Swine Morsels
Swine Morsels IV
Sioux Nation Ag Center of Sioux Falls-
Published: Jan. 16, 2006
I visited a farm yesterday. LDL farm is over 13.2 totalborn and at 12.04 bornalive last 10 weeks. They weaned 10.93 piglets per litter farrowed. Piglets weighed 13.8 pounds at 18.45 average days of age. This is GENESUS genetics plus good management and our own Ultra-Sow nutrition. There is no better combination. The guys there are taking the females into the farrowing crates with greater than 20 mm of backfat. They look chubby! Chubby sows are happy sows. They are not FAT, but they are chubby. Females then come out of the crates at 15-18 mm of backfat. Some of you recall the hormone called LEPTIN. It mimics ‘Follicle Stimulating Hormone’. It is produced by proliferating fat cells. It cannot be produced without proliferating fat cells present. The females have to be MAKING fat at breeding time. As you recall also, Follicle Stimulating Hormone is what tells the ovaries to make more eggs. If we have good solid boar exposure to stimulate FSH production, and we have nice chubby sows that are making fat so LEPTIN can kick in, we get more eggs, more viable embryo’s, more piglets born, more piglets weaned and more $$$. Remember also, though, that starting the day after breeding, feed/caloric needs to be reduced to maintenance levels for at least two weeks. It is after that time that females can be brought up to condition that you want them in the farrowing crate. There is also a critical time frame during gestation where the amount of calories fed affects birth weight of the piglets. I’ll get that information into a future ‘Swine Morsels’. In addition, do NOT decrease calorie intake the last two weeks prior to farrowing. The sow needs a lot of energy to rapidly allow for growth of the fetus. If we decrease caloric intake during this time, sows may tend to become “ketotic” after farrowing. They just cannot keep up with the energy demand of what is going on in their system. Reduction of caloric intake pre-farrow would be an uncommon practice but I have run into it recently. If you have any questions about any Swine Morsel topics, e-me! Monte