The study was conducted at Le Nivot, a private Agricultural High School in Loperec, Brittany, France and consisted of two feed treatments:
1) Control – basal diet
2) Actisaf Sc 47 treatment 5 x 109 CFU/kg complete feed
These experimental diets were fed from service to the end of lactation. There were two replications of the trial on two successive bands of 25 sows. Each group (control and treated) contained 25 animals.
Sows were weighed individually on arrival at the farrowing unit and again on departure. Litters were weighed at birth and on weaning while all piglets were individually weighed 48 hours after farrowing and again at weaning.
The diet was offered in mash form for both gestation and lactation periods with the only difference being the supplementation of Actisaf Sc 47 in the test group.
Actisaf Sc 47 was supplemented using a complementary feed mixed with the basal diet (10% of complementary diet (5.0 x1010 CFU/ kg) + 90% of basal diet). The control group received the same complementary feed but without the Actisaf Sc 47. During the last week of lactation piglets received a post weaning pelleted diet. This contained Actisaf Sc 47 for the piglets in the test group but not for piglets in the control group. Actisaf Sc 47 was given directly to the piglets through the compound feed (3.5 x 106 CFU/g).
Results
|
|
Control group |
Test group |
|
Sows |
25 |
25 |
|
Sow live weight at farrowing (kg) |
255.8 |
270.0 |
|
Sow live weight at weaning (kg) |
244.5 |
253.5 |
|
Lactation daily feed intake kg/sow/d |
6.8 |
7.1 |
|
Total number of piglets born per sow |
14.2 |
13.8 |
|
Number of piglets born alive per sow |
13.4 |
12.7 |
|
Number of piglets alive after 48 hours per sow |
11.7 |
12.3 |
|
Number of piglets weaned per sow |
10.2 |
10.8 |
|
Litter initial weight (kg) |
16.0 |
18.5 |
|
Litter weight at weaning (kg) |
66.0 |
75.4 |
|
Litter weight gain (kg) |
50.0 |
56.9 |
|
Litter daily weight gain (kg) |
2.3 |
2.6 |
|
Average piglet 48 hours weight (kg) |
1.3 |
1.5 |
|
Average piglet weaning weight (kg) |
6.4 |
6.9 |
|
Gain per piglet (kg) |
5.1 |
5.4 |
|
ADG of piglets g/d |
235 |
245 |
Conclusions
The addition of Actisaf Sc 47 in the feed of sows throughout the whole of gestation and lactation resulted in a significant improvement of piglet live weight 48 hours after farrowing, piglet live weight at weaning, piglet live weight gain and the ADG of piglets during the suckling period, which increased by 4.2%.
It was also observed that sow live weights were significantly higher at farrowing and weaning for the treated group and that feed intake for the treated group was higher, although not statistically significant.