Piglet Pre-weaning Mortality Research Articles

6 Evaluation of the Effect of Farrowing Pen Width on Piglet Pre-Weaning Mortality.

6 Evaluation of the Effect of Farrowing Pen Width on Piglet Pre-Weaning Mortality.

Factors influencing piglet pre-weaning mortality in 47 commercial swine herds in Thailand.

The present study aims to determine the occurrence of piglet pre-weaning mortality in commercial swine herds in Thailand in relation to piglet, sow, and environmental factors. Data were collected from the database of the computerized recording system from 47 commercial swine herds in Thailand. The raw data were carefully scrutinized for accuracy. Litters with a lactation length <16days or >28days were excluded. In total, 199,918 litters from 74,088 sows were included in the analyses. Piglet pre-weaning mortality at the individual sow level was calculated as piglet pre-weaning mortality (%) = (number of littermate pigs - number of piglets at weaning) / number of littermate pigs. Litters were classified according to sow parity numbers (1, 2-5, and 6-9), average birth weight of the piglets (0.80-1.29, 1.30-1.79, 1.80-2.50kg), number of littermate pigs (5-7, 8-10, 11-12, and 13-15 piglets), and size of the herd (small, medium, and large). Pearson correlations were conducted to analyze the associations between piglet pre-weaning mortality and reproductive parameters. Additionally, a general linear model procedure was performed to analyze the various factors influencing piglet pre-weaning mortality. On average, piglet pre-weaning mortality was 11.2% (median=9.1%) and varied among herds from 4.8 to 19.2%. Among all the litters, 62.1, 18.1, and 19.8% of the litters had a piglet pre-weaning mortality rate of 0-10, 11-20, and greater than 20%, respectively. As the number of littermate pigs increased, piglet pre-weaning mortality also increased (r=0.390, P<0.001). Litters with 13-16 littermate pigs had a higher piglet pre-weaning mortality than litters with 5-7, 8-10, and 11-12 littermate pigs (20.8, 7.8, 7.2, and 11.2%, respectively; P<0.001). Piglet pre-weaning mortality in large-sized herds was higher than that in small- and medium-sized herds (13.6, 10.6, and 11.2%, respectively; P<0.001). Interestingly, in all categories of herd size, piglet pre-weaning mortality was increased almost two times when the number of littermates increased from 11-12 to 13-16 piglets. Furthermore, piglets with birth weights of 0.80-1.29kg in large-sized herds had a higher risk of mortality than those in small- and medium-sized herds (15.3, 10.9, and 12.2%, respectively, P<0.001). In conclusion, in commercial swine herds in the tropics, piglet pre-weaning mortality averaged 11.2% and varied among herds from 4.8 to 19.2%. The litters with 13-16 littermate pigs had piglet pre-weaning mortality of up to 20.8%. Piglets with low birth weight (0.80-1.29kg) had a higher risk of pre-weaning mortality. Management strategies for reducing piglet pre-weaning mortality in tropical climates should be emphasized in litters with a high number of littermate pigs, low piglet birth weights, and large herd sizes.

Newborn traits associated with pre-weaning growth and survival in piglets.

ObjectivePiglet pre-weaning mortality is an important variable indicating the efficacy of farrowing management and animal well-being during lactation. The present study determined the association of newborn traits measured soon after birth with piglet pre-weaning mortality and growth.MethodsIn total, 805 piglets born from 57 multiparous sows were investigated. Their blood oxygen saturation, blood glucose and rectal temperature at 24 h after birth (RT24h) were monitored. Birth order, sex, skin color, integrity of the umbilical cord, attempts to stand and birth intervention were monitored. Piglets were weighed at day 0, 7, and 21 to evaluate average daily gain (ADG).ResultsPiglet pre-weaning mortality for lactation period was 12.6% and cumulative mortality during the first 7 days of age was 8.6%. A higher proportion of piglets with pale skin color died compared to piglets with normal skin color (26.7% vs 7.7%, p<0.001). A higher (p<0.001) proportion of piglets that attempted to stand after 5 min (38.5%) died compared to piglets that attempted to stand within 1 min (6.3%) after birth. Piglet body weight at birth (BWB), blood glucose and the number of piglets born alive (BA) were correlated with ADG (p<0.05). Piglets with BWB <1.30 kg had higher (p<0.001) mortality rate than piglets with BWB≥1.80 kg (19.0% vs 3.3%) and piglets with BWB 1.30 to 1.79 kg (4.0%). Piglet with RT24h <37.0°C had higher (p<0.001) mortality rate (86.2%) than piglets with RT24h >38.5°C (3.9%).ConclusionLow BWB and low RT24h compromise piglet survival during the lactation period in the tropical conditions. Piglets in the litters with a high BA, low BWB and low blood glucose have reduced ADG.

Effect of oral supplementation with different energy boosters in newborn piglets on pre-weaning mortality, growth and serological levels of IGF-I and IgG.

Oral supplements are commonly used in commercial herds to improve energy status and passive immune acquisition of newborn piglets. However, there is little scientific evidence on the efficacy of oral supplements for piglets. The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of 2 oral supplementation products on piglet pre-weaning mortality and growth. A total of 62 litters (749 piglets) were distributed according to the sow's parity among 3 treatments: 1) CONTROL group, no oral supplementation to piglets; 2) EN group, light piglets (LP: birth BW ≤ 1.35 kg) received 2 doses of 1 mL Lianol Colostro; 3) COLO group, LP received 2 doses of 5 mL ColoBoost. Treatments were administered within 4 h after birth and repeated 8 h after the first dose. Piglets were weighed at d 0, 1, 10, and 21 after birth. Piglet rectal temperature was recorded shortly after birth and at 24 h. Cross-fostering was performed 24 h after birth. Blood samples were obtained from 39 LP at d 5 and 21 to determine IGF-I and IgG levels. Total mortality and LP mortality rate (percentage of LP in the litter that died) were recorded. At d 1, the EN group had a lower total mortality rate (2.1 vs. 7.1 ± 1.4%, = 0.036) and LP mortality rate (4.5 vs. 11.1 ± 2.8%, = 0.047) than the CONTROL group. At d 1, the COLO group tended to have a lower LP mortality rate than the CONTROL group (8.4 vs. 11.1 ± 3.0%, = 0.058). After cross-fostering, the COLO group had a lower LP mortality rate at d 21 than the CONTROL group (6.3 vs. 18.3 ± 2.8%, = 0.043). The total mortality rate and piglet body weight did not differ among groups at d 21. Piglets in the COLO group had a higher IgG level at d 5 than those in the EN group (24.9 vs. 16.3 ± 2.15 mg/mL, = 0.034) and tended to be higher than those in the CONTROL group (24.9 vs. 17.7 ± 2.35 mg/mL, = 0.072). Piglets in the EN group had a higher serum IGF-I concentration than those in the CONTROL group at d 21 (137.6 vs. 100.3 ± 11.15 ng/mL, = 0.030). The results suggested that 2 doses of oral supplementation within 12 h after birth might be effective in increasing small piglet survival and improving their IGF-I or IgG levels during lactation without compromising litter growth.

Extensive infanticide in enclosed European wild boars ( Sus scrofa)

Infanticidal behaviour, behaviour with wide welfare implications, is wide-spread among animals of various taxonomic groups, but has not previously been systematically studied in European wild boars, which are commonly kept in enclosures in Sweden and Finland for meat and recreation hunting. We studied the behaviour of wild boars in one enclosure during three reproductive seasons. Non-maternal infanticide was documented in 14 out of 22 litters, causing the deaths of all piglets in all but 1 affected litters. Infanticide was typically performed during or shortly after parturition by a sow which was older ( P < 0.05) and tended to be larger ( P = 0.068) than the victimised sow, and was not affected by whether or not the involved females were mother–daughter pairs. A questionnaire sent to 112 owners of a total of 116 enclosures in Sweden and Finland resulted in 62 valid responses. Non-maternal infanticide was reported to be the most common cause of piglet pre-weaning mortality, which in total (including all causes) was estimated to be 29.1%. The occurrence of infanticide was unrelated to size of enclosure (less or more than 20 ha) and to variations in supplementary feeding routines (less or more than once a week) ( P > 0.05), which may suggest that the behaviour could be a part of the normal behavioural repertoire in European wild boars. The observed levels of infanticide constitute a major welfare problem in captive wild boars.

Neonatal piglet survival indicators in an outdoor system

The current estimate of live-born piglet pre-weaning mortality in UK outdoor systems is 11% (MLC, 2006), representing a major welfare and economic concern. The majority of deaths occur in the first few days of life when the piglets are at their most vulnerable. Selecting for high survival in piglets, may allow breeding of animals better able to survive and better suited to alternative and less restrictive systems than the farrowing crate. The aim was to develop and measure behavioural and physiological indicators of neonatal survival, and to determine treatment effects in populations of piglets selected for high survival and control lines farrowing in an outdoor system.

Survival analysis of piglet pre-weaning mortality

Survival analysis methodology was applied in order to analyse sources of variation of preweaning survival time and to estimate variance components using data from a crossbred piglets population. A frailty sire model was used with the litter effect treated as an additional random source of variation. All the variables considered had a significant effect on survivability: sex, cross-fostering, parity of the nurse-sow and litter size. The variance estimates of sire and litter were closed to 0.08 and 2 respectively and the heritability of pre-weaning survival was 0.03.