Compensatory feeding during early gestation for sows with a high weight loss after a summer lactation increased piglet birth weight but reduced litter size.

ABSTRACT: Sows mated in summer produce a greater proportion of born-light piglets (<1.1 kg) which contributes to increased carcass fatness in the progeny population. The reasons for the low birth weight of these piglets remain unclear, and there have been few successful mitigation strategies identified. We hypothesized that: 1) the low birth weight of progeny born to sows mated in summer may be associated with weight loss during the previous summer lactation; and 2) increasing early gestation feed allowance for the sows with high lactational weight loss in summer can help weight recovery and improve progeny birth weight. Sows were classified as having either low (av. 1%) or high (av. 7%) lactational weight loss in their summer lactation. All the sows with low lactational weight loss (LLStd) and half

SUBMITTER: Liu F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8418633 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature