Dietary fibre supplemented pre-mating diets do not improve follicle development and litter characteristics in primiparous sows

Abstract

Piglet birth weight is an important factor for their survival and growth. As the pre-mating diet influences the sow's metabolic state, this may have an impact on follicle development after weaning and subsequent piglet birth weight. We investigated the pre-mating effect of dietary fibre (DF; sugar beet pulp (SBP) and microfibrillated cellulose (MFC)) on metabolic hormones and metabolites (IGF-1, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), creatinine, urea and leptin), follicle development, and litter characteristics at subsequent farrowing in 58 hyper-prolific primiparous sows farrowing 16.5 ± 0.4 piglets used in three consecutive batches. We supplemented commercial diets (CON) with SBP and MFC during the last week of lactation and the weaning-to-oestrus interval (WEI). We measured follicle diameters with ultrasound and collected preprandial blood samples at weaning, 3 days after weaning, and at oestrus. A tendency for higher average daily feed intake (ADFI; 5.69 v. 6.61 kg/day, P < 0.07) and significant lower backfat (BF; 1.1 v. 0.2 mm, P < 0.05) loss were observed in SBP sows than in MFC sows during one week before weaning. Total dietary fibre (TDF) intake during the last week of lactation was higher in SBP sows than in CON sows, whereas TDF intake in SBP sows was similar to MFC sows (775.0 vs. 900.6 vs. 840.9 g/day, respectively, for CON, SBP and MFC, P < 0.05). Creatinine concentration at weaning was higher in SBP sows than in MFC sows (162.9 v. 136.6 mmol/L, P < 0.001). Other hormones and reproductive parameters were not affected by pre-mating diets. At subsequent farrowing, there was no difference in litter characteristics (P > 0.05). In our study, the different types of DF fed pre-mating affected feed intake and body protein mobilization during lactation. However, the supplementation of DF before mating did neither improve follicle development nor litter characteristics in the hyper-prolific sows.