Behaviour and performance of lactating sows housed in different types of farrowing rooms during summer

AbstractThirty mixed-parity Landrace×Large White sows were used to evaluate the effects of the type of farrowing room on 28-day lactation behaviour under tropical conditions during summer. The sows were allocated in a completely randomised design with three treatments with 10 replicates according to parity number and body weight, with each animal being considered an experimental unit. The treatments consisted of a conventional farrowing room (T1); a conventional farrowing room with floor cooling under the sow (T2); and a semi-outdoor farrowing room without a cage and with access to a fenced field (T3). The sows from T1 and T2 groups were exposed to mean maximum and minimum environmental temperatures of 25.7 and 21.0°C, respectively, and the sows from the T3 group to average maximum and minimum environmental temperatures of 26.5 and 20.7°C, respectively. The feed consumption of T3 sows was numerically higher than the T1 and T2 sows (+9.5% on average). The body-weight loss was influenced at 28days (P<0.10) by treatment, being that the T3 sows gained weight (+4.7kg) while the T1 and T2 sows lost weight (−11.9 and −3.7kg, respectively for T1 and T2). The T3 sows showed a higher percentual litter mortality than the T1 and T2 sows (3.2% vs. 0% vs. 7.8%, respectively for T1, T2 and T3 sows). From farrowing until day 28 of lactation, the T2 and T3 sows showed higher lactation efficiency when compared with the T1 sows (72% vs. 87% vs. 88%, respectively for T1, T2 and T3 sows). The T1 sows showed higher (P<0.01) frequencies of visits to the feeder and drinker (+38% on average). The T3 sows spent more time (P<0.01) at the drinker than T1 and T2 sows (23 vs. 23 vs. 32min, respectively for T1, T2 and T3 sows). The T3 sows showed a higher (P<0.10) frequency of nursing than the other treatments (+15% on average). T1 and T2 sows were found to spend more time (P<0.01) performing other postures during 24h than sows maintained in T3 (50 vs. 51 vs. 22min/d, respectively for T1, T2 and T3). It is concluded that cooling of the floor under the sow in the conventional farrowing room or the use of semi-outdoor farrowing rooms improves the thermal environment and the lactation efficiency of the sows housed in hot ambient temperatures at 28-day lactation in the summer period, indicating an improved welfare

Effects of dietary protein content on milk composition of mixed parity lactating sows in a tropical humid climate

Eighteen multiparous Large White sows were used to determine the effects of dietary protein content and lactation stage on milk composition during a 28-d lactation under humid tropical climatic conditions. This study was conducted at the INRA facilities in Guadeloupe, French West Indies (latitude 16°N, longitude 61°W). The average minimum and maximum ambient temperatures and average daily relative humidity during the trial were 22.7 and 29.4°C, and 93.7%, respectively. The dietary experimental treatments were a normal protein (NP, 17.3%) diet and a low protein (LP, 14.1%) diet supplemented with essential amino acids. The ADFI tended to be higher for the sows fed the LP diets when compared with the NP treatment (i.e., +9%, P0.10). The treatments did not influence (P>0.10) sow body weight loss during lactation. The sows fed LP diets tended to show lower backfat thickness losses when compared to the sows fed NP diets (2.4 vs. 6.3 mm, respectively; P0.10). Milk dry matter and ash contents linearly increased according to lactation stage (17.6 to 19.9%, and 0.72 vs. 97%, respectively from d 7 to d 27; P0.10) by lactation stage. Maternal BW loss during lactation was negatively correlated with the average daily feed intake (r=-0.76; P<0.05) and positively correlated with backfat thickness loss (r=0.55; P<0.05). A positive correlation between milk production and body reserves mobilisation (r=0.82; P<0.05) was also observed. Polyunsaturated fatty acid content in milk fat was positively correlated with ADFI and negatively correlated to maternal BW loss (r=0.62 and r=-0.60; P<0.05). In conclusion, reducing dietary protein content can be an alternative to attenuate the negative effects of heat stress by increasing ADFI. Milk composition changes significantly according to lactation stage and the ability of sows to produce milk will depend on their capacity to mobilize body reserve for providing milk precursors

Inclusão de diferentes níveis de casca de soja moída em dietas isoenergéticas para suínos em crescimento e terminação Different inclusion levels of soybean hull on isoenergetic growing-finishing pig diets

O experimento foi conduzido com o objetivo de verificar o efeito da inclusão de diferentes níveis de casca (CS) de soja em dietas isoenergéticas para suínos em crescimento e terminação. Quarenta suínos híbridos, machos castrados e fêmeas, com peso inicial de 27,8 &plusmn; 2,1kg, foram bloqueados por peso e distribuídos ao acaso em cinco tratamentos, com quatro repetições de dois animais/baia (unidade experimental). Os tratamentos consistiram da inclusão de 0; 4; 8; 12 e 16% de CS moída (2,5mm) em dietas isoenergéticas (16,4 e 15,0% PB e 3.385 e 3.390kcal ED kg-1) para as fases de crescimento e terminação, respectivamente. Nenhuma variável de desempenho foi influenciada pela inclusão de CS nas dietas. Os níveis crescentes de CS promoveram redução linear da espessura de toucinho (ET), do rendimento de carcaça quente (RCQ) e do rendimento de carcaça fria (RCF) e aumento da quebra por resfriamento (QR). Para as variáveis peso de carcaça quente (PCQ) e peso de carcaça fria (PCF), foram observados efeitos quadráticos, sendo os menores valores observados com 8,0% de inclusão de CS. O aumento do nível de CS na dieta elevou a QR, que piorou o rendimento de carcaça e diminuiu a ET. Não houve diferença para comprimento de carcaça, peso de pernil, área de olho de lombo e relação carne: gordura. Os resultados sugerem que a inclusão de até 16% de CS nas dietas dos suínos em crescimento/terminação não altera seu desempenho e pode produzir carcaças mais magras.<br>The experiment was carried out to verify the effect of different soybean hull (SH) inclusion levels on isoenergetic growing-finishing pig diets. Forty crossbred pigs, barrows and gilts, with 27.8 &plusmn; 2.1kg of BW, were blocked according to the weight and distributed in a randomized way in five treatments, with four replicates of two pigs per pen (experimental unit). The treatments consisted of the inclusion of 0; 4; 8; 12 and 16% of ground SH (2.5mm) on isoenergetic diets (16.4 and 15.0% CP and 3,385 and 3,390 kcal DE kg-1 for growing and finishing phases, respectively. None of the performance parameters were influenced by SH inclusion on diets. The crescent SH levels promoted linear reduction on the back fat thickness (BT) and an increase of shrinkage chilling (SCh), hot carcass yield (HCY) and cold carcass yield (CCY). To the variables hot carcass weight (HCW) and cold carcass weight (CCW) were observed quadratic effects and smaller values were observed with 8.0% of SH inclusion. The SH increase level also increase the SCh, worst the carcass yield and decrease the BT. No difference was observed to the length carcass, ham weight, loin muscle area and meat: fat ratio. The results suggest that the inclusion up to 16% of SH on growing-finishing pigs diets does not change their performance and can produce leaner carcasses

Níveis de cromo orgânico em rações para frangos de corte mantidos sob estresse por calor no período de um a 42 dias de idade Levels of dietary chromiumin rations for male broilers kept under heat stress from one to 42 days of age

Avaliou-se o efeito da suplementação de cromo sobre o desempenho e o rendimento de cortes de frangos, mantidos em ambiente de alta temperatura, no período de um a 42 dias de idade. Foram utilizados 400 frangos de corte, machos, da linhagem Cobb, em um delineamento experimental inteiramente ao acaso, com cinco tratamentos, 0, 350, 700, 1.050 e 1.400ppb de cromo na ração, oito repetições e 10 aves por repetição. Nos períodos de um a 21 e de um a 42 dias de idade, não houve influência dos tratamentos sobre o ganho de peso, o consumo de ração e a conversão alimentar das aves, mas observou-se que o consumo de cromo aumentou de forma linear. Os tratamentos não influenciaram os pesos absoluto e relativo de nenhum dos cortes, peito, coxa e sobrecoxa, avaliados aos 42 dias de idade. A suplementação de até 1.400ppb de cromo na ração não influenciou o desempenho e o rendimento de cortes nobres de frangos de corte mantidos em estresse por calor, no período de um a 42 dias de idade.<br>The effect of dietary organic chromium supplementation on the performance and yield of prime cuts of male broilers from one to 42 days of age reared under high environmental temperature was evaluated. Four-hundred Cobb male broilers, averaging 38±0.14g were distributed in a simple sample random design with five treatments (0; 350; 700; 1,050; and 1,400ppb of chromium in ration), eight replicates, and ten birds per replicates. In periods from one to 21 and from one to 42 days of age, the treatments did not influence the weight gain, the food intake, and the feed:gain ratio of the birds. However, the chromium intake increased in a linear way. No effect of both absolute and relative weights of all evaluated cuts (breast, thigh, and drumstick) was observed. The dietary chromium supplementation up to 1,400ppb did not influence the performance and the carcass traits of the male broilers kept under heat stress from one to 42 days of age