“Every stage of the cycle affects the next and so it’s important to get it right all the time.”
– Bernie Peet
Bernie Peet is president of Pork Chain Consulting Ltd. of Lacombe, Alberta, and editor of Western Hog Journal.
Managing feed intake in order to optimize sow condition can extend the productive life of the sow and increase productivity, says Alastair Bratton, manager of two 3,000-sow units for Pinnacle Swine Inc., Strathmore, Alta. Speaking to delegates at the Swine Technology Worksop held in Red Deer on Nov. 4, Bratton said that getting sow condition right not only leads to better sow performance but reduces the number of gilt replacements required and leads to a more stable herd parity structure.
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Optimizing condition over the sow’s lifetime starts by ensuring gilts enter the breeding barn in the correct condition, having had at least one heat and preferably two while in the gilt development unit, Bratton says.
“Gilts at service should be in the same condition we would like them to farrow, that is condition score 3 to 3.5,” he advises. “They should also be moved into a sow stall at least 14 days prior to breeding to allow them to acclimatize and we flush feed them for seven to 10 days before service to increase ovulation rate.” Once gilts are bred, they are fed a maintenance level because they are in the correct condition.
“This means we don’t have to overfeed during early gestation, which is ideal because excess protein during the implantation period increases embryo death.” However, Bratton notes, from day 90 of gestation it is essential to increase feed intake because 65 -75 per cent of piglet growth takes place after this point. “We feed an additional 0.5 – 0.75 kilos up to the time the gilt enters the farrowing room.”
FEEDING GILTS
Lactation feeding for gilts is the most crucial stage in the whole cycle, Bratton believes. “Feed intake during the suckling period not only affects performance in the following parity but also lifetime performance and therefore the length of time in the herd,” he says.
“Feed is reduced two days prior to farrowing because this helps maintain appetite after farrowing. Once the gilt has farrowed we increase the feed level by two lbs. per day to increase intake rapidly.”
A high-protein top dressing with added vitamins and minerals is beneficial for parity 1 and 2 sows and any thin sows. Sows in the Pinnacle production system consume 10-12 kg of feed per day, which results in an average weaning weight of 5.5 kg at 17 days, Bratton says.
He stresses that gilts should be given a full complement of piglets when fostering takes place. “Every teat that is used during the first lactation, even for a few days, will produce 25 per cent more milk in the next lactation,” he explains. However, he says, the number of piglets suckling should be reduced by at least one or two at three to five days before weaning.
“This lessens the strain on the gilt when demand is at its highest and helps to reduce body fat loss,” he says. “Make sure that a minimum of seven piglets is left on the gilt, because suckling fewer than this can cause the onset of heat.”
After weaning, both sows and gilts should be fed as much as they can eat and Bratton advises the use of a lactation diet if possible and a top dressing for younger females and thin sows to increase their protein intake. “Breeding should be delayed for sows that have lost the biggest percentage of their body mass,” he suggests. “These are not necessarily the thinnest ones at weaning.”
AFTER BREEDING
After breeding, feed levels should be set according to body condition and any sows that are in poor condition fed as much as they will eat until they regain condition, Bratton says.
“Our target is to get sows in the condition we want them to be at farrowing by day 56 of gestation,” he explains. “Sows are condition scored at days 21, 35 and 56 after breeding and then at day 56, feed intake is reduced to a maintenance level through to day 90.”
Overfeeding during the 56-to 90-day period reduces lactation feed intake and can cause reduced milk production, he stresses.
Although there are several ways of assessing sow condition, Bratton prefers condition scoring. “We tried measuring backfat and had variable results. For example we had very fit sows that only had 18 mm of backfat.” In condition scoring, the whole body is assessed and compared to a detailed sow condition-scoring chart. “We often have two people doing it, which increases accuracy and have the same people doing it all the time which increases consistency,” he says. “Also we visit our sister units to compare condition scoring standards, especially to establish a standard for the 3-3.5 range because it’s the target at farrowing.”
A girth tape is used to estimate gilt weight prior to breeding in order to avoid gilts being served too light, which would reduce lifetime performance.
The objective of feeding and other aspects of management that affect condition is to minimize the number of sows culled and retain females in the herd as long as possible, Bratton concludes. “Every stage of the cycle affects the next and so it’s important to get it right all the time,” he notes. The Pinnacle units achieve a figure of 27 pigs weaned per sow with an average parity of 3.1, indicating that sows have a long productive life, so clearly he achieves his objectives.