Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The pattern of feed intake during lactation has been the subject of much discussion over
the years. Koketsu
et al.
(1996c) reported that average daily feed intake over the entire
lactation is greater for sows that reach peak intake earlier in lactation. They also reported
that high feed intake in early lactation is a meaningful risk factor for the occurrence of
a transient depression in feed intake later in lactation. Sow managers must therefore
balance these two opposing responses as they bring sows up to
ad libitum
feed intake
postpartum. A common compromise practiced on many farms is to control feed intake
in the first few days after parturition but to bring the sow to full-feed by d 4 or 5 after
farrowing (Trottier and Johnston, 2001). This feeding practice mirrors the sow's rapidly
increasing nutrient demands driven by rising milk production after parturition, and may
reduce feed costs.
6.6
Conclusions
With the growing world population and demand for meat, as well as the decreasing
available land combined with rising global warming, the implementation of precision
feeding of sows is increasingly critical. This chapter presented the latest findings in
amino acid and energy requirements for gestating and lactating sows, and approaches to
maximize nutrient intake and efficiency. More work is nonetheless needed for continued
validation of dietary amino acid and energy prediction models.
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