July 3, 2007

 

Impextraco seminars highlight piglet management strategies

Press release
 

 

Impextraco held several seminars from Jun 15 to 21 in Guangzhou (China), Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi (Vietnam), highlighting piglet management strategies to ensure successful animal performance.

 

A major goal of the pig producer is to maximise the number of piglets weaned, implying the need to reduce stillbirths and ensure the highest survival rates possible of piglets born alive.

 

To achieve this goal, correct colostrum intake, good care during lactation, as well as a good and successful transition during weaning is essential.

 

The first 24 hours of a piglet's life is critical, with the need to correctly supervise farrowing. However, despite improving knowledge on neonatal physiology, nutrition, health and management, peri-natal mortality still plagues the swine industry.

 

Currently across Europe for example, one out of five to six piglets born (i.e. 17 to 20 percent) does not survive from the onset of farrowing until weaning at 3-4 weeks of age. Consequently, these losses have a serious economic impact while being unacceptable for ethical reasons.

 

Peri-natal mortality comprises stillbirths and live-born piglets that die before weaning. Most stillborn piglets die during farrowing as a result of asphyxiation or soon after birth as they had been weakened by the birth process.

 

Overlying is often reported as a major terminal cause of pre-weaning mortality, and is probably the final act in a chain of events. In fact, the underlying causes are not fully understood.

 

As such, the nutritional and immunological roles of colostrum essential for piglet survival cannot be understated. Insufficient colostrum consumption is considered a major underlying cause of post-natal mortality. 

 

The sessions touched on variations in piglet performance within and between litters, as well as ways to reduce these variations. Up on the agenda was also a presentation on ways to improve feed (energy) intake especially during periods of unrealised growth. Additionally, the importance of successful weaning and ways to achieve it were discussed.

 

Using acidifiers in weaning diets is important, as chlorhydric acid production in the stomach is often too low just after weaning. This is because during the lactation period, the piglet relies a lot on production of lactic acid from the milk. Dry feeds lack or only have low levels of lactic acid.

 

The change of feed at weaning, as well as the associated stress, results in lower digestibility and promotes proliferation of pathogens. Hence, acidifiers can help, first by affecting pH and also because of the antibacterial properties of organic acids. Seminar discussions also examined Impextraco's ACIDAL concept, which is a combination of organic and inorganic acids, together with emulsifiers and an oregano extract.

 

Although postulated for a long time that mycotoxins affect immunity, scientific evidence had been lacking. But recent research has, for example, revealed that mycotoxins such as aflatoxin, ochratoxin or fumonisins reduce resistance of piglets to pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli or salmonella. There is also now clear evidence that mycotoxins play a role in vaccination failure.

 

A key note was that even if prevention is essential to avoid problems related to mycotoxins, it is almost impossible to ensure the feed will not be contaminated. Since there is not a single solution against the different mycotoxins, Impextraco has developed ELITOX, a feed additive combining different strategies.

 

ELITOX is based on toxin-degrading enzymes, toxin-binding natural biopolymers, and toxin binders of mineral origin. Also, natural extracts and vitamins are used to reduce stress-related symptoms.

 

According to Impextraco, data obtained on large-scale farms show that ELITOX enables improved reproduction performances of sows. The study revealed piglets that were healthier and grew faster, providing a better return for the producer.

 

During the meeting in China, Professor Kong from South Agricultural University in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, discussed current diseases affecting swine farms in South China. Professor Song from the Guangdong Academy of Agriculture Science (Veterinary Medicine Institute) also made a presentation about recent findings in his laboratory.

 

A view of the audience in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam