Yoghurt for stronger suckling piglets and sows.

Feeding yoghurt to suckling piglets, starting the day after birth improves the piglets’ feed intake in the first weeks of life. This results in higher weaning weights and higher growth rates after weaning. Also, the sows lose less weight during lactation and gain more weight during the following gestation. Large litters put a strain on the lactating sow, leading to impaired growth rate of her offspring. Sustaining a high level of milk production requires a lot of energy. With large litters, sows are unable to nurse their litters sufficiently to reach piglets’ genetic growth potential. Large litters often contain small piglets and it is a challenge to provide these small piglets with enough nutrients to increase survival rates, and reach adequate weaning weights and growth rates after weaning. A key factor to obtain healthy sows and piglets is a high feed intake of piglets in the suckling period. In order to meet the requirements of young piglets, Dutch animal nutrition company Sloten developed a new sustainable feeding concept, called Nuklospray Yoghurt. The yoghurt is fed in liquid form to suckling piglets, starting the day after birth. To prove that the concept improves the piglets’ feed intake in the first week of life and increases higher weaning weights and a higher growth rate after weaning, a study was performed in LZ Haus Düsse in Germany. The trial was conducted with 92 litters, divided into two groups: from day two after birth 49 litters received the yoghurt and 43 litters were offered another milk replacer. On the first day, 250 ml of the yoghurt (400 g powder per litre) was provided, and 500 ml of the control milk replacer (125 g powder per litre). The yoghurt was given during three weeks, while the control milk replacer was fed for two weeks. The offered amount of milk replacer during the suckling period increased up to 2.5 litres per litter per day. Piglets were subsequently offered a pre-starter (Milkiwean Granito Premium) in the yoghurt litters and a commercial pre starter in the control groups. The higher weaning weights and the lower mortality rate in the yoghurt litters were obtained by the higher intake of milk replacer and pre-starter. It shows that the yoghurt initiates early feed intThe improvements in piglet and sow performance with the yoghurt addition include: a higher feed intake of suckling piglets, less piglet mortality, higher weaning weights of litters, and better fertility and condition of sows. Read details of experiment here;http://www.pigprogress.net/Special-Focus/Piglet-Feeding/Yoghurt-for-stronger-suckling-piglets-and-sows/