Dr Elizabeth Magowan Growth, feed and economics. Outline of presentation Large litters have given...

Dr Elizabeth Magowan

Growth, feed and economics

Outline of presentation

Large litters have given pig producers additional challenges.

However:

Can a light weight pig which weans heavy always perform well or does it fall back because it was small at birth?

Can the growth check after weaning be overcome?

Are these large litters worth it?

Q1 – The light weight pig..

Birth and wean weight is a strong predictor of lifetime performance (Douglas et al., 2012)

Allen et al (2010) found that 28% of pigs with a birth weight under 1kg could achieve a wean weight of 8kg or over

Aim:To compare the lifetime growth rate and carcassperformance of pigs with varying birth and wean weights

Materials and Methods

Pigs (200) were selected at weaning to represent four categories :

Born light and weaned light

Born light and weaned heavy

Born heavy and weaned light

Born heavy and weaned heavy

A 5th group of pigs represented ‘Very low birth weight ’ pigs were artificially reared in ‘Rescue Decks’

‘Light’ and ‘Heavy’ pigs represented pigs in the top and bottom weight quartile of each batch of pigs born and weaned

All pigs underwent the same management and nutritional regime

Effect of birth and wean weight on pig live weight (kg)

LL LH HL HH VLBW SED P Value

Birth wt (kg)

1.2 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.0 0.04 <0.001

Weaning wt (kg)

7.0 9.6 7.5 11.0 4.3 0.21 <0.001

Effect of birth and wean weight on pig growth rate (g/day)

LL LH HL HH Runts SEDP

Value

Birth wt (kg) 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.0

Weaning wt (kg) 7.0 9.6 7.5 11.0 4.3

Wean - 10wks 419b 441c 467d 577e 354a 18.6 <0.001

10 - 20wks 859b 891b 852b 852b 654a 38.8 <0.001

10 wks - Finish 884b 906bc 888b 857b 698a 34.4 <0.001

Effect of birth and wean weight on pig growth rate (g/day)


Value

Birth wt (kg) 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.0

Weaning wt (kg) 7.0 9.6 7.5 11.0 4.3

Wean - 10wks 419b 441c 467d 577e 354a 18.6 <0.001

10 - 20wks 859b 891b 852b 852b 654a 38.8 <0.001

Effect of birth and wean weight on pig live weight (kg)


Value

Birth wt (kg) 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.0

Weaning wt (kg) 7.0 9.6 7.5 11.0 4.3

7 wks 15.1b 18.0d 16.7c 20.7e 11.8a 0.50 <0.001

10 wks 27.6b 31.2c 30.4c 39.2d 21.6a 1.00 <0.001

20 wks 87.6b 93.8c 90.0bc 98.6d 68.1a 3.10 <0.001

Effect of birth and wean weight on carcass performance


Value

Birth wt (kg) 1.2 1.3 1.7 1.9 1.0

Weaning wt (kg) 7.0 9.6 7.5 11.0 4.3

Finish wt (kg) 108b 109b 107b 110b 91a 3.33 <0.001

KO% 75.3 74.7 74.5 74.8 74.5 1.04 NS

P2 (mm) 12.4bc 12.8c 11.8ab 11.4a 14.9d 0.79 <0.01

Conclusion

Achieving a good wean weight can compensate for a poor birth weight

However, the back fat depth of light birth weight pigs was greater than that of pigs with a heavy birth weight

Weaning stressors = sow removal

new housing and feed system

new social interaction (mixing)

AimTo investigate the separate effects of some of the

stressors imposed at weaning

Identify strategies to reduce the post weaning growth check

Q2 :Is It possible to overcome the post weaning growth check?

Materials and Methods:

In a 2 x 2 x 2 + 2 factorial design the 10 treatments were:


First 2:

Pre weaningCreep feed offered: In a

Hopper OR

On the Floor


2 x 2 :

Pre weaningCreep feed:

Hopper OR

Floor

At weaning pigs:Moved

ORStayed


2 x 2 x 2 :


Hopper OR

Floor


ORStayed

Post weaning:DMS

ORDMS + Hopper


2 x 2 x 2 : ALL PIGS WERE MIXED


Hopper OR

Floor


ORStayed

Post weaning:DMS

ORDMS + Hopper

Materials and Methods: The + 2 treatments were NOT mixed:

Pigs were moved and placed on a DMS but no creep pre weaning: ABRUPT

Pigs stayed, were fed with a small hopper then moved to a DMS (no creep pre weaning): GRADUAL

Effect of feed system pre weaning on feed intake (kg/pen) after

weaning:Floor Hopper SEM P Value

Day 1 0.13 0.08 0.018 <0.05

Day 2 0.74 0.71 0.063 NS

Day 3 1.36 1.43 0.074 NS

Day 4 1.77 1.75 0.078 NS

Effect of staying in the farrowing pen on feed intake (kg/pen) after

weaning

Stayed Moved SEM P Value

Day 1 0.12 0.08 0.018 NS

Day 2 0.80 0.65 0.063 NS

Day 3 1.49 1.30 0.074 <0.1

Day 4 1.75 1.77 0.078 NS

DMS DMS+Hopper SEM P Value

Day 1 0.07 0.13 0.017 <0.01

Day 2 0.69 0.75 0.062 NS

Day 3 1.42 1.37 0.076 NS

Day 4 1.72 1.80 0.081 NS

Day 5 1.86 2.06 0.074 <0.1

Day 6 2.57 2.71 0.075 NS

Day 7 3.14 3.30 0.080 NS

Day 8 3.47 3.59 0.083 NS

Effect of feed delivery post weaning on feed intake (kg/pen)

Feed used in the DMS vs the Hopper

Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 80

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

DMSHopper

Kg/

pen

All P<0.001

Q - Should these hoppers be removed on Day 6/7?

Effect of few stressors2 x2x2 Gradual Abrupt Sem P Value

Feed Intake

(kg/pen)

Day 1 0.10 0.40 0.14 0.069 <0.05

Day 2 0.72 1.29 0.72 0.152 <0.1

Day 3 1.39 1.79 1.26 0.162 NS

Day 4 1.76 2.40 1.71 0.191 NS

Day 5 1.96 2.64 1.88 0.192 <0.1

Day 6 2.64 3.03 2.65 0.179 NS

Day 7 3.22 3.65 3.50 0.215 NS

Day 8 3.53 4.31 3.94 0.229 NS

Live weight

(kg)10 wks 29.1 32.0 29.7 0.51 <0.001

Average Daily Gain

(g/day)

Wn-7 349 433 373 13.5 <0.001

Wn-10 479 550 495 12.4 <0.01

8 Day intake vs 10 week weight gain

R² = 0.3728

10.0

12.0

14.0

16.0

18.0

20.0

22.0

24.0

26.0

500 1000 1500 2000 2500

10 w

eek

wei

ght

gain

(kg

)

Feed intake per pig (g) in first 8 days post weaning

For every 100g extra in intake, there is an extra 320g increase in weight gain to 10 weeks of age

Summary

When pigs were mixed:

The reduction of other stressors had little effect on intake or growth

When pigs were NOT mixed AND NOT moved:

Intake 48 hrs after weaning was higher and remained numerically high

10 week weight was 2kg heavier

Conclusion

The growth check can be overcome – but commercially impractical

It is suggested that mixing is the most stressful factor.

Should small circular hoppers be removed on day 6/7?

For every 100g extra intake in the 8 days post weaning, the extra gain to 10 weeks of age = 320g

Q3 Are large litters worth it?Large litters =

Decrease in average birth and wean weight

Therefore decrease in lifetime performance

Lower performance = lower pig value

Aim:To investigate the ‘economic’ balance between the numbers of pigs in large litters and their performance

The stepsAFBI Hillsborough data between 2011 and 2015

Birth, wean,10 and 20 week weights and

FCR between 12 weeks of age and finish (120kg)

Matrix of birth weight and wean weight according to litter size established

Correlations to determine subsequent performance used

Assume finisher feed cost of £200/tonne and carcass value of £1.15/kg

Wean weight of pigs based on original litter size

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Perc

enta

ge o

f pi

gs (

%)

28 day weight (kg)

11

13


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Perc

enta

ge o

f pi

gs (

%)

28 day weight (kg)

11

13

15

17

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Perc

enta

ge o

f pi

gs (

%)

28 day weight (kg)

11

13

15

17

19


Birth of pigs based on original litter size

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

5

<0.75 0.76 - 1 1.01 -1.25

1.26 - 1.5 1.51 -1.75

1.76 - 2 2+

No.

of p

igs

per

litter

Birth weight (kg)

11

13

15

17

19

Performance based on wean weight

Wean weight (kg)10 week

weight (kg)20 week

weight (kg) Finishing FCRFinisher feed used

(kg) to 110kg

2.5 17.9 68.2 2.72 251

4.5 21.5 73.7 2.66 235

6.5 25.1 79.2 2.59 220

8.5 28.7 84.7 2.52 205

10.5 32.3 90.2 2.45 190

12.5 35.9 95.7 2.38 177

14.5 39.5 101.2 2.32 163

Litter value

Litter sizeNo born

aliveTotal intake of litter (kg)

Cost of finisher feed per litter (£)

Litter carcass value (£)

Margin over feed per Litter

(£)

Margin over feed per pig (£)

11.0 10.7 2154 431 1025

12.0 11.5 2289 458 1102

13.0 12.3 2485 497 1179

14.0 12.9 2633 527 1241

15.0 13.7 2775 555 1317

16.0 14.6 2976 595 1399

17.0 15.1 3022 604 1452

18.0 15.8 3283 657 1514

19.0 17.2 3508 702 1649

Litter value

Litter sizeNo born

aliveTotal intake of litter (kg)

Cost of finisher feed per litter (£)

Litter carcass value (£)

Margin over feed per Litter

(£)

Average Margin

over feed per pig (£)

11.0 10.7 2154 431 1025 594 55.72

12.0 11.5 2289 458 1102 644 56.20

13.0 12.3 2485 497 1179 682 55.60

14.0 12.9 2633 527 1241 714 55.34

15.0 13.7 2775 555 1317 761 55.61

16.0 14.6 2976 595 1399 804 55.25

17.0 15.1 3022 604 1452 847 56.11

18.0 15.8 3283 657 1514 858 54.45

19.0 17.2 3508 702 1649 947 55.23

On average, £44 per extra pig in the litter

40

45

50

55

60

65

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Mar

gin

over

fini

sher

fee

d (£

)

Wean weight (kg)

Impact of wean weight on individual pig value

For every 1kg extra in wean weight, there is an extra £1.46/pig in margin

over finisher feed

Conclusion

The majority of ‘extra’ piglets in the larger litters have a lower birth weight BUT

Even in large litters, there are a good proportion of pigs with good wean weights

Overall, numbers of pigs in the litter outweigh the negative impact of poorer pig performance due to more pigs of lower birth weight

Improving weaning weight will improve margin over finisher feed cost at a ratio of 1.46.

Overall Conclusion

The growth check of pigs can be overcome albeit with unconventional methods

Increasing feed intake immediately after weaning will improve growing pigs performance

Pigs with low birth weight can achieve a good wean weight

And their subsequent performance is improved Between litter sizes of 11 and 19, every extra piglet

born can increase margin over feed costs by on average £44.

Acknowledgements

Department of Agriculture and Rural Developmentfor Northern Ireland

Pig Regen Ltd

Pig unit staff at AFBI Hillsborough

Dr Elizabeth Magowan Growth, feed and economics. Outline of presentation Large litters have given...

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