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Rearing Colostrum-Free Pigs in an Automatic Feeding Device^{1, 2,}

North Carolina State University, Raleigh

Abstract

In the past, rearing piglets artificially has been time consuming and mainly unsuccessful. Ideally, one desires a rearing regimen that permits colostrum-free piglets to equal or better the growth rate of naturally suckled piglets and yet not be expensive in terms of man hours and facilities. A step in this direction has been realized using an automatic feeding device. Piglets caught at the moment of birth were placed in the feeding device for 2 wk. Groups of 40 piglets (from at least four sows) were assigned to each of the following treatments: (A) starvation for the first 48 hr. followed by 6% cow's milk solids increasing to 24% cow's milk solids; (B) salt solution for 48 hr. followed by 6% cow's milk solids increasing to 24% cow's milk solids; (C) control, naturally suckled pigs (reared by the sow) (D) 6% cow's milk solids increasing to 24% cow's milk solids; (E) 24% cow's milk solids; (F) cow's colostrum for 48 hr. then 24% cow's milk solids. Piglets in the automatic feeding device were aseptically fed 3 out of every 4 hr. for the first 6 days of their lives and then hourly. The volume fed varied from 25 ml. initially to 50 ml. by 11 days of age. Piglets fed from the beginning either 6% cow's milk solids, cow's colostrum, or 24% cow's milk solids outgained by 2 wk. of age control piglets that suckled naturally. The over-all death losses for these three groups reared by the automatic feeding device were 3.3% (out of 120 pigs). Of the piglets fed either the salt solution, starved or suckled naturally, approximately 25% died. The use of the feeding device in schemes for producing more pigs/sow/year was discussed.

¹ Paper No. 2596 of the Journal Series of the North Carolina State University Agricultural Experiment Station, Raleigh.

² Autosow.

³ Thanks are due to Mr. Edward Dorsey, for tireless devotion to the petty details necessary to insure the workings of a newly innovated machine. Mrs. Quincy Justice for technical assistance and to formerly visiting assistant professor, G. C. Perry, University of Bristol, England, for some of the information in this report.

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