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Effect of Feeding Various Gestation and Lactation Dietary Protein Sequences on Long-Term Reproductive Performance in Swine^{1 ,2,}

The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210 and and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster 44691

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at two locations with 87 crossbred swine for three parities to evaluate reproductive performance as affected by three different dietary protein regimens. During each of three gestation/lactation periods, one sow group received a 14/15% protein diet sequence, respectively, while a second received an 8.5/20% diet regimen. A third group was fed an 8.5% protein corn diet the first 75 days of pregnancy, 14% until parturition and a 16% lactation diet. Corn and soybean meal diets were formulated with ratios adjusted to achieve the desired protein level.

Sow weights and gains were influenced by gestation protein level with lower gains consistently resulting at each parity when the corn (8.5%) diet was fed throughout pregnancy. Farrowing percentage and the number of pigs born were not significantly affected by any of the dietary treatments. Lactation feed intakes were highest from the sow group fed the 14/15% sequence and similar for the other two treatments at each parity. All sow groups gained weight during lactation with the largest gains with the group fed the 8.5/20% protein sequence.

There was a trend for larger pig birth weights with a higher proportion of heavier pigs from sows fed the 14/15% protein sequence. This weight differential was, however, attributed to initial colostral consumption before birth weights were obtained, since initial milk production appeared to be depressed when the lower protein diets were offered. This was particularly evident in parity III, for the 8.5/20% group, when hormone therapy was necessary to stimulate milk flow to prevent neonatal pig starvation. Impared milk production resulted in both a lower number of pigs weaned and survival percentage to weaning from this treatment group. Litter and pig gains, during the first 2-weeks of lactation, were also greater when the 14/15% sequence was fed; while during the latter 14 days they were similar for all sow treatment groups. These results suggest that gestation dietary protein restriction can impede not only initial milk secretion which can affect neonatal pig survival but subsequent milk production and progeny gains. In parities II and III, both the number of pigs weaned and weaning weights were greater than in parity I, suggesting an increased milk production per nursing pig from older sows.

¹ Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Journal Article Series No. 184-76.

² Appreciation is expressed to F. A. Vance, R. B.Gibbs, R. C. Rodabaugh and M. Bayes for the collection of data and to C. R. Weaver for his help with statistical analysis.

³ Department of Animal Science, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster.