Early weaning has minimal effects on lifetime growth performance and body composition of pigs
C. L. Collins A B C , B. J. Leury A and F. R. Dunshea AA Department of Agriculture and Food Systems, Melbourne School of Land and Environment, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3030, Australia.
B Rivalea Australia (formerly QAF Meat Industries), Corowa, NSW 2646, Australia.
C Corresponding author. Email: ccollins@rivalea.com.au
Animal Production Science 50(2) 79-87 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN09059
Submitted: 8 April 2009 Accepted: 4 July 2009 Published: 11 February 2010
Abstract
Two hundred and forty pigs (120 entire boars and 120 gilts) were selected in three replicates of 40 boars and 40 gilts and housed in pens of 20 pigs of the same sex. Pigs were allocated to a 2 by 2 factorial experiment, with the respective factors being sex (entire male or female) and age at weaning (13 or 21 days). Pigs within each replicate were weaned on the same day, with the pigs’ farrowing date differing by ~8 days for the two weaning ages. Pigs were offered ad libitum access to feed for the entire experimental period. Eight randomly selected pigs from each pen were tagged as focus animals. These animals underwent dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scanning six times from weaning through to slaughter to measure changes in body composition. The animals weaned at 13 days of age were lighter at weaning (4.68 ± 1.16 and 6.84 ± 1.34 kg, respectively, for the animals weaned at 13 and 21 days, P < 0.001). During the first 4 days after weaning pigs weaned at 21 days of age consumed more feed (72.1 v. 30.9 g/day, P < 0.001) and gained faster (35.0 v. –63.0 g/day, P = 0.042) than those weaned at 13 days. The pigs weaned at 13 days did, however, ‘catch up’ to be the same weight as those weaned at 21 days by 53 days of age (17.4 and 17.8 kg, respectively, P = 0.33). Daily gain from birth to 146 days of age did not differ across treatments (610, 597, 640, 657 g/day, respectively, for the gilts weaned at 13 days, gilts weaned at 21 days, boars weaned at 13 days and boars weaned at 21 days, P = 0.31). DXA analyses indicated that the animals weaned at 13 days had a greater percentage of lean tissue at 119 days of age (78.4 and 76.8%, respectively, P = 0.039) although this was not maintained through to slaughter. There were no treatment effects on the percentage of adipose tissue from 90 to 146 days of age, although the DXA estimated adipose tissue mass was greater at 146 days of age in the animals weaned at 21 days (13.8 and 15.2 kg, respectively, for the animals weaned at 13 and 21 days of age, P = 0.023, s.e.d. 0.60). These data suggest that weaning age predominately influences growth immediately after weaning, and does not have a major influence on lifetime growth performance or body composition at commercial slaughter weights.
Acknowledgements
The technical assistance of Maree Cox, Mathew Borg and Wayne Brown throughout this investigation is gratefully acknowledged as is the financial assistance of Australian Pork Limited.
Alexander TJ,
Thornton K,
Boon G,
Lysons RJ, Gush AF
(1980) Medicated early weaning to obtain pigs free from pathogens endemic in the herd of origin. The Veterinary Record 106, 114–119.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Auldist DE,
Carlson D,
Morrish L,
Wakeford CM, King RH
(2000) The influence of suckling interval on milk production of sows. Journal of Animal Science 78, 2026–2031.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Bate LA, Hacker RR
(1982) Estrogens and piglet viability II. Effect of estrogen on piglet viability. Journal of Animal Science 54, 1017–1022.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Bereskin B,
Shelby CE, Cox DF
(1973) Some factors affecting pig survival. Journal of Animal Science 36, 821–827.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Bruininx EMAM,
van der Peet-Schwering CMC,
Schrama JW,
Vereijken PFG,
Vesseur PC,
Everts H,
Den Hartog LA, Beynen AC
(2001) Individually measured feed intake characteristics and growth performance of group-housed weanling pigs: effects of sex, initial body weight, and body weight distribution within groups. Journal of Animal Science 79, 301–308.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Carroll JA,
Veum TL, Matteri RL
(1998) Endocrine responses to weaning and changes in post-weaning diet in the young pig. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 15, 183–194.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
PubMed |
Cera KR,
Mahan DC,
Cross RF,
Reinhart GA, Whitmoyer RE
(1988) Effect of age, weaning and postweaning diet on small intestinal growth and jejunal morphology in young swine. Journal of Animal Science 66, 574–584.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
de Greef KH,
Kemp B, Verstegen MWA
(1992) Performance and body composition of fattening pigs of two strains during protein deficiency and subsequent realimentation. Livestock Production Science 30, 141–153.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dritz SS,
Owen JL,
Nelssen JL,
Goodband RD, Tokach MD
(1996) Influence of weaning age and nursery diet complexity on growth performance and carcass characteristics and composition of high-health status pigs from weaning to 109 kilograms. Journal of Animal Science 74, 2975–2984.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Dunshea FR
(2001) Sexual dimorphism in growth of suckling and growing pigs. Asian–Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 14, 1610–1615.
Dunshea FR,
Kerton DJ,
Eason PJ, King RH
(1999) Supplemental skim milk before and after weaning improves growth performance of pigs. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 50, 1165–1170.
|
CAS |
Dunshea FR,
Kerton DK,
Cranwell PD,
Campbell RG,
Mullan BP,
King RH, Pluske JR
(2002) Interactions between weaning age, weaning weight, sex, and enzyme supplementation on growth performance of pigs. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 53, 939–945.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dunshea FR,
Kerton DK,
Cranwell PD,
Campbell RG,
Mullan BP,
King RH,
Power GN, Pluske JR
(2003a) Lifetime and post-weaning determinants of performance indices of pigs. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 363–370.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dunshea FR,
Suster D,
Kerton DK, Leury BJ
(2003b) Exogenous porcine somatotropin administered to neonatal pigs at high doses can alter lifetime fat but not lean tissue deposition. The British Journal of Nutrition 89, 795–801.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
PubMed |
Elsley FWH
(1963) Studies of growth and development in the young pig. Part II. A comparison of the performance to 200 lb of pigs reared along different growth curves to 56 days of age. Journal of Agricultural Science 61, 243–251.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hohenshell LM,
Cunnick JE,
Ford SP,
Kattesh GH,
Zimmerman DR,
Wilson ME,
Matteri RL,
Carroll JA, Lay DCJ
(2000) Few differences found between early- and late-weaned pigs raised in the same environment. Journal of Animal Science 78, 38–49.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
King RH,
Mullan BP,
Dunshea FR, Dove H
(1997) The influence of piglet body weight on milk production. Livestock Production Science 47, 169–174.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
King RH,
Boyce JM, Dunshea FR
(1998) Effect of supplemental nutrients on the growth performance of sucking pigs. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 49, 883–887.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Le Dividich J, Seve B
(2000) Effects of underfeeding during the weaning period on growth, metabolism, and hormonal adjustments in the piglet. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 19, 63–74.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
PubMed |
Leibbrandt VD,
Ewan RC,
Speer VC, Zimmerman DR
(1975) Effect of weaning and age at weaning on baby pig performance. Journal of Animal Science 40, 1077–1080.
Main RG,
Dritz SS,
Tokach MD,
Goodband RD, Nelssen JL
(2004) Increasing weaning age improves pig performance in a multisite production system. Journal of Animal Science 82, 1499–1507.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Oliver WT,
McCauley I,
Harrell RJ,
Suster D,
Kerton DJ, Dunshea FR
(2003) A gonadotroping-releasing factor vaccine (Improvac) and porcine somatotropin have synergistic and additive effects on growth performance in group-housed boars and gilts. Journal of Animal Science 81, 1959–1966.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Patience JF,
Gonyou HW,
Whittington DL,
Beltranena E,
Rhodes CS, Van Kessel AG
(2000) Evaluation of site and age of weaning on pig growth performance. Journal of Animal Science 78, 1726–1731.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Pluske JR,
Kerton DJ,
Cranwell PD,
Campbell RG, Mullan BP ,
et al
.
(2003) Age, sex and weight at weaning influence organ weight and gastrointestinal development of weanling pigs. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 54, 515–527.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Smith H, Lucas IAM
(1957) The early weaning of pigs II. The performance up to 56 days of age of pigs weaned at 8, 14 and 20 lb live weight. The Journal of Agricultural Science 49, 405–408.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Suster D,
Leury BJ,
Ostrowska E,
Bulter KL,
Kerton DJ,
Wark JD, Dunshea FR
(2003) Accuracy of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), weight and P2 back fat to predict whole body and carcass composition in pigs within and across experiments. Livestock Production Science 84, 231–242.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tang M,
Laarveld B,
Van Kessel AG,
Hamilton DL,
Estrada A, Patience JF
(1999) Effect of segregated early weaning on postweaning small intestinal development in pigs. Journal of Animal Science 77, 3191–3200.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
Whang KY,
McKeith FK,
Kim SW, Easter RA
(2000) Effect of starter feeding program on growth performance and gains of body components from weaning to market weight in swine. Journal of Animal Science 78, 2885–2895.
|
CAS |
PubMed |
