Preliminary results on the effect of keeping pigs in home environment post weaning

TY - ABST

T1 - Preliminary results on the effect of keeping pigs in home environment post weaning

AU - Winters, Jeanet

AU - Kobek-Kjeldager, Cecilie

AU - Foldager, Leslie

AU - Pedersen, Lene Juul

PY - 2021/8

Y1 - 2021/8

N2 - Abrupt weaning of 28-day-old pigs is associated with several stressors: Removal from the sow and the transition from milk to solid diet, movement to a novel pen, regrouping and establishment of a social hierarchy. The postweaningperiod is associated with reduced weight gain. To reduce the number of stressors, we investigated the effect of weaning pigs in farrowing pens for loose housed sows in a 2×2 factorial design: The litter stayed in the farrowing pen after removing the sow (STAY) or two litters were regrouped in a conventional weaning pen (MOVE), and two sow hybrids: Danbred (DAN) or Topigs Norsvin TN70 (TN). The study included 57 litters from 4 batches (33 litters from 1st parity sows and 24 from 2nd parity sows), with an average age of 26 days at weaning (range 22-30 days). Pigs were weighed at weaning (W0), 7, 14 and 28 days after. The effect of treatment, hybrid, and their interaction on average daily weight gain (ADG) was analysed in a mixed effects model including W0 and batch as covariates, and a random effect of litter before weaning partially nested within pen after weaning. ADG was modelled separately for the first 7 (ADG7), 14 (ADG14) and 28 (ADG28) days post weaning. The preliminary results showed a two-way interaction between treatment and hybrid for ADG28 (P=0.007). The highest ADG28 was found for TN STAY (0.392 kg/d) being significantly higher than TN MOVE (0.252 kg/d), DAN STAY (0.307 kg/d) and DAN MOVE (0.275kg/d). A similar tendency of interaction was found in ADG14 (P=0.054), but not for ADG7 (P=0.23). For every 1 kg increase in W0, ADG7 decreased by 7 g/d, ADG14 increased by 5 g/d and ADG28 increased by 15 g/d (P<0.01). In conclusion, reducing stress at weaning by keeping pigs in their home environment at weaning for 28 days post weaning increased ADG28 significantly in one but not the other hybrid. Thus, differences in growth potential and/or in stress resilience may exist between hybrids. Additional results on feeding behaviour, saliva-cortisol levels and faeces scores collected post weaning will follow.

AB - Abrupt weaning of 28-day-old pigs is associated with several stressors: Removal from the sow and the transition from milk to solid diet, movement to a novel pen, regrouping and establishment of a social hierarchy. The postweaningperiod is associated with reduced weight gain. To reduce the number of stressors, we investigated the effect of weaning pigs in farrowing pens for loose housed sows in a 2×2 factorial design: The litter stayed in the farrowing pen after removing the sow (STAY) or two litters were regrouped in a conventional weaning pen (MOVE), and two sow hybrids: Danbred (DAN) or Topigs Norsvin TN70 (TN). The study included 57 litters from 4 batches (33 litters from 1st parity sows and 24 from 2nd parity sows), with an average age of 26 days at weaning (range 22-30 days). Pigs were weighed at weaning (W0), 7, 14 and 28 days after. The effect of treatment, hybrid, and their interaction on average daily weight gain (ADG) was analysed in a mixed effects model including W0 and batch as covariates, and a random effect of litter before weaning partially nested within pen after weaning. ADG was modelled separately for the first 7 (ADG7), 14 (ADG14) and 28 (ADG28) days post weaning. The preliminary results showed a two-way interaction between treatment and hybrid for ADG28 (P=0.007). The highest ADG28 was found for TN STAY (0.392 kg/d) being significantly higher than TN MOVE (0.252 kg/d), DAN STAY (0.307 kg/d) and DAN MOVE (0.275kg/d). A similar tendency of interaction was found in ADG14 (P=0.054), but not for ADG7 (P=0.23). For every 1 kg increase in W0, ADG7 decreased by 7 g/d, ADG14 increased by 5 g/d and ADG28 increased by 15 g/d (P<0.01). In conclusion, reducing stress at weaning by keeping pigs in their home environment at weaning for 28 days post weaning increased ADG28 significantly in one but not the other hybrid. Thus, differences in growth potential and/or in stress resilience may exist between hybrids. Additional results on feeding behaviour, saliva-cortisol levels and faeces scores collected post weaning will follow.

U2 - 10.3920/978-90-8686-918-3

DO - 10.3920/978-90-8686-918-3

M3 - Conference abstract in proceedings

SN - 978-90-8686-366-2

T3 - EAAP Book of Abstracts

SP - 356

EP - 356

BT - Book of Abstracts of the 72nd Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science

A2 - Strandberg, E.

A2 - Pinotti, L.

A2 - Messori, S.

A2 - Kenny, D.

A2 - Lee, M.

A2 - Hocquette, J.F.

A2 - Cadavez, V.A.P.

A2 - Millet, S.

A2 - Evans, R.

A2 - Veldkamp, T.

A2 - Pastell, M.

A2 - Pollott, G.

PB - Wageningen Academic Publishers

T2 - 72nd Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science

Y2 - 29 August 2021 through 3 September 2021

ER -