Since 1998, USDA has reported a 37% increase in sow productivity. Over the same period, however, the National Research Council’s (NRC) “Nutrient Requirements of Swine” has increased recommendations for only four out of 10 trace minerals and just one out of 14 vitamins. Consequently, nutritional guidelines have perhaps not kept pace with genetic progress.
This discrepancy is supported by recent research from North Carolina State University Swine Extension, which directly links sow nutrition to sow livability.
The objective of this research was to investigate the impact of prefarrow nutritional supplementation on sow health and livability, with livability defined as sows surviving through lactation.
- Study A: Sows (n=321) were randomly allocated in a 2×2 factorial design. From Day 110 of gestation until farrowing, treatments consisted of: 1) 50 g of dicalcium phosphate, 2) extra vitamins, 3) both dicalcium phosphate and extra vitamins or 4) no supplementation (control).
- Study B: Sows (n=415) were either top dressed from Day 109 of gestation until farrowing with a combination of both 50 g of dicalcium phosphate and extra vitamins or received no additional supplementation (control).
All baseline control diets met or exceeded NRC (2012) recommendations.
Enhanced Health and Livability
In Study A, sow mortality was significantly lower for sows top dressed with both dicalcium phosphate and extra vitamins compared to control sows or those receiving dicalcium phosphate alone (1.3% versus 9.0% and 9.1%, respectively). Mortality for sows receiving only extra vitamins (5.6%) did not statistically differ from the other treatments. In Study B, sows receiving the combination of dicalcium phosphate and extra vitamins tended to have lower mortality than control sows (3.9% versus 8.1%).
When data from both studies were combined, the main findings included:
- Improved livability — Sows top dressed with the combination of dicalcium phosphate and extra vitamins had lower mortality than control sows (3.2% versus 8.4%).
- Reduced prolapses — Sows supplemented with the combination experienced fewer prolapses than controls (1.1% versus 3.8%), driven primarily by a reduction of rectal prolapses (0% versus 2.4%).
- Parity 1 benefits — First-parity sows supplemented with the combination exhibited a stark reduction in mortality compared to the control group (0% versus 10.4%).
In summary, the combination of extra macro mineral and vitamin supplementation enhanced sow health and livability.
As further health and nutrition studies from Minnesota, North Carolina State and South Dakota State come out this year, it will become increasingly apparent that sow nutrition can be leveraged to enhance the livability of sows, piglets and wean-to-finish performance.
