Piglet nutrition optimized for life-time health and performance - preweaning

Theo van Kempen, Ph.D. Application and Solutions Centre Adjunct Prof., North Carolina State Univ.

Piglet mortality as the Achilles heel of swine production?

• Trial request to animal care committee • Hypothesis

• Supplemental milk improves piglet quality and decreases mortality in large litters

• No-brainer, right? • Animal care committee deemed it unethical!

• Trial proposal rejected…

www.schnitkemper.de | 2

Social concern is becoming visible

| 3 Rutherford, 2011

Neonatal mortality Priority for action • All causes high • Chilling high • Starvation high • Injury high • Low birth weight medium • High variation medium • Disease medium

Piglet mortality is eating away at genetic progress

• Mortality eats away at progress

• Progress IS being made • But is it enough?

| 4 Rutherford, 2011

Increased litter size comes from small piglets

• Increasing litter size also shifts weight distribution downward

• More small=problem piglets • The increase in litter size comes

from pigs <1.4 kg

| 5 Quesnel, 2008

Mortality strongly affected by piglet size

• Body weight at birth is strong predictor of survival

• Small pigs more prone to hypothermia and starvation

| 6 Leenhouwers, 2003

Increasing litter size results in less colostrum per piglet

• Colostrum production is independent of litter size

• Larger litters means less colostrum per piglet

• Target: 160 g/kg BW • 40% of piglets don’t

achieve this

| 7 Decaluwe, in press; Devillers, 2007

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Litter size

Not only social, but also economic concern

• Poorly performing pigs have low margin over feed costs

• If they make it to market…

| 8 Nutreco R&D

Can we get understanding of problem, and develop solutions that fit management?

| 9

Primary cause of problems: mom can’t handle the birth process

• Labor is hard work • The sow, poorly prepared, becomes exhausted

• Suffocates piglets

| 10 Herpin, 1996

Proof: O2 supplementation of piglets helps

• Oxygen supplementation after birth gets piglets on their feet faster

• Not practical!

• True solution is to prepare the sow as a top athlete…. • How to do this in practice??

| 11 Zhang

Supplemental milk for large litters an important aid

• Piglets use supplemental milk as ‘desert’

• Ensures that all pigs eat till their bellies are full

• Already on first day of life! • Especially important for

weaker or shy pigs that can’t compete at the udder

Source: www.schnitkemper.de Nutreco R&D | 12

Supplemental milk for large litters an important aid

• Piglets use supplemental milk as ‘desert’

• Ensures that all pigs eat till their bellies are full

• Already on first day of life! • Especially important for

weaker or shy pigs that can’t compete at the udder

Source: www.schnitkemper.de Haus Dusse | 13

Supplemental milk for large litters an important aid

• Piglets use supplemental milk as ‘desert’

• Ensures that all pigs eat till their bellies are full

• Already on first day of life! • Especially important for

weaker or shy pigs that can’t compete at the udder

Source: www.schnitkemper.de Nutreco R&D

Meta-analysis based on 9 field studies

| 14

Supplemental milk shows short- and long-term benefits in field

• Key benefit • More uniform litters at weaning

• Additional benefit • Better transition to solid feed

• Reduced time to market!

| 15 Roucou, Wassink Cooper, 2001

Creep a valuable tool for teaching piglets to eat post-weaning

| 16 Nutreco R&D, 2013

• Creep feeding did not affect the number of feeder visits

• But creep feeding increased the number of visits with intake

• Pigs don’t recognize feed • Yoghurt and Creep facilitate

adaptation

Poor quality piglets are shy: cause or effect?

• Poor quality pigs behave different • More fearful of new things

• Feed presentation??

| 17 Nutreco R&D: Paredes 2013

Poor quality piglets fail to compensate for stress period

• Poor pigs show normal efficiency • Unable to compensate for earlier

stressor

Nutreco R&D: Paredes 2013 | 18

Minimum birth stress and nutritional support for the weak for maximum lifetime health and performance

• Conclusions • Perinatal mortality a serious concern

• Birth process to be optimally supported

• Piglets can be helped to better recover from the birth process • Yoghurt an important aid with life-term benefits • Creep facilitates transition around weaning

• Piglets that suffer growth retardation don’t show many deficits

| 19