antibiotics were used throughout the entire experimental process of this study.

Results

The L. Plantarum CAM6 supplementation in sows' feeding did not affect (P > 0.05) the reproductive performance of the sows; however, the number of deaths for their offspring before weaning (P ≤ 0.05) decreased. In addition, the oral administration of Lactobacillus plantarum CAM6 in sows increased (P ≤ 0.05) the content of lactose, nonfat solids, mineral salts, and the density of sows' milk, with a decrease in milk fat. Moreover, the probiotic feed orally to the sows improved the body weight (P ≤ 0.05) and reduced the diarrhea incidence of their offspring (P ≤ 0.05). Also, the probiotic administration of sows changed (P ≤ 0.05) the serum concentration of Na⁺, pCO₂, and D-β-hydroxybutyrate and increased (P ≤ 0.05) the leukocytes, lymphocytes, and platelets in their piglets.

Conclusion

Oral administration of Lactobacillus plantarum CAM6 in breeding sows improved body weight, physiological status, and the health of their offspring. And preparing the neonatal piglets physiologically is of great importance to the pig farming industry which could decrease the operational cost and medication (especially antibiotics) consumption of the pig producers.

Lowering dietary cation-anion difference increases sow blood and milk calcium concentrations

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding an acidogenic diet with a low dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) on acid-base balance, blood, milk, and urine Ca concentrations of sows during lactation. A total of 30 multiparous sows (parity: 4.5 ± 2.9, Smithfield Premium Genetic, Rose Hill, NC) were allotted to 1 of 2 dietary treatments: CON (control diets were corn-soybean meal based with a calculated DCAD of 170 and 226 mEq/kg during late gestation and lactation, respectively) or ACI (acidogenic diets had a DCAD 100 mEq/kg lower than the control diets). The lower DCAD was achieved by the addition of an acidogenic mineral. The DCAD was calculated as mEq (Na + K - Cl)/kg diet. Sows had a daily access to 2-kg feed from day 94 of gestation to parturition and ad libitum access to feed during lactation. Blood and urine pH and Ca, serum macrominerals, serum biochemistry, Ca-regulating hormones, and milk composition were measured. Sows in ACI had a lower (P < 0.05) blood pH than sows in CON at day 1 of lactation. Sows in ACI had a lower (P < 0.05) urine pH at day 108 of gestation, days 1, 9, and 18 of lactation compared with sows in CON. Sows in ACI had greater (P < 0.05) concentrations of serum total Ca at days 1 and 18 of lactation than sows in CON. There was a greater (P < 0.05) concentration of colostrum Ca in ACI than in CON. There was no difference in urine Ca concentration between treatments during lactation. Concentrations of parathyroid hormone and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol were not different between treatments at either day 1 or 18 of lactation. Sows in ACI tended to have a smaller (P = 0.086) concentration of total alkaline phosphatase in serum at day 18 of lactation compared with sows in CON. At day 1 of lactation, the concentration of serum Cl in ACI was greater (P < 0.05) than that in CON. Feed intake, BW loss, and litter performance were not different between treatments. Collectively, feeding an acidogenic diet with a low DCAD to sows can induce a mild metabolic acidosis at farrowing, reduce the urine pH consistently, and increase serum total Ca and colostrum Ca concentrations during lactation but without altering the parathyroid hormone and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol levels during lactation.

Efeito do resfriamento evaporativo e do balanço eletrolítico sobre a lactação de porcas em condições de verão tropical

O experimento foi realizado em uma granja comercial com 72 fêmeas suínas da genética DanBred(r) e objetivou avaliar os efeitos do resfriamento evaporativo e do balanço eletrolítico sobre o desempenho e os parâmetros de termorregulação de porcas lactantes no verão. O delineamento experimental foi blocos ao acaso com quatro tratamentos em disposição fatorial 2 x 2 e 18 repetições por tratamento. Os tratamentos foram dois sistemas de ventilação (ventilação natural ou resfriamento evaporativo) e duas dietas (balanço eletrolítico de 175mEqkg-1 ou balanço eletrolítico alto de 275mEqkg-1). Os valores médios encontrados para temperatura ambiente e umidade relativa do ar foram de 24,8ºC e 64,5%, respectivamente, sendo obtidos valores diários de 31,6°C para a temperatura ambiente máxima e de 19,8°C para a temperatura ambiente mínima. Não houve efeito (P>0,05) significativo do resfriamento evaporativo e do balanço eletrolítico sobre o consumo de ração, a condição corporal e o intervalo desmame-estro das porcas. O sistema de resfriamento evaporativo proporcionou redução (P<0,05) na frequência respiratória e temperatura superficial mensuradas nos períodos da manhã e da tarde e na temperatura retal à tarde e aumento (P<0,10) no peso dos leitões ao desmame. A dieta com balanço eletrolítico alto não influenciou essas variáveis. Concluiu-se que a utilização do sistema de resfriamento evaporativo contribuiu para reduzir os efeitos do calor sobre as variáveis relacionadas à termorregulação das porcas em lactação durante o verão e proporcionou aumento no peso dos leitões ao desmame. Em dieta com níveis nutricionais específicos para climas quentes, o balanço eletrolítico alto não minimizou os efeitos do estresse calórico.

Adaptation to hot climate and strategies to alleviate heat stress in livestock production

Despite many challenges faced by animal producers, including environmental problems, diseases, economic pressure, and feed availability, it is still predicted that animal production in developing countries will continue to sustain the future growth of the world's meat production. In these areas, livestock performance is generally lower than those obtained in Western Europe and North America. Although many factors can be involved, climatic factors are among the first and crucial limiting factors of the development of animal production in warm regions. In addition, global warming will further accentuate heat stress-related problems. The objective of this paper was to review the effective strategies to alleviate heat stress in the context of tropical livestock production systems. These strategies can be classified into three groups: those increasing feed intake or decreasing metabolic heat production, those enhancing heat-loss capacities, and those involving genetic selection for heat tolerance. Under heat stress, improved production should be possible through modifications of diet composition that either promotes a higher intake or compensates the low feed consumption. In addition, altering feeding management such as a change in feeding time and/or frequency, are efficient tools to avoid excessive heat load and improve survival rate, especially in poultry. Methods to enhance heat exchange between the environment and the animal and those changing the environment to prevent or limit heat stress can be used to improve performance under hot climatic conditions. Although differences in thermal tolerance exist between livestock species (ruminants > monogastrics), there are also large differences between breeds of a species and within each breed. Consequently, the opportunity may exist to improve thermal tolerance of the animals using genetic tools. However, further research is required to quantify the genetic antagonism between adaptation and production traits to evaluate the potential selection response. With the development of molecular biotechnologies, new opportunities are available to characterize gene expression and identify key cellular responses to heat stress. These new tools will enable scientists to improve the accuracy and the efficiency of selection for heat tolerance. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression and thermal imprinting of the genome could also be an efficient method to improve thermal tolerance. Such techniques (e.g. perinatal heat acclimation) are currently being experimented in chicken.

Month-of-birth effect on further body size in a pig model

Previous studies unanimously confirmed the existence of a dependence of human body size on the month of birth. The cause of the phenomenon has not been identified yet, although some possible causes were proposed e.g. seasonal changes of climatic and nutritional conditions. This study explored the issue in an animal model of 20,513 pigs. We found that body weights of 6-month-old pigs were the highest for subjects born in February, but for 2-month-old pigs the peak fell in May. Any statistical correlation between the month of birth and later body weight may be induced by (1) a long-term effect of the month of birth on further growth potential (LTE), or by (2) a short-term effect of seasonal factors differentiating the growth rate (STE), so we developed a mathematical method to separate the effects. The analysis proved that (1) the observed correlations resulted only from the STE, with May-June being the months of the highest growth tempo, and that (2) there was no significant LTE. The short-term effect was responsible for differences between patterns of weight for 2- and 6-month-old animals by the month of birth: since a pig monthly gain of weight increases with age, it is favorable for it to be born in February to attain the greatest weight at the age of 6 months, whereas 2-month-old piglets are heaviest when born a month or two before the May/June optimum for growth. The lack of a long-term effect of the month of birth on pigs' weight supports the hypothesis of the cultural character of factor(s) responsible for the relationship between the month of birth and later body size in humans.

Effects of dietary electrolyte balance on the chemistry of blood and urine in lactating sows and sow litter performance

One hundred fifty-three sows (average parity of 2.2) were used to determine the effects of dietary electrolyte balance (calculated as mEq/kg of diet for Na + K - Cl) on sows and their litters during lactation. The sows were fed corn-soybean meal-based diets (1.0% lysine, 1.0% valine, 0.95% Ca, and 0.80% P; as-fed basis) starting on d 109 of gestation and throughout the 21-d lactation experiment. Dietary electrolyte balance (dEB) was 0, 100, 200, 350, and 500 mEq/kg (as-fed basis), well above and below the dEB of 185 mEq/kg found in a simple corn-soybean meal-based lactation diet. To achieve the desired dEB, diets had the following: 1) 1.8% HCl (6 N) and 1.06% CaCl2, 2) 1.0% CaCl2, 3) 0.04% NaHCO3, 4) 1.29% NaHCO3, and 5) 2.54% NaHCO3 (as-fed basis). Increasing dEB increased blood pH (linear and quadratic effects, P < 0.001), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (linear effect, P < 0.001), HCO3- concentration (linear and quadratic effects, P < 0.001), and blood base excess (linear and quadratic effects, P < 0.001). However, increased dEB resulted in lower blood concentrations of K (linear and quadratic effects, P < 0.04), Cl (linear and quadratic effects, P < 0.001), and ionized Ca (linear and quadratic effects, P < 0.001). Changing dEB did not affect ADFI; water usage, litter weight gain; sow weight change; sow backfat change; percentages of CP, lactose, and fat in the milk; percentage of sows returning to estrus; days to estrus; and number of pigs born alive in the subsequent litter (P = 0.06). However, piglet survivability to d 10 and overall was greatest with the lower dEB treatments (linear effect, P < 0.05). The pH (linear and quadratic effects, P < 0.001) and colony forming units of total bacteria (linear effect, P < 0.03) in the urine increased as dEB of the diet was increased. In conclusion, dEB had pronounced effects on the physiological status of sows and decreasing dEB below that in a simple corn-soybean meal-based diet decreased bacterial counts in the urine and increased piglet survivability. However, milk composition, sow and litter weights at weaning, and subsequent rebreeding performance of the sows were not affected by dEB.