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26 December 2016
Pork News & Views
genetics and health statuses, which may
help explain why the results were not
identical on both farms. Table 1 and
Table 2 show the results for Barns 1 and
2 respectively. For both barns we saw
significantly higher feed disappearance
(intake) when piglets were fed large pel-
lets compared to the mini pellet, in both
the farrowing room and the nursery
post-weaning.
In Barn 1, although we saw increased
feed disappearance, piglet weights and
gains were lower at the time of wean-
ing for the litters fed the large pellets.
However, by one week post-weaning,
and carried through to 28 days post-
weaning, piglets fed the large pellets had
caught up to their counterparts, and
variability was reduced. In this barn,
we observed less of a post-weaning
growth lag in piglets fed the large pellets
(Figure 2), which helps explain how they
were able to catch up in body weight.
Although their body weight was lower at
weaning, they did not lose weight imme-
diately after weaning, which did occur
with piglets fed the small pellets.
In Barn 2, we observed no difference in
the weaning weights of pigs, but weight
gain was higher in the first week post-
weaning for piglets fed the large pellets
compared to the small pellets, and we
tended to see higher body weights of
the piglets at d28 post-weaning. Piglets
fed the large pellets also had lower vari-
ability in weights within a pen over time.
In Barn 2, we did not observe evidence
of a post-weaning growth lag with
piglets fed the small or large pellets;
however, we did see that piglets fed the
large pellets had larger gains in the first
week post-weaning (Figure 3).
Summary
In both barns we saw increased feed
disappearance (intake) in the farrowing
rooms and in the nursery when piglets
were offered large pellets. Despite lower
weaning weights in Barn 1 (possibly re-
lated to health challenges), this translat-
ed into a reduced post-weaning growth
lag compared to piglets offered small
Table 1: Barn 1 results.
Small Pellets Large Pellets Significant (Y/N) Difference
1
Farrowing Room
Creep Intake (g/litter/d)
Week 1
20
150
Y
130
Week 2
80
400
Y
320
Average
50
270
Y
220
Average Piglet Weight (kg)
Birth
2
1.62
1.63
N
Weaning (~21 d)
6.98
6.49
N
Gain (birth to wean)
5.36
4.86
Y
-0.50
Nursery
Feed Intake (g/pig)
Wean to 2d post-wean
140
250
Y
110
d2 to d6 post-wean
690
1190
Y
500
Wean to d6 post-wean
830
1440
Y
610
Average Piglet Weight (kg)
Weaning
6.98
6.49
N
2d post-wean
6.76
6.49
N
6d post-wean
7.47
6.99
N
28d post-wean
15.91
15.43
N
Average Piglet Gain (kg)
d2 to d6 post-wean
0.71
0.50
Y
-0.21
d2 to d28 post-wean
8.45
8.44
N
d6 to d28 post-wean
9.16
8.94
N
1
Difference calculated as large pellet value minus small pellet value when significance was deter-
mined.
2
Creep feed treatments were not offered until 1 week after birth.
Figure 2: Piglet weights at weaning, 2d and 7d post-weaning showing the post-
weaning growth lag in Barn 1, which was more pronounced in piglets fed small
pellets.
48hr Post-Weanging
d7 Post-Weanging
8.0
7.5
7.0
6.5
6.0
5.5
5.0
Piglet Weight (kg)
Large Pellets
Small Pellets
Weaning