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Voluntary food intake in the young pig

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

V. R. Fowler
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
B. P. Gill
Affiliation:
North of Scotland College of Agriculture, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
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Abstract

During the 1st week of life the energy contained in the body of the average piglet increases by a factor between four and five. To achieve this increase the piglet must ingest metabolizable energy (ME) at a rate which is about four times its maintenance requirement. Well over half the ME supplied in the milk of the sow is in the form of emulsified fat. Whilst the piglet is being suckled, its intake is controlled by litter size, availability of teats and productiveness of the mammary gland. At 3 weeks of age the normal piglet requires about 7.8 MJ digestible energy to sustain a live growth rate of 280 g/day. At this stage the growth comprises about 40 g protein and about 68 g fat. This means that the required intake for a newly weaned piglet on a typical starter diet should be about 475 g/day. In practice such intakes are rarely achieved for several days, therefore weaning causes severe disruption of intake and of the growth curve and there are other factors involved including social disturbance and stress. Further problems are caused by the provision of diets which are unsuited to the physiology of the piglet's immature digestive tract. The sudden loss of the IgA component and indeed other protective factors contained in the dam's milk can be extremely serious, and the reduction in food intake is effectively a defence strategy by the piglet to cope with its new circumstances and try to maintain physiological homoeostasis. In some circumstances the use of antibacterial agents, organic acids or probiotics may be beneficial, but the approach is less reliable than careful formulation of the diet to avoid provocative ingredients such as soya-bean and rapeseed meal.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Production 1989

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