Adequate supply of colostrum will support health and growth
Success in managing hyper-prolific DanBred sows is especially centred around the careful management of the new born piglets. Newborns are not protected by an active immune system, which means that their health relies on the passive immunity gained from colostrum, making colostrum essential for piglet health and growth. Ensuring sufficient colostrum intake during the first 12 hours after farrowing is achieved by optimising the DanBred sows' feed intake in late gestation for maximised milk production, as well as a disciplined approach to day 1 pig care in farrowing.
The importance of colostrum intake
Colostrum production starts when the first piglet is born and continues for 24 to 48 hours. Analysis of colostrum has shown that the amount and composition of antibodies in the colostrum slowly starts changing from around 12 hours after farrowing. Within the same time period, the piglet’s ability to absorb the antibodies from the colostrum will start to decrease (Quesnel, 2012). This means that all piglets must have a sufficient amount colostrum within the first 12 hours after birth in order to get the full benefit in terms of health and growth. Additionally, the energy supply for activity and thermoregulation is also very limited in new born piglets, hence why colostrum intake is not only crucial for health it is also essential for the piglets to keep warm and be mobile right after birth (Thorup, 2013).
When managing hyper-prolific sows, it is imperative to master skills such as split suckling and the correct management of foster sows in order to wean as many high-quality piglets as possible. Split suckling, where the smallest 8-10 piglets are allowed to suckle for 30 to 90 minutes, while the bigger piglets are kept in the creep or constrained in another way, has shown to increase survival with 0,4 piglet per litter (Thorup, 2013) Furthermore, the use of foster sows increases both daily gain among all the piglets as well as increasing survival rate among the smaller piglets (Thorup & Nielsen, 2017). In either case it is important to optimise the sows milk production throughout the lactation to maximise the number of piglets nursed by each sow.