These are some of the main conclusions of a three-year research project called "Family Feeding Problems", which Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR) served as its managing partner. The project was initiated by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), livestock equipment companies Vereijken and Trouw Nutrition.

Trouw Nutrition recently hosted an AgriVision event with a focus on sustainability.

The purpose of this project is to develop an innovative feeding concept for sows and piglets that conforms to their natural behavior. The innovative part of the research will be applied to new feeding and drinking systems and new types of feeding.

The theory behind the new concept is that the sow will teach the piglet how to eat and drink, thereby optimizing the feed intake of the piglet before and after weaning, thereby reducing the negative impact of weaning on welfare and health. The family feeding system and family feed are implemented and optimized at the Pig Innovation Center (VIC) Sterksel in the south of the Netherlands.

Based on the 3-year study, the scientists also concluded that the family feeding system method has no or even a negative effect on technical performance and post-weaning diarrhea. It was observed that the household feed itself had a negative effect on tail biting behavior and diarrhea, and had no effect on technical performance.

In order to draw all these conclusions, the home feeding system and home feed were tested using lactating sows and piglets up to 9 weeks of age. Compare them with the results of sows and piglets raised in conventional pens and fed with conventional lactation and piglet feed. The validation study included all 4 treatments, with a total of 104 lactating sows and their piglets and 1,040 weaned hybrid piglets.

The home feeding system is designed to reflect the elements of natural feeding, because it provides a social eating place for piglets to interact with sows and familiarize themselves with solid feed at an early stage. This also incorporates "game" elements into the feeding by adding rich materials around the feeding place.

In this system, the sows are fed semi-unrestrictedly on the floor 0.70m wide and 0.92m deep, allowing the piglets to eat together with the sow. In addition, the piglets are fed in a circular play trough. There is a drinking bowl on the floor near the feeding area, which can provide drinking water for sows and piglets at any time. The sow box is widened to give the sow more space in front. Sows and piglets can use more concentrated materials.

After weaning, the piglets are fed in a dry trough with 2 compartments. In the first 4.5 days after weaning, the piglets are also fed into the circular play trough. Among them, the supply ratio of sow feed and piglet feed is 50:50%. They can drink drinking water at will through the drinking bowl they use in the delivery room.

The most important conclusions about the feeding system are:

The composition profile and physical composition of the family feed include nutrients tailored to support the digestion and oral mobility of the piglets and the optimal nutrition of the sow. In addition, the texture, particle size and flavor of the feed are optimized to stimulate feeding behavior. From gestation to lactation to the rearing stage, the incorporation of identifiable flavors into the feed curve reinforces the sensory cues that the piglets obtain from the sows even before farrowing. This flavor ingredient leaves a "mother's smell" on the feed and helps piglets realize that it is safe to eat.

Provide family sow feed for sows, and piglets receive family piglet feed. In the first 9 days after weaning, the piglets were provided with family piglet feed, and then switched to regular piglet feeding. Family piglet feed consists of pellets of different diameters (4 and 12 mm) and different lengths (10-30 mm).

More research by Wageningen University and Research Center: Fly larvae can replace soy meal in pigs

The most important conclusions about feed are:

The authors of the research publication "Family Feeding Issues" are CMC van der Peet-Schwering, AIJ Hoofs and GP Binnendijk of the Wageningen Livestock Research Center in the Netherlands; JE Bolhuis, Wageningen University, the Netherlands; H. van Hees, Trouw Nutrition ; And Q. Dees, Vereijken.

Pig Progress/Subject: Editing of pigs around the world

By: Dr. John Strak in the world of pigs on November 8th

By Chris McCullough October 27 in the world of pigs

Author: Irene Camerlink October 18 in the world of pigs

Prof. Hans-Wilhelm Windhorst November 22

As sows produce more and more sows, the pre-weaning mortality rate is also increasing. Have...

Is it possible to achieve high sow welfare and low emissions at the same time? Danish researchers...

Vivi Aarestrup Moustsen's expert opinion in sows on June 15, 2020

Allowing piglets to have a healthy start in their lives will have a major impact on the health and production performance of...

In order to find alternatives to antibiotics and zinc oxide in the diet of post-weaned piglets, a new study...

November 22 in the world of pigs

Misset Uitgeverij BV All rights reserved. The following rules apply to the use of this website: Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.