Parity plays significant role in piglet pre-wean mortality

Lactation feed delivery can prompt sows to stand up and lie down, adjusting how often feed is delivered immediately after farrowing may impact incidence of piglet crushing.

The study

In the study, 261 sows (parity 1 to 9) at a commercial farm were assigned at farrowing to one of 3 lactation feed delivery schedules: six meals per day, two meals per day, or two meals per day for the first five days followed by six meals per day until weaning.

Sow feed delivered, body condition score, and piglet growth and mortality were recorded.

Findings and suggestion

From this study, the researchers found that:

• ✅ Feeding schedule did not affect litter size at wean, piglet growth, or PWM (dead by day 5 or total). However, older sows (parity 5+) had greater stillborns and dead piglets by day 5 and overall (P < 0.02).
• ✅ Litters from parity 4 and 5+ sows also had lower daily gain than parity 1 and 2 sows.

These findings indicate that management focused on older parity sows may have a greater impact on piglet survival than changing the number of daily feed deliveries after farrowing.