Maximizing Longevity and Health in Swine Production
Pigs are often overweight before breeding and then lose the weight once they are bred and begin lactating. Instead of remaining healthy for further reproduction cycles, many female breeding pigs are simply replaced after lactation, creating a cycle that leaves the full productivity of these animals untapped. Researchers found that by feeding pigs a slow-growth diet before breeding, in contrast to the traditional overfeeding, pigs produced more piglets and had longer and healthier lifespans.
The Problem
A sow, which is a female pig that has produced at least one litter of piglets, should have the ability to raise at least four litters to be profitable. However, about half of the United States’ sows are replaced after lactation, often because of issues in fertility and mobility or because they are overweight. This rapid replacement comes at a cost and means that an animal isn’t reaching its full productivity. While advancements in the field of sow farming have already been made in increasing litter size and milk production, the problem of sows losing weight remained. Traditionally, pigs have been made to gain weight before breeding, making them overweight at breeding time and causing them to lose weight during lactation.
The Work
Researchers undertook a two-year study that mirrored an established dairy cow practice and slowed the growth rate of pigs before they were bred. One group of female breeding pigs, the control, was fed a normal diet, and the other was fed a diet low in lysine amino acids and energy density. Pigs eating the low-nutrient diet weighed about 15 pounds less after a 26-week development period than those in the control group. Both groups were then placed on common diets and reached the same average body weight once they were bred. Their health was then monitored through lactation.
The Results
The study revealed that the group of pigs fed with low-nutrient diets lost less weight during lactation and had greater 10th-rib backfat thickness, which indicates greater body fat composition. Sows from this group also farrowed 30 more litters, produced 380 more pigs born alive, and weaned 204 more pigs over four reproductive cycles, which each last about 114 days.
The Value
Capitalizing on low-nutrient diets for pigs before breeding can provide a greater degree of survivability and longevity for the animals, and it can mean more piglets with each cycle. Since Arkansas has a relatively low presence of significant swine diseases found in the Midwest, the state has seen an increase in sow farms producing “feeder pigs” for transport to the region. With this advancement, producers can expect to see greater productivity with longer-living, healthier pigs and more piglets each litter.
The research was supported by three industry partners. One was JBS, a major pork producer in Arkansas, which provided 192 gilts for the study with a starting weight of about 50 pounds. Other partners were PIC and DSM. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture was also a partner through the Multi-State Project S-1081 “Nutritional Systems for Swine to Increase Reproductive Efficiency,” accession number 1003592.
About the Researcher
Charles Maxwell
Professor of Animal Science
Ph.D., Animal Science, University of Wisconsin
M.S., Animal Science, University of Georgia
B.S., Animal Science, University of Georgia
TsungCheng Tsai
Swine nutrition researcher in the animal sciences department
Ph.D., Animal Sciences, University of Georgia
M.S., Animal Sciences, University of Georgia
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