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

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 of the sows with high lactational weight loss received a standard gestation feeding regime (HLStd) (2.6 kg/d; day 0-30 gestation), whereas the rest of the sows with high lactational weight loss received a compensatory feed allowance (HLComp) (3.5 kg/d; day 0-30 gestation). A comparison of LLStd (n = 75) versus HLStd sows (n = 78) showed that this magnitude of weight loss over summer lactation did not affect the average piglet or litter birth weight, but such results may be influenced by the higher litter size (P = 0.030) observed in LLStd sows. A comparison of HLStd versus HLComp (n = 81) sows showed that the compensatory feeding increased (P = 0.021) weight gain of gestating sows by 6 kg, increased (P = 0.009) average piglet birth weight by 0.12 kg, tended to reduce (P = 0.054) the percentage of born-light piglets from 23.5% to 17.1% but reduced the litter size by 1.4 (P = 0.014). A subgroup of progeny stratified as born-light (0.8-1.1 kg) or -normal (1.3-1.7 kg) from each sow treatment were monitored for growth performance from weaning until 100 kg weight. The growth performance and carcass backfat of progeny were not affected by sow treatments. Born-light progeny had lower feed intake, lower growth rate, higher G:F, and higher carcass backfat than born-normal progeny (all P < 0.05). In summary, compensatory feeding from day 0 to 30 gestation in the sows with high weight loss during summer lactation reduced the percentage of born-light progeny at the cost of a lower litter size, which should improve growth rate and carcass leanness in the progeny population born to sows with high lactational weight loss.

The Greater Proportion of Born-Light Progeny from Sows Mated in Summer Contributes to Increased Carcass Fatness Observed in Spring.

The backfat of pig carcasses is greater in spring than summer in Australia. The unexplained seasonal variation in carcass backfat creates complications for pig producers in supplying consistent lean carcasses. As a novel explanation, we hypothesised that the increased carcass fatness in spring was due to a greater percentage of born-light progeny from sows that were mated in summer and experienced hot conditions during early gestation. The first part of our experiment compared the birth weight of piglets born to the sows mated in summer (February, the Southern Hemisphere) with those born to sows mated in autumn (May; the Southern Hemisphere), and the second part of the experiment compared the growth performance and carcass fatness of the progeny that were stratified as born-light (0.7-1.1 kg) and born-normal (1.3-1.7 kg) from the sows mated in these two seasons. The results showed that the sows mated in summer experienced hotter conditions during early gestation as evidenced by an increased respiration rate and rectal temperature, compared with those mated in autumn. The sows mated in summer had a greater proportion of piglets that were born ≤1.1 kg (24.2% vs. 15.8%, p < 0.001), lower average piglet birth weight (1.39 kg vs. 1.52 kg, p < 0.001), lower total litter weights (18.9 kg vs. 19.5 kg, p = 0.044) and lower average placental weight (0.26 vs. 0.31 kg, p = 0.011) than those mated in autumn, although litter sizes were similar. Feed intake and growth rate of progeny from 14 weeks of age to slaughter (101 kg live weight) were greater for the born-normal than born-light pigs within the progeny from sows mated in autumn, but there was no difference between the born-light and normal progeny from sows mated in summer, as evidenced by the interaction between piglet birth weight and sow mating season (Both p < 0.05). Only the born-light piglets from the sows mated in summer had a greater backfat thickness and loin fat% than the progeny from the sows mated in autumn, as evidenced by a trend of interaction between piglet birth weight and sow mating season (Both p < 0.10). In conclusion, the increased proportion of born-light piglets (0.7-1.1 kg range) from the sows mated in summer contributed to the increased carcass fatness observed in spring.

Effects of L-citrulline supplementation on heat stress physiology, lactation performance and subsequent reproductive performance of sows in summer.

Lactating sows are susceptible to heat stress (HS). Part of the thermoregulatory response to HS is to increase peripheral blood flow, which is mediated in part by the vasodilator, nitric oxide (NO). Therefore, the aim of this experiment was to determine the effect of supplementation of L-citrulline, a NO precursor, on symptoms of HS, lactation performance and subsequent reproductive performance of sows in summer. A total of 221 summer farrowing mixed parity sows were fed either a control diet or supplemented with 1% L-citrulline upon entry to the farrowing house (6 ± 1.8 days for mean ± standard deviation [SD] before farrowing) until weaning (26 ± 1.5 days). The average daily minimum and maximum temperature in the farrowing house was 21.0 ± 1.88 and 29.2 ± 3.82°C (mean ± SD). Rectal temperature, respiration rate, and plasma and urinary nitrite and nitrate (NOx) of sows were measured on the 19th day post-farrowing. Supplemental L-citrulline in the diet did not affect the number of piglets born alive, feed intake of sows, body weight or backfat thickness of sows at weaning, or litter weight gain. L-citrulline tended to reduce piglet pre-weaning mortality rate from 18.6% to 15.6% (p = 0.058). L-citrulline reduced the respiration rate of sows compared to the control diet at 17:00 hr (Time × Diet, p < 0.001); however, rectal temperature was not affected. L-citrulline tended to increase urinary NOx concentrations (127 vs. 224 µM, p = 0.057) but not plasma NOx concentrations. L-citrulline did not affect farrowing rate or number of piglets born alive in the subsequent parity. In conclusion, L-citrulline supplementation reduced respiration rate of lactating sows and reduced piglet pre-weaning mortality rate in summer. Whether the effects were due to a NO-dependent mechanism requires further validation.