Effects of adding medium-chain triglycerides to sow diets during late gestation and early lactation on litter performance.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine if feeding medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) to sows during late gestation and early lactation would improve neonatal pig survival.
Results Summary
MCT supplementation improved piglet survival rates, particularly in low-birth-weight pigs (<900 g), with survival rates of 68% in the MCT group compared to 32% in the control group. No effect was observed on average pig weight or the number of live pigs at birth.
Population
Sows during late gestation and early lactation, and their neonatal piglets.
Effective Dosage
10% MCT in the diet (isoenergetic and isonitrogenous with control and LCT diets).
Duration
From day 91 of gestation through day 7 of lactation (approximately 21 days total).
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
feeding medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) to sows during late gestation and early lactation | increase | neonatal pig survival | neonatal pigs | - | improve | #1 |
control, long-chain triglycerides (LCT), or MCT diets | no change | average pig weight | pigs | - | no effect | #2 |
control, long-chain triglycerides (LCT), or MCT diets | no change | number of live pigs at birth | pigs | - | no difference | #3 |
MCT diet | increase | survival | litters from sows fed MCT | - | survival was improved | #4 |
control diet | neutral | survival rates | control group | 80% | survival rates | #5 |
LCT diet | neutral | survival rates | LCT group | 81% | survival rates | #6 |
MCT diet | neutral | survival rates | MCT group | 90% | survival rates | #7 |
control diet | neutral | survival | pigs weighing < 900 g at birth in control treatment | 32% | survival | #8 |
LCT diet | neutral | survival | pigs weighing < 900 g at birth in LCT treatment | 53% | survival | #9 |
MCT diet | neutral | survival | pigs weighing < 900 g at birth in MCT treatment | 68% | survival | #10 |
feeding MCT | increase | content of medium-chain fatty acids in milk | sows | - | increase | #11 |
This experiment was conducted to determine whether feeding medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) to sows during late gestation and early lactation would improve neonatal pig survival. Beginning on d 91 of gestation and continuing through d 7 of lactation, sows were fed isoenergetic (7,000 kcal of ME/d) and isonitrogenous (278 g of CP/d) amounts of either control (19% starch, 2% soybean oil), long-chain triglycerides (LCT, soybean oil, 12%), or MCT (10% MCT, 2% soybean oil) diets. Sows (n = 18, 19, and 17, respectively) were induced to farrow on d 112 of gestation. Litters were weighed at birth, before suckling, and on d 1, 3, 7, and 21 of lactation. There was no effect of treatment on average pig weight at any time and no difference in the number of live pigs at birth. Beginning on d 3 (P < .05) and continuing through weaning (d 21, P < .02) survival was improved in litters from sows fed MCT relative to litters from sows fed the control diet. Overall survival rates were 80, 81, and 90% in control, LCT, and MCT groups, respectively. The greatest improvement in survival was observed in pigs weighing < 900 g at birth. Survival of pigs in this weight range was 32, 53, and 68% in control, LCT, and MCT treatments, respectively. Although feeding MCT resulted in an increase in content of medium-chain fatty acids in milk, these accounted for < 5% of the fatty acids in milk and likely cannot account for the improved survival rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)