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Early results from supplementary milk trial
Wednesday, 22 June 2022
The number of piglets born alive per litter is increasing rapidly and may exceed the number of functional teats of the sow. This presents the challenge of how to rear the excess piglets.
Supplementary milk provided in the farrowing pen has been shown to reduce mortality, but so far it has not been possible to identify which piglets are benefitting from supplementary milk.
An AHDB-funded project at Harper Adams university is underway to trial the use of electronic identification (EID) and novel technology to identify which pigs are consuming supplementary milk and creep, and at what level.
Early results show that supplementary milk consumption per litter increased throughout the suckling period and at a greater rate in litters where sows had insufficient functional teats for the number of piglets from day 11 of lactation.
There was no effect of suckling position on average visits to the supplementary milk per day among piglets with a teat. However, piglets without a teat visited the supplementary milk station more frequently and for longer periods of time from day four to weaning, reinforcing the importance of supplementary milk being available from birth.
