Altrenogest treatment during late pregnancy did not reduce colostrum yield in primiparous sows

The decrease in circulating concentrations of progesterone is the lactogenic trigger in many species. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of an orally active progestogen, altrenogest, administered in late gestation, on lactogenesis in sows. Gilts were treated with altrenogest (20 mg/d) from d 109 to 112 of gestation (ALT112, n = 6) or d 113 (ALT113, n = 8) or were not treated (control, n = 9). Colostrum production, estimated from the BW gains of the piglets, was measured during 24 h starting at the onset of parturition. Colostrum samples were collected at the onset of parturition until 48 h later. Jugular blood samples were taken from d -8 prepartum until d 3 postpartum. Altrenogest treatment extended the gestation length of ALT113 sows in comparison with control sows (116.3 vs. 114.7 d; P < 0.05). Litter size and litter weight at birth did not differ between groups (P > 0.1). Estimated colostrum yield was not reduced in altrenogest-treated sows compared with control sows (4.20 kg) and tended to be greater in ALT112 (4.73 kg) than in ALT113 sows (3.74 kg; P = 0.09). Altrenogest reduced endogenous progesterone concentrations during the 2 d prepartum in ALT113 relative to control sows (P < 0.05), likely because luteolysis occurred earlier in relation to parturition in ALT113 sows. Altrenogest reduced estradiol-17beta concentrations during the 2 d prepartum in ALT113 (P < 0.05) and ALT112 (P < 0.1) sows. Altrenogest treatment did not influence the timing of the prepartum peak of prolactin in relation to parturition. The ALT113 sows had lesser (P < 0.05) concentrations of lactose in plasma and a lesser Na:K ratio in colostrum after parturition than Control and ALT112 sows, indicating that the junctions between their mammary epithelial cells were tighter. Concentrations of colostral IgG in sows that received altrenogest tended to be less than in control sows (P = 0.08). In conclusion, altrenogest administered from d 109 to 112 or 113 of pregnancy did not affect lactogenesis in sows, possibly because the treatment delayed farrowing and main hormonal changes without affecting the relative chronology of these changes.