0
Colostrum yield was calculated from the beginning of parturition until 24 h later by adding colostrum intake of individual piglets, which was estimated from their BW gain.
Colostrum yield averaged 3.22 ± 0.34 kg. Four sows had very low colostrum production (1.10 ± 0.12 kg; n = 4), whereas the others produced between 2.83 and 4.64 kg of colostrum (3.93 ± 0.16 kg; n = 12). Compared with the high-colostrum-producing sows, the low-colostrum-producing sows tended (P < 0.1) to have greater plasma concentrations of progesterone during the 20-h prepartum and tended (P < 0.1) to have smaller plasma concentrations of prolactin 40 and 30 h before parturition. Sows with a low colostrum yield had greater plasma concentrations of glucose than sows with a high colostrum yield from d -9 to -2 (P < 0.05).
At the onset of parturition, colostrum from low-producing sows had greater percentages (P < 0.01) of DM, lipids, and GE, but less (P < 0.05) lactose, than that from high-producing sows. The Na:K ratio in colostrum during the 6 h postpartum was greater (P < 0.01) in low-producing sows than in high-producing sows, indicating that cellular junctions between epithelial mammary cells were less tightly closed. Concentrations of IgG in colostrum varied greatly between sows and decreased by approximately 80% between T0 and T24. Within high-producing sows, concentrations of IgG in colostrum at T0, T3, and T6 were negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with lactose concentrations in colostrum at the same times and were positively correlated (P < 0.05) with plasma concentrations of IGF-I measured from d -9 to 0. In contrast, no correlation (P > 0.1) was found between IgG concentrations in colostrum at any time and prolactin, estradiol-17ß, progesterone, or cortisol. In conclusion, sows that produced a low yield of colostrum were characterized by a leaky mammary epithelium and reduced synthesis of lactose, related to delayed hormonal changes before parturition.
A. Foisnet, C. Farmer, C. David, and H. Quesnel, Relationships between colostrum production by primiparous sows and sow physiology around parturition, J. Anim Sci. 2010.
