Post weaning performance dip.
Weaning is a lot like the first day of school. New environment, classmates, and lunch menu. It is the most stressful time in a pig’s life, leading to a weakened immune system. A helpful solution could be right under pig grower’s noses, according to research published earlier this year by researchers from North Carolina State and Purdue University.
Sows were supplemented with 15% whole ground oats for the last 30 days of pregnancy and first 3 weeks of lactation. Comparisons were made against basal, yeast culture and yeast culture/ground oat mixture supplemented diets. The experiment’s aim was to find the impact of treatments on milk protein, piglet growth and piglet health from birth to 28 days post weaning (Donovan et al. 2021).
‘Feeding sows a diet consisting of 15% oat during gestation and lactation may positively affect the intestinal health of offspring’
– Authors of the Journal article suggest.
The study possessed many interesting findings. The control had a higher average weaning weight of 7.5kg compared to 7kg for the oat treatment. However, Bonhams from oat fed sows performed better after this stage. Having higher feed intake and least incidence of diarrhoea 7- & 14-days post weaning. Closing the 0.5kg gap after 14 days. Less abundant proteins in sow milk, were used toward protein synthesis. Instead, milk contained proteins that acted as protease inhibitors, preventing premature milk protein breakdown. Protecting proteins such as Lactoferrin which facilitates iron transportation and has antimicrobial properties (Donovan et al. 2021).
‘Oats grow very well in Wales and Ireland and new products will provide the opportunity to increase both production and add value to a traditional crop’
According to Professor John Doonan from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural sciences in Aberystwyth University. It came after granting of funding for the ‘Healthy oats project’ in which Irish and Welsh researchers will collaborate in promoting health, economic and environmental benefits of growing oats (Teagasc 2021a). Oats are the least popular cereal crop grown in Ireland. According to Teagasc only 21,000ha of spring/winter oats are grown annually, despite ability to thrive in wet and windy Irish weather (Teagasc 2021b). Oat products are getting more popular nonetheless, due to the grain’s nutritional quality.
I would conclude oats could in fact, reduce post weaning performance dip. Exhibiting probiotic effects on sow’s milk, improving gut health and reduced diarrhoea. Maintaining pig’s ability to digest feed and gain weight when stressed. Other factors could be at play. Such as oat particle size. A study where pigs were supplemented with coarse, medium & fine oats, discovered they had different digestibility levels. Oats when too finely ground, led to reductions in Ca and P digestibility (Koo and Nyachoti 2021). It would be interesting to see how particle size would play a role in preventing a lapse in weaning pig performance. Could growing a traditional crop outperform other cereals and reduce Irish Agricultures imported grain reliance? I say oats deserve a place in pig nutrition going forward.
By: Neal Folliard M.Sc.
References
Donovan, B., Suarez-Trujillo, A., Casey, T., Aryal, U.K., Conklin, D., Williams, L.L. and Minor, R.C. (2021) ‘Inclusion of Oat and Yeast Culture in Sow Gestational and Lactational Diets Alters Immune and Antimicrobial Associated Proteins in Milk’, Animals, 11(2), 497.
Koo, B. and Nyachoti, C.M. (2021) ‘Effect of oat particle size on energy and nutrient utilization in growing pigs’, J Anim Sci, 99(5), available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab134.
Teagasc (2021a) ‘€2.7million funding for Ireland-Wales ‘Healthy Oats’ collaboration’, available: https://www.teagasc.ie/news–events/news/2021/healthy-oats.php
Teagasc (2021b) ‘Winter Oats Referance Guide’, Teagasc Crop Report, available: https://teagasccropreport.ie/reports/winter-oats-reference-guide#:~:text=Teagasc%20eProfit%20monitors%20show%20that%20winter%20oats%20can,John%20Finnan%2C%20for%20the%20past%20number%20of%20years.