fbpx
Sign up now!
Don't show this again
Download the report!Continue to Site >
or wait 7 secs

Thank you for confirming your subscription!

(And remember, if ever you want to change your email preferences or unsubscribe, just click on the links at the bottom of any email.)

We’re glad you’re enjoying Pig Health Today.
Access is free but you’ll need to register to view more content.
Already registered? Sign In
Tap to download the app
X
Share
X

REPORTS

Collect articles and features into your own report to read later, print or share with others

Create a New Report

Favorites

Read Later

Create a new report

Report title (required) Brief description (optional)
CREATE
X
NEXT
PORK POULTRY
follow us


You must be logged in to edit your profile.

Favorites Read Later My Reports PHT Special Reports
Pig Health Today is equipped with some amazing (and free) tools for organizing and sharing content, as well as creating your own magazines and special reports. To access them, please register today.
Sponsored by Zoetis

Pig Health Today | Sponsored by Zoetis

.
Featured Video Play Icon

Rethinking colostrum management and piglet survivability

Colostrum is vital to piglet survival but managing intake may benefit from some fresh thinking, according to Kara Stewart, associate professor of animal science at Purdue University.

As part of the industry’s Improving Pig Survivability project, Stewart has been studying colostrum and related management practices. “It may not be a very popular opinion, but we have a lot of work to do in this area,” she told Pig Health Today.

The fact that each piglet needs to get its share of colostrum remains true, but the management steps to achieve that objective are less clear. Practices such as split-suckling and drying piglets have been considered pathways to stimulate colostrum intake and boost survival. Stewart isn’t so sure.

“While some of these practices anecdotally did increase survival, it may be because we put employees in the barn to be present for the farrowing process and that aided in survivability,” she said. “A lot of studies have shown no direct increase in colostrum intake when these management practices are adopted.”

Looking for answers

A few things are clear. One is that colostrum is available for only 24 hours after a sow has farrowed. Another is that pigs are among the species that require colostrum and the immune protection it provides to survive. But it is about more than survival; colostrum intake affects the pig’s long-term growth and development trajectory, such as fertility in breeding animals.

Heavier-birthweight pigs and those born early in the litter birth order have an advantage. “Piglets born early and born big are naturally able to access more colostrum,” Stewart noted, “and they have a stronger suckling stimulus so they take in more colostrum.”

So, the theory has been that if a farm implements a split-suckling program, it will level the playing field. There are two primary approaches to split-suckling:

  1. Based on birth order, where the early-born piglets get access to the sow but are then removed to make way for the later-born piglets;
  2. Based on bodyweight, where the heavier-birthweight piglets are removed to give the light birthweights extra time to drink.

“The problem is, we haven’t seen that those piglets are actually taking in more colostrum,” Stewart noted.

When it comes to drying piglets, Stewart cited research that she has conducted, along with a trial by Mike Ellis, University of Illinois, involving a large commercial system. The data showed that drying did effectively change the piglets’ body temperatures, especially light-birthweight piglets, but did not significantly impact colostrum intake.

“For whatever reason, the piglets did not seek out the teat and take in more colostrum,” Stewart noted. “Maybe the smaller piglets have a limit to their suckling abilities, and maybe the capacity of their stomach is limited and they get full faster.”

Also, piglet mortality rates did not differ between dried or undried pigs unless the barn temperature was “pretty cold,” she added.

A new approach

With colostrum being such a vital, limited resource, it’s time to dig deeper and think more broadly.

Stewart and her colleagues recently completed a study looking at farrowing induction and how it might impact piglet mortality, colostrum composition and colostrum intake. The data is currently under review and will look at whether there are any benefits or disadvantages to the piglets.

In another upcoming project, she will be evaluating the impact of supplementing colostrum directly to light-birthweight piglets, specifically whether it can increase survival.

“We need to be really creative,” Stewart said. “We need to investigate ways to ensure every piglet gets to drink enough colostrum.”

To learn more about the Pig Survivability project, go to piglivability.org. The website provides access to related podcasts, presentations, research papers, fact sheets and other information.




Posted on September 20, 2021

tags: , ,
RELATED NEWS



You must be logged in to edit your profile.

Share It
Influenza A virus in swine (IAV-S) is one of the primary respiratory pathogens challenging swine production systems in the US and around the world. What makes it so transmissible? Watch the interview with Phil Gauger, DVM, PhD, Iowa State University.

Click an icon to share this information with your industry contacts.
Google Translate is provided on this website as a reference tool. However, Poultry Health Today and its sponsor and affiliates do not guarantee in any way the accuracy of the translated content and are not responsible for any event resulting from the use of the translation provided by Google. By choosing a language other than English from the Google Translate menu, the user agrees to withhold all liability and/or damage that may occur to the user by depending on or using the translation by Google.