Handling associated with drenching does not impact survival and general health of low birth weight piglets

The increase in litter sizes in recent years has resulted in more low birth weight (LBW) piglets, accompanied by a higher mortality. A potential intervention to overcome this is drenching bioactive substances. However, if the act of drenching provokes additional stress in LBW piglets, it might counteract the supplement’s effect and be detrimental for the piglet’s survival. To study the effect of the drenching act, piglets from 67 sows were weighed within 4 h after birth. The mean litter birth weight (MLBW) and standard deviation (SD) were calculated. LBW piglets (n = 76) were defined as weighing between (MLBW-1*SD) and (MLBW-2.5*SD). They were randomly allocated to two treatments: “sham” (conducting the act of drenching by inserting an empty 2.5 mL syringe in the mouth during 20 s, once a day, d1 till d7; n = 37) or “no treatment” (no handling; n = 39). On day 1, 3, 9, 24 and 38, piglets were weighed and scored for skin lesions. Blood samples were collected on day 9 and 38 and analyzed to determine glucose, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), urea, immunoglobulin G (IgG), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and a standard blood panel test. There was no difference between sham drenched and untreated piglets regarding any of the parameters. In conclusion, this study showed that drenching does not impose a significant risk to LBW piglets and can be applied safely during the first 7 days after birth

The impact of drenching on the pre-weaning resilience of low birth weight piglets

Abstract: In modern pork production, the selection for larger litters has not only resulted in more piglets per sow, but also in an increased proportion of low birth weight (LBW) piglets which are associated with a higher perinatal mortality. This thesis\u2019 scope was to enhance the resilience (the capacity to recover in terms of performance and survival) of LBW piglets during the pre-weaning period through drenching, the oral administration of substances. During a first study, LBW piglets were sham drenched to evaluate the safety of handling during drenching. No harmful or positive effect of drenching was observed, and thus, it was concluded that drenching is a safe tool that can be implemented in a good pre-weaning management. In a second field-trial, LBW piglets were drenched with bovine colostrum, short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) or quercetin (each dissolved in a plain milk replacer) during the first seven days after birth. None of the supplemented compounds had a positive effect on the LBW piglets\u2019 resilience. Moreover, a negative effect on survival was observed in piglets that were drenched with scFOS. These results showed that the evaluated bioactive compounds, in their given dosages, were unable to improve the LBW piglets\u2019 survival and emphasised the complex, multifactorial origin of pre-weaning mortality. A final study aimed to determine whether the performance of LBW piglets could be improved by drenching a dense, concentrated milk replacer (DMR), and whether the frequency of drenching and the severity of the LBW played a role. Secondly, this study compared the supplementation of the same milk replacer at two farms with different perinatal management. No effect of drenching DMR on the survival or performance of (very) low birth weight piglets was observed, regardless of farm and, apparently, of the applied management. In conclusion, the studies within this dissertation validated drenching as a safe technique for LBW piglets, but could not find a positive effect on the resilience of the administered substances. Thus, drenching did not suffice as a single intervention to improve the resilience of LBW piglets

Drenching bovine colostrum, quercetin or fructo-oligosaccharides has no effect on health or survival of low birth weight piglets

The introduction of hyperprolific sows has resulted in more low birth weight (LBW) piglets, accompanied by higher mortality. A possible strategy to enhance the resilience and survival of LBW piglets is oral supplementation (drenching) of bioactive substances. This study evaluated the supplementation of bovine colostrum, short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) or quercetin that were dissolved separately in a milk replacer. The study was divided into two sub-experiments. First, the milk replacer was compared with a sham drenched group. Secondly, each dissolved compound was compared with the milk replacer. The LBW piglets, defined as weighing between (mean litter birth weight −1*SD) and (mean litter birth weight −2.5*SD), were randomly allocated to the different treatments and drenched once a day for seven days. On day 1, 3, 9, 24 and 38, piglets were weighed and scored for skin lesions. Blood samples were collected on day 9 and 38 and analyzed to determine glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, urea, immunoglobulin G, insulin-like growth factor 1, and a standard blood panel test. There was no difference between sham drenched piglets and piglets that were drenched with milk replacer regarding any of the parameters. No effect was observed between the milk replacer group and any of the bioactive compounds either, except a higher mortality within the scFOS group. In conclusion, this study showed that drenching the evaluated bioactive compounds, in the used dosages, did not improve LBW piglets’ resilience or survival and more research is required to determine the effect of scFOS on small piglets

Drenching bovine colostrum, quercetin or fructo-oligosaccharides has no effect on health or survival of low birth weight piglets

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Over the past three decades, the litter size of sows has been increased to improve productivity. This has not only led to more piglets per sow, but also an increased proportion of low birth weight piglets, and consequently, higher pre-weaning mortality. In an attempt to improve the resilience of small piglets, an oral supplementation (drenching) with a bioactive compound can be applied. In this study, low birth weight piglets were drenched with bovine colostrum, short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides or quercetin (each dissolved in a plain milk replacer) during the first seven days after birth. The animals’ body weight, mortality, skin lesions, and different blood parameters were evaluated between birth and 2 weeks post-weaning. None of the supplemented compounds had a positive effect on any of the parameters, and thus, on the resilience of low birth weight piglets. Moreover, a negative effect on survival was observed in piglets that were drenched with short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides. These results showed that the evaluated bioactive compounds, in their given dosages, were unable to improve the low birth weight piglets’ survival and emphasized the complex, multifactorial origin of pre-weaning mortality. ABSTRACT: The introduction of hyperprolific sows has resulted in more low birth weight (LBW) piglets, accompanied by higher mortality. A possible strategy to enhance the resilience and survival of LBW piglets is oral supplementation (drenching) of bioactive substances. This study evaluated the supplementation of bovine colostrum, short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scFOS) or quercetin that were dissolved separately in a milk replacer. The study was divided into two sub-experiments. First, the milk replacer was compared with a sham drenched group. Secondly, each dissolved compound was compared with the milk replacer. The LBW piglets, defined as weighing between (mean litter birth weight −1*SD) and (mean litter birth weight −2.5*SD), were randomly allocated to the different treatments and drenched once a day for seven days. On day 1, 3, 9, 24 and 38, piglets were weighed and scored for skin lesions. Blood samples were collected on day 9 and 38 and analyzed to determine glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, urea, immunoglobulin G, insulin-like growth factor 1, and a standard blood panel test. There was no difference between sham drenched piglets and piglets that were drenched with milk replacer regarding any of the parameters. No effect was observed between the milk replacer group and any of the bioactive compounds either, except a higher mortality within the scFOS group. In conclusion, this study showed that drenching the evaluated bioactive compounds, in the used dosages, did not improve LBW piglets’ resilience or survival and more research is required to determine the effect of scFOS on small piglets

The Effect of Drenching (Very) Low Birth Weight Piglets with a Dense, Concentrated Milk Replacer at Farms with Differing Farrowing Management

Introducing hyperprolific sows has led to proportionally more (very) low birth weight ((V)LBW) piglets, accompanied by higher mortality. To improve the survival of (V)LBW piglets, drenching a dense milk replacer (DMR) could be applied. A first experiment evaluated the effect of drenching DMR (1 or 3 doses within 24 h after birth) to LBW ((mean litter birth weight − 1*SD) and weighing between 1 kg and 750 g) and VLBW piglets ((mean litter birth weight − 1.5*SD) and weighing less than 750 g). On days 1, 2, 3, 9, and two days post-weaning, body weight, growth, skin lesions, and mortality were monitored. No effect of DMR was observed on any of the parameters. In a second experiment, LBW piglets were supplemented with DMR (similarly to experiment 1) at two farms differing in the level of perinatal care. The same parameters were evaluated, and again none were affected by drenching DMR. Overall survival of the LBW piglets was significantly higher at the farm with high perinatal care. It can be concluded that good perinatal management is more effective in enhancing the survival of LBW piglets than drenching