Night feeding in lactating sows is an essential management approach to decrease the detrimental impacts of heat...

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Swine Nutrition
• Reproductive Management

Background:

• Multiparous sows experience significant physiological stress during summer lactation.
• Optimizing feeding strategies is crucial for maintaining sow condition and litter growth in high temperatures.
• Current feeding regimens may not adequately support sow productivity during seasonal heat stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of different feeding frequencies on the litter performance of multiparous sows during the summer season.
• To determine if incorporating a night feeding schedule influences sow body weight changes, feed intake, and litter growth.
• To assess the efficacy of adjusted feeding times for improving swine production efficiency under heat stress conditions.

Main Methods:

• Sixty crossbred multiparous sows were randomly assigned to two feeding treatments: conventional (3 meals/day) and night feeding (4 meals/day, including a late-night meal).
• Body weight, backfat thickness, and daily feed intake were monitored throughout the lactation period.
• Litter performance, including total weight of weaned piglets and litter weight gain, was measured.

Main Results:

• Sows in the night feeding group exhibited significantly lower body weight changes and reduced backfat loss during lactation (p < 0.05).
• Daily feed intake was significantly higher in the night feeding group (5.47 kg/d) compared to the conventional group (5.14 kg/d) (p < 0.05).
• Total litter weight at weaning was significantly greater for sows fed with the night feeding strategy (74.34 kg vs. 70.50 kg), with a greater total litter weight gain.

Conclusions:

• Implementing a night feeding schedule for lactating multiparous sows can mitigate negative impacts of summer heat stress.
• Night feeding positively influences sow body condition and feed intake, leading to improved litter growth and weaning weights.
• This feeding strategy is recommended for enhancing swine productivity during hot weather conditions.