First-litter sows are regarded as being the most at risk of not having their nutrient requirements met during lactation due to their low appetites, and high maternal requirements.
This study explored the effect that the level of dietary energy in first litter sow diets would have on lactation and reproductive performance during summer.
Value for producers:
- Feeding higher energy diets to first litter sows during lactation optimises their reproductive performance and ensures they are retained in the breeding herd, thus reducing sow turnover rate.
Recommendations:
- Lactation performance and weaning weight was unaffected by an increase in dietary energy. The benefits of increasing dietary energy in the first lactation relate to reproductive performance and sow retention in the breeding herd.
- It is recommended that dietary energy at a minimum of 14.2 MJ DE/kg will optimise the reproductive performance of first litter sows, thus reducing the risk of them being culled or removed from the breeding herd prior to their next litter.
- At the time of the study, it was estimated an increase from 14.0 MJ DE/kg in a standard lactation diet to 14.7 MJ DE/kg would cost $20 per tonne or $2.80 per sow. An increase of about 10 per cent in litter size on the current cost of lactation diets provides a return of 8:1. If an extra five sows per 100 are retained in the herd by increasing DE at $380 per gilt replacement value, there would be a return of 6.8:1.
