Articles - Nutrition

Does a high growth rate really increase the risk of osteochondrosis and lameness?

Weaning is a critical event in the pig’s life. It is a very important and stressful transition that, if not handled properly, can be responsible for the occurrence of diarrhoea and/or poorly adapted piglets.

The answer is no. We only know how to feed the average pig of a certain genetic composition, and sex.

The use of by-products from the agri-food industry reduces feed costs. This study explores the nutritional value of eight potential by-products for liquid feeding.

It is difficult for a single additive to mimic the effect of the addition of antibiotics or ZnO. This is why we need to combine groups of additives in water and feed, so they act both, as prevention and treatment.

Products obtained from insects have a high proportion of crude protein: 40-44% in the case of the black soldier fly larvae, or up to 60% in the case of black fly larvae or in grasshoppers, and even reaching 70% in the case of silkworms.

In the previous paper, the effects of nutrient restriction and consequent catabolism during lactation on sow reproduction yield have been addressed. In the present paper, the efficiency of sows in using energy from feed and body mass is considered.

The study described here was designed to determine if the body tissue mobilization during lactation imposed by feed restriction could affect litter size and sow performance in the subsequent lactation.

With the restrictions on antimicrobial use as a preventive measure, a new era is born in the design of pre-weaning and grower diets. The transition to this new scenario must be approached in a comprehensive way.

Biological alterations in immune and intestinal systems occur immediately after weaning that affect subsequent pig growth and health.

Pelleting and extrusion can potentially increase energy and nutrient digestibility of swine diets and their effects are affected by the diet composition.

Pigs exposed to heat stress increase their body temperature and reduce the size of their intestinal villi, thus increasing the loss of endogenous AAs and reducing the abundance of AA transporters in the intestine, as well as apparent and standardized ileal digestibility of AAs.

There is a widespread trend throughout Europe to decrease the protein levels in feeds, together with an adequate supplementation of industrial amino acids.

Predicting the functional effect of fibre ingredients when fed to early weaning piglets is advisable in order to control the gut health.

Understand the role nutrition can play in gut health and animal performance is essential to enjoying good performance as we move away from antibiotic growth promoters and heavy metals.

The handling disadvantages derived from the addition of an extra feed are outweighed by the improvement in production and decrease in the number of farrowing problems.

Energy intake based on body condition differs greatly from the energy adult sows require. Moreover, the NRC clearly overestimates the sows' maintenance requirements.

At autopsy, haemorrhagic enterocolitis with mucosal oedema, enlarged spleen and haemorrhagic mesentery were observed.

The addition of alternative ingredients to the ration will depend mainly on how their variation in nutritional composition compares to soybeans and on their price, which will determine their inclusion rate and their actual inclusion.

Neonatal mineral and vitamin supplementation have a huge impact on bone development and body composition via the regulation of mesenchymal stem cells and satellite cell programing.

The evolution of genetics in modern sows requires nutritionists to evolve their diets and feeding programs accordingly. Nutritionist need to consider not only the role of nutrition on metabolism but also on hormone regulation and subsequent reproduction.

The immunomodulatory effect —particularly anti-inflammatory— of phytogenic products added to the diet seems to play a crucial role in addressing intestinal clinical pictures in pigs.

Adding organic iron in piglets drinking water during lactation may be an alternative to parenteral administration of inorganic iron.

Variability of feed ingredients is analysed, as well as its consequences on consumption and lean tissue growth in fattening pigs.