The impact of the interval between the last meal and the onset of farrowing on the duration of farrowing, stillbirth rates, and colostrum production in highly productive sows in a tropical climate.

The present study investigated impact of the interval between the last meal and the onset of farrowing on the duration of farrowing, stillbirth rates, and colostrum production in highly productive sows in a tropical climate. The study involved a total of 92 Danish Landrace x Yorkshire sows (herd A) and 114 French Landrace × Yorkshire sows (herd B). In herd B, a total of 61 sows had their blood samples collected within 1 hr after the onset of farrowing to evaluate their blood glucose levels. The interval between the last meal and the onset of farrowing averaged 5.9 ± 4.5 and 5.4 ± 4.1 hr in herds A and B, respectively. Neither the duration of farrowing nor the occurrence of stillborn piglets in both herds was affected by the time gap between the last meal and the onset of farrowing. At the onset of farrowing, the average blood glucose level in sows was 77.1 ± 19.3 mg/dL, with a range of 27 to 115 mg/dL. There was a positive correlation observed between the blood glucose concentration and the colostrum yield of the sows (r=0.261, P=0.042). In conclusion, the time interval between the last meal and the onset of farrowing did not have any impact on the farrowing performance of sows. However, a higher concentration of blood glucose at the onset of farrowing was associated with an improvement in the colostrum yield of the sows.

Factors affecting birth weight and stillbirth in sows housed in a tropical environment.

This study analysed data from a commercial swine herd in Thailand equipped with a free-farrowing housing system, comprising 17,196 piglets from 1318 litters, to explore the impact of sow and litter characteristics on the piglet birth weight and the incidence of stillbirth. The piglets were classified into four groups based on the total number of piglets born per litter (TB): ≤9 (n = 1434), 10-12 (n = 3232), 13-15 (n = 6537) and ≥16 (n = 5993). Sows were classified into four groups based on parity number: 1, 2-4, 5-7 and ≥8. The piglets were categorized into quartiles based on their birth order ranking: Q1 (n = 4786), Q2 (n = 4143), Q3 (n = 3808) and Q4 (n = 4456). Piglet birth weight was individually measured before colostrum ingestion. On average, TB, the number of live-born piglets and the incidence of stillbirth were 13.1 ± 3.7, 11.5 ± 3.8 and 6.3%, respectively. Among these litters, 26.6% had TB numbers ≥16. The average piglet birth weight was 1.37 ± 0.36 kg, with 18.3% of piglets weighing ≤1.0 kg at birth. Piglet birth weight was influenced by birth order ranking, as Q4 piglets were found to be heavier than piglets born in Q1-Q3 (p < .001). Moreover, the percentage of piglets with a birth weight of ≤1.0 kg increased from 5.9% in litters with TB of ≤9-25.3% in litters with TB of ≥16 (p < .001). Additionally, primiparous sows had lower piglet birth weights compared to sows with parity numbers 2-4, 5-7 and ≥8 (p < .001). Piglets born in the fourth quartile (Q4) had a higher risk of stillbirth compared to those born in the first (Q1), second (Q2) and third (Q3) quartiles (12.5% vs. 2.2%, 4.1% and 6.6%, respectively, p < .001). The incidence of stillbirth in litters with TB ≥16 was also higher than that in litters with TB ≤9 and 10-12 (p < .05). Furthermore, sows with parity numbers ≥8 had a higher incidence of stillbirth (9.7%) compared to primiparous sows (4.0%, p < .001), sows with 2-4 parity (5.2%, p < .001) and sows with 5-7 parity (7.6%, p = .003). In summary, a high incidence of stillbirth was found in piglets born in the last quartile of litters, in litters with >16 piglets and for sows with parity numbers ≥8. Piglets born in the last quartile of litters were heavier than those born in the first to third quartiles.