Crossfostering and “Bump Weaning”
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1 Thank you for participating in SowBridge 2008-09. To start the presentation, advance one slide by pressing enter or the down or right arrow key. To see the additional piece on this CD, click on the title below. Breeding Herd Education Series 2008-2009 Timely, relevant & convenient learning SBCrossfostering.pdf Crossfostering and “Bump Weaning” Barbara Straw, DVM, PhD Michigan State University [email protected] 1 Straw, Dewey & Bürgi 1997 Percentage of Piglets Crossfostered on 96 farms Percent of pigs crossfostered Number of farms 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 0-1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 Crossfostering in 14 N Carolina Sow Farms Parameter . Mean Range . Disrupted litters (%) 74.2 55 to 86 Multi-day foster litters (%) 31.8 3.7 to 60 Mortality intact litters (%) 2.2 0.6 to 4.8 Mortality diarupted litters (%) 18.6 11.0 to 29.6 Almond, Brightwell & Morrow 1996 2 Maturity at birth 3 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 7 9 11 13 Pigs per litter 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 7 9 11 13 Pigs per litter Preweaning mortality Weight at weaning goes down as litter size goes up Survival to weaning goes down as litter size goes up Influence of litter size on preweaning performance Weight (lb) compared to 10 4 Small piglets Control supplemented Percent survival 49% 74% Moody et al 1966 Unequal or too much competition results in failure of smaller pigs to acquire milk 5
Transcript of Crossfostering and “Bump Weaning”
1
Thank you for participating in SowBridge 2008-09.
To start the presentation, advance one slide by pressing enter or the down or right arrow key.
To see the additional piece on this CD, click on the title below.
Breeding Herd Education Series 2008-2009
Timely, relevant & convenient learning
SBCrossfostering.pdf
Crossfostering and “Bump Weaning”
Barbara Straw, DVM, PhD Michigan State University
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Straw, Dewey & Bürgi 1997
Percentage of Piglets Crossfostered on 96 farms
Percent of pigs crossfostered
Num
ber
of fa
rms
0 5
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
0-1 2.-3 4.-5 6.-7 8.-9 10.-11 12.-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 0-1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19
Crossfostering in 14 N Carolina Sow Farms Parameter . Mean Range . Disrupted litters (%) 74.2 55 to 86 Multi-day foster litters (%) 31.8 3.7 to 60 Mortality intact litters (%) 2.2 0.6 to 4.8 Mortality diarupted litters (%) 18.6 11.0 to 29.6
Almond, Brightwell & Morrow 1996
2
Maturity at birth
3
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
7 9 11 13
Pigs per litter
Wt c
ompa
red
to 1
0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
7 9 11 13
Pigs per litter
Pre
we
an
ing
mo
rta
lity
Weight at weaning goes down as litter size goes up
Survival to weaning goes down as litter size goes up
Influence of litter size on preweaning performance
Wei
ght (
lb) c
ompa
red
to 1
0
4
Small piglets Control supplemented
Percent survival 49% 74%
Moody et al 1966
Unequal or too much competition results in failure of smaller pigs to acquire milk
5
2
Birth sows
Preweaning mortality of < 1.76 lb pigs Birth sow 62% Marcatti Neto 1986
Pigs < 1.76 lb
6
Birth sows Nurse sow
Preweaning mortality of < 1.76 lb pigs Birth sow 62% Uniform nurse sow 15.4% Marcatti Neto 1986 7
Least variation w/in litter Most variation
Variation of wt w/in litter Preweaning mortality 32 Least 17.7%
32 Most 27.2%
English & Brampton 1982 8
Control litters Crossfostered
Litter Preweaning mortality Control 12.8%
Crossfostered 7.1%
English & Brampton 1982 9
Optimum time to move a pig Highest growth rate in piglets transferred 6-12 hrs after birth to a sow that just farrowed and worst in piglets transferred immediately after birth to a sow that farrowed 2 days earlier (litter social order already established)
Gruiniewska 1983
10
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5 6
Hour
Pigs
with
succ
essf
ul su
cklin
g
2-9 hr2 da4 da7 da
Cumulative number of pigs (out of 12) that successfully suckled within 6 hrs after being fostered
Price, Hutson, Price and Borgward. 1994
11
3
100
75
50
25
0 0 5 15 20 25
Days of Age
% t
rans
fer c
ompl
ete
Late Early
12 9 6
Crossfostering disease
13
Location during nursing recorded before and after foster 14
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R L R L R L R L R L R L R L
am pm am pm am pm am pm
am pm am pm am pm am pm am pm
LARGE OUT #9205
Pre-
tran
sfer
Po
st-tr
ansf
er
15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R L R L R L R L R L R L R L
am pm am pm am pm am pm am
am pm am pm am pm am pm
SMALL OUT #544
Pre-
trans
fer
Post
-tran
sfer
16 17
4
Piglets are even at birth but at 3-5 days of age one has “fallen back”
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Small, fall-back (pink) pigs made into • Whole foster litters or • Left in original litter
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Piglets placed into a litter on a nurse sow
11 9
10 7
37
6 3 5 2
16
No. pigs Wt (kg) No. pigs Wt (kg)
1.55 1.65 1.97 2.16 1.78
1.65 1.50 2.19 2.00 1.84
At start:
Piglets left in original litter
20
25
15
5
Pre-weaning Mortality %
Nurse sow Original
1/37 3 % 4/16 25%
21
2 8 4 6 4
6
8
lb
0.2 lb
0.8 lb
days after transfer
Nurse sow
Original
Weight after Transfer to Nurse Sow
P = 0.01
4
3
2
kg
22
Several rules are important in a crossfostering program: · Transfer piglets within 6-24 hrs of birth to: o Even up numbers of piglets per litter – move the big pigs instead of
the small ones o Even up piglet sizes within litters · At 5 days after farrowing, look for fall backs o Transfer them to a nurse sow or automatic milk replacer feeding
station Don’t have an infatuation with consistency
Application to the Farm
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