February 4, 2008

USDA research finds that modified diet may enhance pig birthrate
 

A new research funded by USDA said that dietary adjustments could enhance placental growth and minimise prenatal death and foetus growth restriction in pigs.

The widely used method of restricted feeding programmes to prevent excessive weight gain of sows during pregnancy may result in death and reduced growth of foetuses, and the sows may also suffer from inadequate nutrition during gestation.

According to the study's researchers, these problems could be reduced by supplementing corn and soy based diets with an additional 0.83 percent of arginine between days 30 and 114 of gestation.

The study has showed that dietary intervention can influence reproductive performance in pigs, as sows fed with additional arginine supplement increased the number and litter weight of piglets born alive by two per little and 24 percent respectively when compared to sows that did not receive the supplement.

This finding may give a massive economic return to pork producers. An increase in the amount of live-born pigs will greatly reduce production costs associated with sow reproduction and lactation while vitality increase of newborn pigs will enhance their survival rate.