On farm precision feeding of gestating sows based on energy and amino acids on farrowing performances and feeding behavior over 3 consecutive gestations.

ABSTRACT

Gestating sows are often fed a single diet throughout their gestation cycle, leading to situations of nutrients deficiency or excess at the individual level. The purpose of this study was to characterize, over 3 consecutive cycles, the impact of a precision feeding (PF), i.e., dietary supplies adjusted at individual level in terms of quantity (energy intake) and quality (standardized ileal digestible (SID) lysine (Lys) intake), on gestating sows' productive performance, feeding behavior, environmental outputs, and health status compared with sows fed a conventional feeding (CF, i.e., fixed SID Lys intake). At the start of the trial, 2 batches of 20 Landrace × Large White gestating sows were allocated to one of the 2 feeding strategies (PF vs. CF), based on their parity (1, 2, or 3 and more), body weight, and backfat thickness (BT) 3 days after insemination. The PF strategy consisted in mixing with automatic feeders 2 iso-energetic diets (9.8 MJ/kg of net energy with 3.3 and 8.5 g SID Lys/kg, respectively) in variable proportions at individual and daily levels, whereas for the CF strategy these proportions remained constant throughout gestation (73% and 27%, respectively, resulting in an SID Lys concentration of 4.7 g/kg). Sows were followed over 3 consecutive gestations and the sows remained allocated to the same strategy throughout the study. Some sows were culled before the end of the study and were replaced by other sows who therefore performed only 1 or 2 gestations during the study. Thus, 106 gestations and lactations from 51 sows were fully studied and their data analyzed. The PF strategy allowed the sows to reach more closely the expected BT values at farrowing across cycles than the CF strategy (P < 0.001). The PF sows consumed 16% less SID Lys per gestation than the CF sows (P < 0.001), resulting in a 4% improvement in N efficiency (P < 0.001), with no impact on performance at farrowing (P > 0.10). The sows consumed their daily ration in a single visit whatever the feeding strategy (P = 0.41), but CF sows spent more time in the feeder in cycles 2 and 3 (P < 0.001). Thus, compared to the CF strategy implemented by farmers, the individual and daily nutritional supplies implemented with the PF strategy were more efficient in enabling sows to achieve body condition objectives at farrowing over the long term, also with a reduced SID Lys intake and an improved N efficiency without negative impact on farrowing performances.

In commercial farms, sows are often fed a single diet throughout gestation. This results in a mismatch between feed intake and individual needs, which can lead to complications during farrowing. Precision feeding is a way of providing the sows an individual daily intake in terms of quantity and nutritional quality, by blending different diets using automatic feeders. We investigated the long-term effects of precision feeding of gestating sows, on their performance and feeding behavior. The results showed that precision feeding enabled farrowing body condition targets to be reached over time. Compared to a conventional feeding strategy, amino acid intake was reduced by 16% per gestation with precision feeding, enabling a 4% increase in nitrogen efficiency, with no impact either on the number or average birth weight of born alive piglets. Whatever the feeding strategy applied, sows consumed their daily ration in a single visit accounting for only 18% of the visits to the automatic feeders. In contrast, 92% of the visits to the drinking troughs were devoted to drinking. The economic and environmental long-term benefits of precision feeding are nuanced when compared to the conventional feeding, depending on how this latter strategy is applied.