Blood Parameters and Weight Gain the First Day of Life in Crossbred Pigs and Importance for Survival

November 30, 2011 — 

Improving survival is a continuous objective in swine breeding. The aim of this study was to record 22 blood parameters and weight gain the first day of life in Landrace-Yorkshire-Duroc crossbred piglets and to find associations between these parameters and survival at weaning. All live piglets from 18 litters were weighed and blood sampled at birth and d 1 and monitored to weaning at the age of 5 wk. A total of 261 piglets were born, of which 8.8% were stillborn. Additionally, 15.1% died before weaning. The blood parameters glucose, immunoglobulins, and white blood cells increased from birth to d 1 (P < 0.001), whereas α(1)- and ß(1) globulin, red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit decreased (P < 0.001). At birth, levels of lactate (P = 0.004), pH (P = 0.007), red blood cells (P = 0.017), hemoglobin (P = 0.018), and hematocrit (P = 0.052) were associated with survival to weaning. Also, levels of lactate increased (P = 0.030), and pH decreased (P < 0.001) when born in the last third of a litter. At d 1, levels of glucose (P = 0.015), hemoglobin (P = 0.025), and weight gain (P = 0.001) were all decreased in piglets that did not survive to weaning. Weight gain also decreased (P = 0.005) when born in the last third of a litter. Level of IgG at d 1 was not associated with survival at weaning (P = 0.230), but decreased (P < 0.001) when born in the last third of a litter. We conclude that several blood parameters recorded at birth and d 1, and weight gain at d 1 were highly associated with survival at weaning, and that being born in the last third of the litter was less favorable with regard to vitality.

Rootwelt V, Reksen O, Farstad W, Framstad T. Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, P.O. Box 8146 Dep., N- 0033 Oslo, Norway. J Anim Sci. 2011 Nov 18. [Epub ahead of print] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22100597