Effects of dietary energy and protein levels on reproductive performance in gestating sows and growth of their progeny

Feed intake patterns of modern genetics lactating sows: characterization and effect of the reproductive parameters

BACKGROUND

Knowing the feed intake pattern during lactation of modern genetic sows is crucial because it allows to anticipate possible problems and maximize their performance. On the other side, electronic feeders permit real-time data to be available for a more accurate evaluation of sow eating behavior. This work aimed to characterize the feed intake patterns of lactating highly prolific sows and determine their effect on reproductive performance. A database of 1,058 registers of feed intake collected from a commercial farm was used to identify five consistent sets of clusters (feeding curves) using machine learning. In the second step, the five feeding curves were characterized into five patterns by high, medium and low feed intake during 0-6 d and 7-28 d of lactation: 1-HH, 2-MH, 3-HM, 4-MM and 5-LL.

RESULTS

The mean daily feed intake of all the sows was 6.2 kg (0.06 SEM) across the 5 patterns. As the pattern numbers increased from 1-HH, 2-MH, 3-HM and 4-MM to 5-LL, their mean daily feed intake decreased from 7.6 to 6.9, 6.4, 5.8 and 4.3 (0.06 SEM) kg, respectively (P < 0.01). Sows with Pattern 1-HH tended to have shorter weaning-to-first service interval (P = 0.06) and had a higher farrowing rate than those with Pattern 5-LL (P < 0.01). Furthermore, contrast analysis showed that sows with Patterns 1-HH and 2-MH tended to have more piglets weaned (P = 0.05) and lower preweaning mortality (P = 0.07) than those with Patterns 3-HM and 4-MM. Also, sows with Patterns 1-HH and 3-HM had fewer stillborn piglets and a lower percentage of stillborn piglets and mummies than those with Patterns 2-MH and 4-MM (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates the importance of reaching Pattern 1-HH by rapidly increasing feed intake during early lactation and high feed intake during late lactation, which is associated with high weaning performance and subsequent reproductive performance of the sows. Also, the current study suggests that Pattern 1-HH is linked to good farrowing with a low percentage of stillborn piglets and mummies. Finally, it is critical for producers to timely identify a problem of sows' eating behavior and to make a prompt decision to intervene.

A High-Energy Diet and Spirulina Supplementation during Pre-Gestation, Gestation, and Lactation do Not Affect the Reproductive and Lactational Performance of Primiparous Sows

Simple Summary

High-energy or high-fat diets are often fed to pregnant and lactating sows to overcome problems resulting from insufficient energy intake. However, their long-term consumption has the potential to impair the reproductive and lactational traits in sows. The microalga spirulina has been previously described to exert beneficial health effects, and it may potentially reverse the detrimental effects induced by a high-energy diet. In the present study, both a high-energy diet and the spirulina did not affect the reproduction and lactational traits in sows, though they both influenced the colostrum fatty acids profile in a way that may impact offspring growth and health. Moreover, sows fed a high-energy diet tended to have less piglets weaned than sows fed a control diet. The spirulina was not able to reverse these effects but tended to affect the proportion of males and females per litter in a diet-specific manner.

Abstract

Feeding high-energy (HED) or high-fat diets during gestation and lactation to pigs may help cover the energy requirements of high-prolific sows but may also adversely affect their reproductive performance. The microalga Arthrospira plantensis (Sp), rich in bioactive compounds, has been described to exert beneficial health effects. The present study investigated the effects of HED and Sp intake during gestation and lactation in pigs. Twenty-four primiparous crossbred sows were fed either a HED or a control diet. Half of the sows per group were supplemented with 20 g/day of Sp. Despite a higher gross energy intake, consuming the HED did not affect the sows’ reproductive and lactational performance but significantly modified the colostrum fatty acid (FA) composition and tended to decrease the number of weaned piglets. The Sp supplementation did not affect the reproduction and lactation traits, but slightly affected the colostrum FA composition. A trend was observed for an interaction of diet and Sp in terms of offspring sex ratio with a 50% lower male-to-female ratio in the HED group compared to all other animals. These findings suggest that an HED and Sp intake hardly influence reproduction in sows. However, the HED modified the colostrum FA composition, whereas the Sp had only fewer effects, which may potentially affect offspring performance.

Effects of dietary supplementation with Allium mongolicum Regel extracts on growth performance, serum metabolites, immune responses, antioxidant status, and meat quality of lambs

The present study was to evaluate the effects of dried Allium mongolicum Regel (AMR) powder and its water- and fat-soluble extracts (AWE and AFE) on the growth performance, serum metabolites, immune responses, antioxidant status, and meat quality of lambs. A total of 32 male small-tailed Han lambs (5 months old; initial body weight = 34.8 ± 0.40 kg) were used in a 60-d feeding experiment after a 15-d adaptation period. The lambs were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 8) and fed a basal diet (control, CON group), the basal diet supplemented with dried AMR powder at 10 g/d per lamb (AMR group), the basal diet supplemented with AWE at 3.4 g/d per lamb (AWE group), or the basal diet supplemented with AFE at 2.8 g/d per lamb (AFE group). Blood samples were collected on d 0, 30, and 60 in the feeding experiment (n = 8). At the end of the experiment, the lambs were sacrificed and the longissimus dorsi muscles collected. Growth performance was not significantly affected by dietary supplementation of AMR, AWE and AFE (P > 0.05). However, significantly lower albumin (P = 0.006), total protein (P = 0.006), globin (P = 0.025), and blood urea nitrogen (P = 0.024) concentrations were observed in AFE group relative to CON and AMR groups. Similarly, a significantly lower lactate dehydrogenase activity (P = 0.018) was observed in AFE group relative to AWE group, but not in other groups (P > 0.05). In addition, significantly increasing trends in glutathione peroxidase (P = 0.06) in AMR, AWE, and AFE groups were observed relative to the control group. Furthermore, significantly lower drip loss (P = 0.011) across the treatment groups and cooking loss (P = 0.048) were observed in the AMR group relative to the control group. Taken together, these results indicate that AMR and its extracts had no significant effect on lamb growth performance, antioxidant status, and immune responses, but could significantly improve meat quality without the occurrence of pathological kidney and liver lesions.