AGRIBUSINESS: Expanding the reach of flavour imprinting in piglets.

AGRIBUSINESS: Expanding the reach of flavour imprinting in piglets. An aroma, based on essential oils, is capable of generating an imprinting effect in piglets that can boost their introduction to solid feed after weaning and improves their performance. Combining this with spray dried porcine plasma could bring even further benefits post-weaning. Early weaned piglets are subject to a great deal of stress and have to adapt abruptly to a new diet, which delivers a great physiological challenge. As a result, during the first week after weaning, piglets typically have a low feed intake and a growth decrease that has an impact on the animal’s gut morphology, increasing the risk of post-weaning diarrhoea and consequently affecting the animals subsequent performance. Supplementing sow and post-weaning diets with Print-Arome, a flavour formulated with essential oils, has an imprinting effect in piglets. This effect familiarises the piglets with its scent and facilitates the introduction to solid feed. The transfer of dietary information from mother to offspring with the essential oils flavour has been proven to successfully improve feed intake and weight gain of piglets at weaning. Likewise, spray dried porcine plasma (SDPP) is also a common feed ingredient used for similar objectives; included in weaning diets to improve feed intake, post-weaning performance and reduce diarrhoea incidence.

Agribusiness: A good start is vital for healthy piglets.

Agribusiness: A good start is vital for healthy piglets.Raising healthy piglets from start through weaning is a challenge not to be underestimated, impacting performance and health at later stages. Sudden change in dietary regimens and management at weaning puts a heavy burden on the animal’s immature digestive system. This leads to a disturbed immune system and microbiota, and increased susceptibility to diseases. Stress already starts at birth, a crucial period filled with risks: piglets must be born strong and healthy and remain that way. Once born, piglets encounter several hurdles: piglets suffer from all kinds of pathogenic challenges with an immature immune system. There is a significant and immediate demand on the gut to digest and absorb nutrients efficiently to maintain a high growth rate. Intestinal epithelial cell integrity is of prime importance considering that this epithelium is responsible for absorption of water, electrolytes, and nutrients. Not to forget the beneficial microbiome that must establish itself as soon as possible to guarantee a fully functioning intestinal tract. Once the piglet could manage these hurdles, another event, considered as a major stressor, takes place: weaning. Although technological improvements in housing, nutrition, and management are available to minimise the stress, piglets are weaned at unphysiologically early ages. The sudden change in dietary regimens at weaning places a heavy burden on the immature digestive system of the piglet. The gastro-intestinal tract is affected by a change in microbiome, mechanical damage, and inflammation as reaction to the stresses (social, nutritional, handling) of weaning. The effects are aggravated by the immature immune system which has not developed a full response to cope with pathogens, resulting in disease . It is clear impairment of the normal gut and immune function, leading to diarrhoea and even death, which needs to be avoided.

THE EFFECTS OF COLOSTRUM ON PIGLETS.

Its of paramount importance that piglets take colostrum just after farrow,and the health benefits of protection and nutrient provision has always been the strong point. There is a new information that backs up the earlier fact that the exposure of piglet to colostrum is not short-term,but impacts the condition of the pig for life. The researchers, associated with the Ghent University, Belgium, published their findings recently in the Journal of Animal Science, and they state that proper colostrum intake in the early days of lactation has effects on pigs until later in life that are hard to overestimate. Short-term and long-term performance as well as mortality are also influenced. The long-term effects of colostrum intake on performance and mortality in pigs were analysed thus; a total of 1,455 live-born piglets in 10 commercial herds were followed from birth until 22 weeks of age. Pigs were individually weighed at birth, at weaning, at onset (intermediate weight), and during the finishing period (finishing weight) and colostrum intake was also calculated. The researchers fitted one linear mixed model to model the possible associations between colostrum intake and weight at the weaning, intermediate, and finishing periods. In addition to colostrum intake as the main predictor of interest, the scientists also tested other predictor variables, being birth weight, birth order, sex, breed and the interval between birth and first suckling. The scientists noted that Colostrum intake and birth weight were positively associated with weaning, intermediate, and finishing weights. Higher colostrum intake is more beneficial to weaning, intermediate, and finishing weights in piglets with low versus high birth weights. Colostrum intake significantly influences piglets' short-term and long-term performance and mortality. The colostrum yield is reported to be independent of litter size, sufficient colostrum intake per piglet is crucial, especially in hyperprolific sows. read more at pigprogress.net

INCREASE SOW PRODUCTIVITY WITH BETTER NUTRITION..

World pork production continues to rise year-by-year with increases in the number of pigs produced per sow, but the extra productivity also challenges every breeding herd to find feeding solutions for sows and piglets. The impact of nutrition on productivity cannot be overemphasized, thus balanced ration coupled with proper health management is efficient for productivity. The move for alternative protein source is also another factor to consider in piggery business. The cliche" garbage in garbage out" also hold true in pig production.

COPPER SULPHATE AND ANTIBIOTIC- FREE PIGLET DIET.

Copper sulphate is an old additive that has received renewed interest with the ban of zinc oxide and antibiotics. Long before the advent of zinc oxide, another mineral used to dominate piglet feeds: copper sulphate. It was known to reduce or prevent piglet diarrhea and, as such, it improved animal growth rate and feed efficiency. when the need to rotate antibiotics from batch to batch was necessary, copper sulphate remained a constant addition to even the simplest corn-soybean meal-type diets. With the introduction of zinc oxide, the effects of copper sulphate appeared to wane, but it never completely left the scene, mostly because it is very inexpensive. Supplementing piglet diets with high dosages of zinc oxide is under pressure worldwide. The European Union which has imposed an otherwise restrictive feed legislation, it is common practice to add pharmacological doses of zinc oxide, but only under veterinary prescription.( WATTAgnet.com) Even in the U.S., this ingredient is under scrutiny, along with growth-promoting antibiotics. Luckily, long experiences in the EU have demonstrated that we can replace both antibiotics and high dosages of zinc oxide. This is done through feed reformulation and the use of alternative additives. One of those is, naturally, copper sulphate; old technology at the rescue due to new regulations! Using just a bit of copper sulphate to be sure is not going to harm animals, but it is not going to help them either. Going back to original research, we need 250 ppm to get the full result, and at least 150 ppm to start seeing an effect. And, if we accept the hypothesis of copper sulphate being a bactericide, then we need the highest possible dosage exactly when pathogen pressure is highest. .

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/

THE ROLE OF IRON IN PIGLET DEVELOPMENT.

Production methods have led to an impressive increase in 
productivity but have also increased iron needs in piglets. A potential iron gap can inhibit growth rates and 
profits significantly thus imposing threat can be eliminated simply by providing iron supplements/injections at early stages of development and over course of the piglet's life. Rapid development in modern swine production is a success , with piglets displaying incredible growth rates in their first weeks of life. However, the increased productivity has increased iron needs in piglets and, thereby, increased the risk of iron deficiency anaemia. Anaemia in piglets is a condition characterized by lack of haemoglobin in the body's red blood cells. Haemoglobin plays an important part in transporting oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body, and when the hemoglobin level is reduced, the body's access to the vital oxygen is reduced. The most common cause of anaemia in piglets is iron deficiency. Iron deficiency occurs when the piglet's own iron stores are depleted or when the exposure to stress conditions either inhibits the build-up of haemoglobin or increases the degradation of haemoglobin in the piglet. A critical time for iron deficiency is at weaning, when iron stores following the initial iron dextran injection in the first days of life may be depleted. The causes of low levels of iron in piglet;Increased litter sizes, result in lower iron stores at birth for the individual piglet and with the increased litter sizes, the already low levels of iron in the sow's milk are diminished to even lower levels. The fast growers are increasingly at risk of developing iron deficiency, as they face an increased risk of depletion of available iron stores due to their accelerated growth rates.The fast growers are often on an all-milk diet which offers a good source of all nutrients required by the piglet, except for iron. Weight gain on an all-milk diet is, therefore, associated with an increased risk of developing iron deficiency, which could eventually lead to iron deficiency anaemia. story credit; pig progress.

How to boost piglet immune response with vitamin D.

The benefits of vitamin D in pig feed go beyond the well-known function of calcium regulation and phosphorus homeostasis and its effect on bone development. Studies are showing that optimizing feed intake of vitamin D can boost piglet immunity in a number of different ways. The post-weaning phase is a critical period in a piglet's life. The development of a strong immune system at this early stage is key to securing its health and future optimum performance. However, a piglet has limited ability to mount and regulate an immune response when it is weaned from the sow at between three and five weeks old in commercial practice. Its immunity needs to develop as the passive protection from the sow's antibodies fade away and viral, bacterial and parasitic infections are at their highest risk. Any compromise to a piglet at this period has repeatedly been shown to impact negatively on its later performance. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient which is routinely added to animal feed, primarily because animals' blood levels of vitamin D vary considerably. It has become the focus of renewed attention by nutritionists and swine producers worldwide in recent years, because of findings that indicate that the benefits of vitamin D go beyond the function of the regulation of calcium and phosphorus homeostasis and its effect on bone development. Vitamin D metabolites control the expression of more than 200 genes through activation of the vitamin D receptor, which regulates or modulates gene expression within the target cell. This gives the vitamin a role in many functions in swine, including immunity, muscle function and reproduction. The vitamin D receptor is not only found in the intestinal enterocyte, the osteoblast, and the renal cells, but it is also found in a wide range of cell types whose function does not relate to calcium metabolism, such as the intestine, pancreas, heart, eye, brain, thyroid, parathyroid, muscle, or immune cells. The newborn piglet is exposed to a vast array of antigens from the moment it is born. It relies on maternally-derived immunity for protection, until it develops its own active immunity. Prior to weaning, sow's milk provides most of the nutrients that the piglet will receive for maximal growth and health. However, sow's milk provides little vitamin D. Supplementing sows with vitamin D before birth could provide a nutritional strategy to increase vitamin D status of the piglet, through placental transport or via sow's milk. story credit; pig progress.

Denmark to launch new piglet survival campaign

Denmark to launch new piglet survival campaign