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Fluctuating Ambient Temperature for Weaned Pigs: Effects on Performance and Immunological and Endocrinological Functions¹

Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506

Abstract

Following weaning at 3 wk of age, crossbred barrows and gilts were housed in temperature-controlled rooms for a 5-d adjustment period at 35°C, then assigned to receive constant ambient temperature (CT) or fluctuating ambient temperature (FT) treatment for the nursery phase of the experiment. Pigs in FT received 12 h at 35°C and 12 h at 15°C daily for the initial 2 wk of the experiment, then 12 h at 29°C and 12 h at 9°C daily for the final 2 wk. Pigs in CT received 35°C and 29°C continuously for the first and final 2 wk, respectively. Weekly growth performance, feed intake and feed-conversion efficiency were not affected by treatment. Plasma glucose, serum Cortisol, monocyte phagocytic function and antibody response to a commercial E. coli bacterin were similar in pigs exposed to CT and FT treatments. Concentrations of insulin in serum were similar between treatments at 0, 1 and 3 wk but were increased for pigs in FT at 2 (P < .05) and 4 wk (P < .01). Numbers of lymphocytes, band neutrophils and monocytes in pigs were not influenced by ambient temperature treatment. However, numbers of mature neutrophils for pigs in FT were increased (P < .05) at 1 and 3 wk of treatment. Eosinophils were also elevated in FT pigs at 4 wk of treatment. Pairs of littermate pigs that had been given CT and FT treatments were selected randomly to continue on the finishing phase of the experiment. Pigs from each nursery treatment were commingled in an outdoor modified open-front building and evaluated for 14 wk. Pigs from both nursery treatments gained at similar rates. In addition, antibody titers to the E. coli bacterin were not influenced by previous nursery treatment. These results suggest that, although isolated increases in insulin and some cellular blood constituents occurred in pigs under the conditions of this experiment, growth and other measures of endocrine and immune functions were largely unaffected by fluctuating reductions in ambient temperature.

¹ Contribution No. 88-198-J, Dept. of Anim. Sci. and Ind., Kansas Agric. Exp. Sta., Manhattan 66506. The authors acknowledge partial funding for this project from USDA under section 1433 of Public Law 95-113 and from the National Pork Producers Council, Des Moines, IA. We thank K. Parsons and D. Topliff for assistance in the laboratory, M. Johnston for assistance in data collection and V. Mullen for typing this manuscript.

² Dept. of Anim. Sci. and Ind.

³ Dept. of Anat. and Physiol.

⁴ Dept. of Vet. Diag.

⁵ Address reprint requests to this author.