Feeding level during gestation affects farrowing and litter performance
Increasing feeding level during gestation may improve piglet body weight at birth but have a negative impact on feed intake and backfat loss during lactation.
Page 10 of articles about piglet
Pig carcass tail lesions: the influence of record keeping through an advisory service and the relationship with farm performance parameters
This study provides the first indication that record keeping through an advisory service may help to lower the risk of tail biting, which is associated with improved farm performance.
Feed supplementation of lactobacillus affects performance and immune function of piglets
Feed supplemented strains have limited ability to compete with the indigenous intestinal microbiota of piglets.
Ear tagging in piglets: the cortisol response with and without analgesia
Ear tagging causes a dramatic increase in cortisol levels compared with handling alone in piglets, which suggests that this procedure causes substantial distress.
Paper in the farrowing quarters: not only for the piglets...
It is easy to see the reaction of the sows (of all of them!) when we supply them with paper. A handful in front of their snout or at the reach of their mouth is enough... oxytocin! It is like giving an injection!
Impact of maternally derived immunity on piglets’ immune response and protection against PCV2 after vaccination at different age
This study was aimed at evaluating the clinical protection, the level of Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) viremia and the immune response (antibodies and IFN-γ secreting cells (SC)) in piglets derived from PCV2 vaccinated sows and themselves vaccinated against PCV2 at different age, namely at 4, 6 and 8 weeks.
Prevalence and factors associated with the occurrence of bacterial enteropathogens in suckling piglets in farrow-to-finish herds
The aim of the study was to determine both environmental and infectious factors, influencing occurrence of bacterial enteropathogens in suckling piglets.
Pig castration: will the EU manage to ban pig castration by 2018?
This study provides descriptive information on the practice of piglet castration across 24 European countries.
EMA recommends banning the therapeutic use of zinc oxide in pigs
The Committee therefore recommended the refusal of the granting of the marketing authorisations and the withdrawal of the existing marketing authorisations for veterinary medicinal products containing zinc oxide.
Protecting pigs with microbes
How can we expect our livestock to acquire a healthy microbiome when there is such limited exposure to the microbes that they evolved with?
Effects of birth weight, parity and litter size on pig performance, health and welfare
The animals that were retained several times throughout the flow originated from sows with lower average parity. They had a much lower carcass weight (around 10kg) and a higher average score for lameness, pleurisy and enzootic pneumonia lesions.
The importance of dietary protein and Amino Acids after weaning
There is a widespread trend throughout Europe to decrease the protein levels in feeds, together with an adequate supplementation of industrial amino acids.
Feeding large groups of piglets: practical implementation of choice feeding
Choice feeding is the best choice for piglets of different weights and / or ages to choose between two different feeds in order to meet their growth needs. The response is even better in farms with enteric problems.
The performance and behaviour of gilts and their piglets is influenced by whether they were born and reared in farrowing crates or farrowing pens
The current study demonstrated that the expression of some piglet-directed behaviour was influenced by the system in which a gilt was born and reared.
Mucosa immunity and E. coli
This article explains how E. coli breaks the complex intestinal barrier mechanisms in a comprehensible way.
Perinatal dietary choline deficiency in sows
Dietary choline deficiency induces alterations in plasma choline metabolites which are evident at the end of lactation. Betaine and select FAs in milk are sensitive to maternal dietary choline deficiency and day of lactation. Alterations in concentrations of these nutrients may affect early-life neonatal development.