Effect of floor cooling and dietary amino acids content on performance and behaviour of lactating primiparous sows during summer (original) (raw)
Related papers
Effect of floor cooling on performance of lactating sows during summer
Livestock Science, 2006
Forty Landrace × Large White lactating sows were used to evaluate the effects of cooling of the floor when maintained under high temperature conditions during summer on their productive and reproductive performance. The sows were allocated in a completely randomized design with two treatments with 20 replicates according to parity number and body weight, with each animal being considered an experimental unit. The treatments consisted of cooling of the floor under the sow with water circulation at about 17°C and no cooling. The resulting temperatures of the floor were 27.6 and 35.8°C for the cooled and the control treatments, respectively. The sows from both treatments were exposed to average maximum and minimum environmental temperatures of 26.9 and 20.8°C, respectively. Sows maintained on a cooled floor had a higher feed intake (6.47 vs. 5.61 kg/day; P b 0.01). Despite this higher intake, sows maintained on a cooled floor had higher body weight and body protein losses during the lactation period (P b 0.01) in connection with a higher milk yield and subsequent growth of the litter (2280 vs. 1798 g/day; P b 0.01). There was an effect of treatment on rectal temperature, surface temperatures and respiratory rate (P b 0.01) with lower values in sows submitted to floor cooling. It is concluded that floor cooling under the lactating sow improves its productive and reproductive performance, as well as the performance of its litter.
Journal of Animal Science, 2021
This study was conducted to evaluate whether cooled floor pads combined with chilled drinking water could alleviate negative impacts of heat stress on lactating sows. Thirty sows (Landrace × Yorkshire, Parity = 1 to 6) were housed in individual farrowing stalls in two rooms with temperatures being controlled at 29.4°C (0700–1900 hours) and 23.9°C (1900–0700 hours). Sows in one room (Cool), but not in the other room (Control) were provided cooled floor pads (21–22°C) and chilled drinking water (13–15°C). Behavior of sows (15 sows/treatment) was video recorded during farrowing, and days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 after farrowing. Videos were viewed continuously to register the birth time of each piglet, from which total farrowing duration and birth intervals were calculated. The number of drinking bouts and the duration of each drinking bout were registered for each sow through viewing videos continuously for 2 h (1530–1730 hours) each video-recording day. Postures (lying laterally, lying ve...
Influence of thermal environment on sows around farrowing and during the lactation period
Journal of Animal Science, 2012
Our objective was to investigate the effects of fl oor heating duration (HEAT: 35°C for 12 or 48 h) after birth of fi rst piglet (BFP) under different room temperatures (ROOM: 15°C, 20°C, 25°C) on sows during farrowing and lactation. The study included 8 to 11 repetitions for each combination of ROOM and HEAT. There were no treatment effects on indicators of birth problems (duration of parturition, interbirth intervals, umbilical cord lactate concentration), BW changes of the sow, and litter size and weight until weaning. Sows at 15°C compared with 20°C and 25°C spent more time nest building (P = 0.015). The feed intake was reduced the fi rst 7 d after farrowing in sows at 25°C (P = 0.014); however, both daily feed intake (P = 0.018) and water consumption (P < 0.001) of these warm sows exceeded that at lower temperatures during the last part of the lactation. Sows at 15°C received more medical treatments until weaning at HEAT = 48 h only (ROOM and HEAT interaction, P = 0.005). Room temperature infl uenced prefarrowing water consumption (25°C > 20°C and 15°C; P < 0.017), sow surface temperature (15°C < 20°C < 25°C; P < 0.001), respiration rate (25°C > 20°C > 15°C; P < 0.001), and rectal temperature during the fi rst 12 h after BFP (15°C < 25°C; P = 0.009); additionally, long fl oor heating duration (HEAT = 48 h) increased the respiration rate by 50% d 1 and 2 after BFP (P < 0.001). The proportion of lying time on the unheated slatted fl oor increased with room temperature (P < 0.001) and, transiently, also for the HEAT = 48 h treatment 13 to 48 h after BFP (P < 0.001). The majority of piglets (82% to 95%) were born on the heated solid fl oor, regardless of room temperature (P = 0.46). Sows spent approximately twice as much time standing and walking at 15°C during 13 to 48 h after BFP at HEAT = 12 h only (ROOM and HEAT interaction; P = 0.002). In conclusion, long-term indicators of reduced sow performance were unaffected by room temperature, probably because the farrowing and lactating sows in the current pen design were able to perform thermoregulatory behavior and successfully adapt to room temperatures between 15°C and 25°C.
Effect of floor cooling on late lactation sows under acute heat stress
Livestock Science, 2017
Mention of any trade name, proprietary product or specific equipment does not constitute a guarantee or warranty by USDA-ARS and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products that may also be suitable. The USDA-ARS is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and all agency services are available without discrimination.
Heat Loss in Lactating Sows under Different Ventilation Systems and Diets during Summer
2012 IX International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES IX), 2012
The experiment was conducted in a commercial farm and aimed to evaluate the heat loss and thermoregulation parameters from lactating sows under two ventilation system (natural or evaporative cooling) and two diets (natural or adjusted electrolyte balance) in the summer. Variables related to performance and thermal regulation were recorded during the 20-day lactation. Respiratory rate was recorded along with the recording of skin surface temperature and rectal temperature in the afternoon. Calculations were performed considering the heat exchange balance. Data were analyzed using Minitab 15 ® . Evaporative cooling led to a reduction (p<0.05) in respiratory rate, rectal temperature and skin surface temperature of the sows and increased the sow's heat loss. However, the dietary electrolyte balance did not cause significant difference in these variables. It was concluded that the use of evaporative cooling system helped to reduce heat effects on the sows' thermoregulation. In the diet with adequate nutritional levels for hot climates, the adjustment of the electrolyte balance did not show benefits in minimizing the effects of heat stress.
Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia, 2022
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of cooling systems by negative pressure versus directed ducts on the performance of lactating sows and their litter. The experiment was conducted in a tropical climatic region in Brazil. Ninety-four lactating sows during 26.2±1.7 days of lactation were included with their 1,236 piglets. Sows were distributed using a completely randomized block design into two treatments: a negative pressure cooling (NPC) system and a directed duct cooling (DDC) system. We adopted sow parity as blocking criterion. During the experimental period, environmental temperatures inside the farrowing rooms were 22.9±1.5 and 25.4±2.5 °C, respectively, using the NPC and DDC systems. Sow daily feed intake, litter weight at weaning, piglet weight at weaning, litter daily weight gain, piglet daily gain, and daily milk production per sow were greater in the NPC system than in the DDC system. The type of cooling system did not affect piglet weight after standardization, mortality, number of piglets weaned per sow, and estrus return. The use of an NPC system can reduce the effects of higher environmental temperatures better than the DDC system. The NPC system allowed for greater feed intake, piglet and litter weight gain, weight of piglets and litter at weaning, and milk production compared with the DDC system.
The use of a heated floor area by sows and piglets in farrowing pens
Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2007
Twenty-six sows housed in farrowing pens were observed from 5 days prior to until 5 days after parturition. Pens consisted of a resting area with solid concrete floor and an activity area with drained concrete floor. The sows were randomly distributed between two pen types: Pens where the floor of the resting area was heated to 34 8C (HEAT sows) and pens where the floor of the resting area was kept neutral (CONTROL sows). The average room temperature was 19.8 AE 0.8 8C. The lying position of the sows as well as posture of the sows were observed continuously and scan sampling was carried out every hour recording the position of the piglets. Thirteen sows chose to farrow in the resting area and 13 in the activity area with no significant difference between treatments. Sows that farrowed in the resting area were lying in the resting area for the majority of their lying time during the 5 days after the birth of the first piglet (BFP), whereas sows that farrowed in the activity area tended to lie more and more in the resting area in the days following parturition, the latter being significantly more pronounced for HEAT sows (F 10,177 = 1.92, P = 0.04). The number of postural changes was higher in CONTROL sows than in HEAT sows (F 1,20 = 7.67, P = 0.01), in particular on the day of parturition (day 0). In contrast, the duration of time the sows were active (standing/walking) did not differ significantly between HEAT and CONTROL sows on any days. The percentage of the litter resting without contact with the sow in the resting area increased over days for HEAT piglets whereas the percentage remained low for CONTROL piglets (F 4,79 = 4.95,P = 0.001). In conclusion, the percentage of sows that farrowed on the heated floor was unaffected by treatment. However, after parturition, both the sows and the piglets actively sought the heated floor.
Journal of Animal Science and Technology
The present study investigated the litter performance of multiparous sows had different feeding frequencies during summer season. A total of 60 crossbred multiparous sows was allotted to one of two treatments based on body weight (BW) according to a completely randomized design. Two different feeding frequencies based on NRC (National Research Council) were applied as conventional feeding (T1; 2 kg per meal at 06:00, 11:00, and 17:00) and night feeding (T2; 1.5 kg per meal at 06:00, 11:00, 17:00, and 2 kg at 22:00). Sows in T2 treatment had lower (p < 0.05) BW changes during lactation. The backfat thickness change of sows was decreased in T2 treatment during lactation (p < 0.05). The daily feed intake differed significantly between T1 and T2 with increased feed intake of the T2 group at 5.47 kg/d to 5.14 kg/d in the T1 group (p < 0.05). There was a significant difference in total weight of weaned piglets between T1 (70.50 kg) and T2 (74.34 kg). A greater total litter weight gain was observed in sows in T2 treatment. Night feeding is suggested for lactating sows with significant beneficial effects on litter growth during summer season.
Floor heating at farrowing in pens for loose-housed sows
Livestock Science, 2012
The effects of floor heating at parturition on sow and piglet behaviour in pens were examined 12 in a Danish production herd. A total of 50 gilts and sows were split into two groups; one 13 (n=25) experienced no treatment; one (n=25) was exposed to floor heating in the area of the 14 sow around parturition. The sows and piglets were recorded on video 24 hours a day for be-15 havioural analyses. 16