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• 5 minutes

The highest level of reproductive performance will be found on farms where feed intake is adjusted to the need of each individual sow. For this reason it is necessary to have a farm-specific feeding regime where the body condition of each individual sow pre-farrowing is documented and feeding adjusted accordingly on a sow by sow basis.

• 5 minutes

Recondition skinny sows during gestation

Increase the quantity of feed from d85 of gestation onwards:

this will maximise the glycogen reserves of the newly born piglets

Ensure farm-specific vaccination schemes (in collaboration with herd vet) are complied with to result in:

Stable immunity of sows as well as their piglets via colostrum-intake

Optimal embryonic development

• 5 minutes

Although there are few externally visible changes in gestating sows, it is during this time that physiological preparation is made for a successful suckling period. The following factors need to be considered.

• 5 minutes

In hyperprolific sows with the potential to produce large litters, gestation length will typically last for 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 to 5 days. The more foetuses present, the less room there is for adhesion of the placenta of each individual pig to the uterine wall. To facilitate maximal embryonic development, it is important that the sow is optimally nourished prior to insemination. Also it is important to recognise and minimise stress factors such as fluctuations in environmental temperature, social stress such as fighting and exposure to toxins and infections e.g. PRRS. In hyperprolific sows particularly, these factors have significant negative impact on the forthcoming gestation.