Research in Sow Milk Production Leads to Increased Piglet Production

Recent research by Dr. Chantal Farmer, of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s (AAFC) Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, has revealed that the amount of food a sow eats during pregnancy affects how much milk she will produce to feed her babies

Sows often do not produce enough milk to sustain the growth of all their piglets. This is important because piglet litters can be very large.

“Milk production is not affected later in life, even if the amount of feed is increased. Hyper-prolific sow lines are great for the industry but it is necessary to feed all those piglets, too,” explains Dr. Farmer.

“There is a relationship between the condition of the sow while pregnant and the health of piglets afterwards”

 

Dr. Farmer’s study has shown that ensuring piglets have enough milk is key to healthy growth. This can be a challenge for sows that have large litters. (Today the average sow produces 10 piglets as opposed to nine in 2014.) The nutrition of a sow can greatly affect gestation and lactation.

“There is a relationship between the condition of the sow while pregnant and the health of piglets afterwards,” Farmer added. “We see this in their fatness; the amount of milk produced, and milk quality.”

Improving hog feed management can help. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs suggests that a 300-sow farrow-to-finish operation selling 6000 market pigs would need approximately 342 tonnes/year of feed. That is a lot of feed but even more may be needed to guarantee that sows have enough milk to feed large litters.

Sows are often fed more during lactation to increase the amount of milk they produce. The results showed that for ultimate milk production, feeding sows as much during pregnancy as during lactation can ensure sufficient milk production for large litters.

Hog production is an important sector of Canada’s agricultural economy. For example, according to Statistics Canada in 2013 the pork industry generated $3.6 billion worth of pork product exports. With so much activity and jobs dependent on successful swine farming it is important to find new areas to improve efficiency. Canada’s swine industry appears set to grow even more, thanks to this new research.

These days Dr. Farmer continues with the next step in her research, measuring the impacts of nutrition on the development of gestating and growing gilts.